shooting a wedding

[L Stegall]

Hi. I realize that by the time I saw this thread, you are probably done with the wedding. But, if you do any in the future, I agree with the recommendation to rent faster lenses if you aren't ready to buy. I don't know anything about Houston Camera, but I do know that Light-Tec is a good rental place and there is one in Houston (I use the one in Dallas regularly). I try to cover everything from wide angle to telephoto (in my case, either a 16-35 f2.8 or 17-40 f4, 24-70 f2.8, 70-200 f2.8 IS, 50 f1.4, 100 f2.8 macro for those detail shots and an 85 1.2, which is an awesome portrait lens). I rent what I don't own. You also really need a backup body, backup flash and LOTS of cards and batteries. There are tons of great wedding photography books out there. I continually buy books and bridal magazines for ideas and study them over and over. It can be lots of fun to do weddings. Hope you enjoyed your first one.

Oh, and it doesn't hurt to have a little kit of emergency stuff like safety pins, bobby pins, etc. on hand and bottled water (especially in Texas in summer!!!).

[jairoscz]

hello, you're correct, the wedding was shot yesterday... i'll try to post some shots later. I defintely felt the need for a faster lens indoors.... I hated that I had to use the flash every single time! and not that it's a bad thing, but I would've liked to use the ambient light to my advantage, instead of having the flash overwhelm the foreground and thus get a dark background :( ....i guess you learn as you go, and I definetely learned a lot yesterday!!

let's see, now that I'm already here, I thought I'd go ahead and ask a question. What would be a good lighting setup for shots like the one attached? I want to get a strobe (umbrella) but was wondering how many would be a good amount, would just one umbrella suffice? If so, what kind (wattage, size, etc.).

I'm REALLY new to this, I really want to invest some money to help out shots like this.

Also, what other critiques do you guys have with this shot? Better poses? Did I shoot it from too low of a height?


Thanks a lot again for all the tips, you guys have been wonderful!

-
Jairo

[CaptainTom]

I won't get into the technical problems with the photo because that is something that can be addressed by others.
My main comment would be that no one is smiling here. I know that some families are very serious, etc. but you can always get a smile from someone.
As you get more experienced, your seriousness and anxiety will be overcome, and you can instill a festive, fun atmosphere when you take the photos.
Getting people to relax is not difficult unless you are pretty tense yourself. Loosen up, have fun.
With digital equipment the photographers job is pretty easy technically. We have immediate feedback as to whether we have screwed up a shot or gotten a real winner.
Posed photos can be retaken if the lighting or exposure isn't right. Look at the histogram and learn to shoot RAW and you will take great photos, or at least photos that can be corrected in the "lab".

[jairoscz]

Thank you Captain Tom.... I was definetely tense/nervous throghout most of the wedding. There was something about standing in the middle as the "official photographer" that felt strange... but good! Like you say, I hope to get more comfortable with time and hopefully that'll reflect in my shots.... oh, and btw, I do shoot RAW and just love how RAW can be enhanced in the so called "lab" ;) thank you again!

[Elsaspet]

The one thing, besides the lack of smiles, that stand out, is the perfectly straight line you have going here. You are doing good with the b&g kinda facing each other, but also look to see if you can't make the others stance a little more pleasing, visually. Think horse shoes, inverted Vs, staggered. You'll be safe with pretty much anything but a straight line.
And don't worry about the nerves. Everyone has them.

[jairoscz]

cool, I'll keep that in mind! :)

[jairoscz]

...and as a matter of fact, I was just looking at the rest of the pictures, and you're absolutely right! the straight line comes out a lot! thanks for the heads up!

[epoh]

Also, tell them to GET CLOSE! When there is a space between people in a photograph, like between the bride and the guy to her right, it looks like they don't like each other and were forced to endure the shot. People need to be right up next to each other touching unless you are going for a specific pose where people are all spaced out.

One other thing - tell the guys to take their hands out of their pockets!

[jairoscz]

grr!!!... you're right, i have so much to learn! :( but i won't give up!!!

[kdr0014]

I'm not sure if anyone asked what was the sequence of events for this shot? Did you take them right after the ceremony? It looks like this is in the reception; considering the person sitting down. You usually have more to work with where ever the ceremony was held. Things like steps can keep you from having flat lines. Did you have fun? That is almost as important as the images. For next time have a check list of shots you want, the bride wants, and so on. Having them broken down into appropriate settings would help you build a story. That way you don't leave the wedding and slap your forehead. Good luck, the first one is always a b*#$h.

[digitaldooda]

I am in agreement with the above comments....so I'll go somewhere else with this.

I do like to get a little higher...but I am not quite 5 feet tall anyway! It's all about the Bride. She and her mother will be purchasing most of the Photos. If you can make her look her best in every photo, She'll buy them no matter what every one else is doing in the shot. I find that women look thinner and more pleasing if you turn them sideways and shoot down on them a little. In the future, having the bride hold her arms away from the body a little wil help make for thinner arms. The camera will add 20 lbs just by compressing all into 2 dimensions. I feel perfectly justified in taking the pounds back off with the "Liquify" tool in Photoshop and rendering her as I saw her in real life. A second slave light at 45 degrees and one stop under the main would add roundness to the figures.

Any type of Monolight with umbrellas would be good.....the bigger the umbrella, the better. I have a 60 inch Eclipse. Novatron makes a fairly economical monolight kit and they are in Dallas in case of repairs. (most repairs are due to heads falling and impact damage). The Novatron stands are too light. Get sturdy stands...like Bogen. The Novatrons are quite reliable and the repair rates are extremely low. Smith Victor has some small strobes, 110i, that are nice with one stop heads and they are about one third the price of a Novatron kit and not nearly as heavy duty. They are fairly reliable but have a slow turn around on repairs. There are some cheaper sunpak and brite light units out there, but the return rate is high and repair is slow.

[jairoscz]

kdr0014: yeah I had a LOT of fun!!

For next time have a check list of shots you want, the bride wants, and so on. Having them broken down into appropriate settings would help you build a story. That way you don't leave the wedding and slap your forehead.

This is something I had never even thought about, but will most def keep in mind!

the first one is always a b*#$h.

...fun nonetheless!!



digitaldooda:

If you can make her look her best in every photo, She'll buy them no matter what every one else is doing in the shot

haha, i can def see that!

A second slave light at 45 degrees and one stop under the main would add roundness to the figures.

just what I needed to hear (or read lol)!!!


On the post processing, do you guys think that selecting all the pictures and setting the white balance to auto is a good idea? Or should I take the time, for example, in the reception hall to try to get the right white balance?

[kdr0014]

I think auto anything is dangerous. It might turn out fine one time, for one picture, but it auto white balance will produce results that are less than desirable. A personal opinion, but you could take similar images and apply a white balance you have already done to it. Easy enough in photoshop cs2 and bridge.