1st wedding shoot advice.
- Thread starter Chris Lim
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er... if this is your first wedding shoot, i really hope you arent the main photographer?
im not saying you may not have skill, its just, a wedding is a once in a lifetime event, and its not something that i think people who have never done it before, should easily undertake as the sole photographer.
and from the sounds of things, you really are quite new to photography.
practical tips- let the flash take care of business. dont worry about compensating, unless you are bouncing flash. check your histograms and exposure.
most wedding photogs, will normally use a wide angle zoom, like a 17-50 etc, to take care of tthe table shots and for general shooting. and probably a longer prime or zoom eg a 70-200 for subject isoloation, compression and some nice bokeh.
im not saying you may not have skill, its just, a wedding is a once in a lifetime event, and its not something that i think people who have never done it before, should easily undertake as the sole photographer.
and from the sounds of things, you really are quite new to photography.
practical tips- let the flash take care of business. dont worry about compensating, unless you are bouncing flash. check your histograms and exposure.
most wedding photogs, will normally use a wide angle zoom, like a 17-50 etc, to take care of tthe table shots and for general shooting. and probably a longer prime or zoom eg a 70-200 for subject isoloation, compression and some nice bokeh.
There will be a lot of people who'll say you shouldn't be the main photographer, not as a first timer. Well I feel that as long as the couple knows where you're coming from, you should be fine, main photographer or not. If they don't have a problem, then neither should anyone else. I started my very first two wedding shoots for friends as the main photographer. I wasn't that great, but there wasn't a problem. So don't worry about it.
As far as settings go, the safest way is to stick camera to Program mode on camera, TTL mode on flash and let the camera do the work for you. Get an Omn-bounce, do bounce wherever there's a ceiling. You won't score high on the creativity aspect, but like I said, it's safe.
Get an itenary beforehand and study it. Look out for the significant moments. On the day, don't be so chatty until you forget about what's happening around you. Anything you find interesting and/or important, just shoot.
Before event, check all eqpt in working order. All batts charged, CF cards formatted, ready to go.
And most of, enjoy yourself! It isn't as intimidating as people make it out to be.
Good luck, dude.
As far as settings go, the safest way is to stick camera to Program mode on camera, TTL mode on flash and let the camera do the work for you. Get an Omn-bounce, do bounce wherever there's a ceiling. You won't score high on the creativity aspect, but like I said, it's safe.
Get an itenary beforehand and study it. Look out for the significant moments. On the day, don't be so chatty until you forget about what's happening around you. Anything you find interesting and/or important, just shoot.
Before event, check all eqpt in working order. All batts charged, CF cards formatted, ready to go.
And most of, enjoy yourself! It isn't as intimidating as people make it out to be.
Good luck, dude.
Not a pro, but I think planning and knowing the order of events and where to stand for each shot in advance seems more important than the technical settings. You can't deliver good pictures if you're not in position, and the couple are not going to semula for you. Modern DSLR's are so smart you can hardly go wrong, and the Nikon flash system is second to none.
How can others tell you how much to compensate without seeing the LCD? or knowing the what flash and sitting using, judging the scene.
so many variable. you think one setting can fix all? Even a P mode also has it limitation.
You can tell is it necessary or how much to compensate by looking at the LCD, as long you stay in the flash working range and the ambient are not too overexpose.
agree. especially with the nikon flash system, you have little to worry about. the canon flash system is :sweat: :sweatsm:
Not main photographer? Fwah, even better! Even less to think. Try shooting a combi of must-have "safe" shots and experimental "arty-farty shots". You're really quite free to shoot whatever you want since the pressure is not on you to deliver the product. Watch the pro, how he works. But don't shadow him all the time. No point for the couple to get two sets of pics of similar kind. Sometimes if he go left, you go right. He shoot front, you shoot back. etc.
That way, you don't get in each other's way AND you allow the wedding couple to have a more complete picture of the day's happenings.
Some may disagree, but I say at this stage, think about composition first. Stick with the basics: Rule of thirds, find a central subject, etc. For settings, just use either program mode with flash or program mode w/o flash. If you think too much abt settings, it may actually jam your brain, resulting in technically perfect images of nothing.
Good luck, dude.
I hope this will not turn into another Canon vs Nikon debate. I believe whatever pros and cons each systems has will cancel out each other to make them both about equal.
But who am I to say? I use Minolta!
But who am I to say? I use Minolta!
as this is your first wedding shoot and using digital camera, i would say, just shoot normally and you will be fine. if you know the the couple, they should how your skills and since they trusted you on that, go for it.... if you don't know the couple and tagging along as backup photographer, don't worry too.
when i first started shooting weddings (not a professional though) it was film. you will not know the result until you develop the photos. nowadays we are using digital and you would be able to see what you have taken on the spot. the most you shoot raw and edit later. so no worry on that.
like some bros here who have suggested, do check and double check your equipment before the big day. batteries for flash especially. lens wise just use a normal telephoto lens for most of the time and wide angle for table shoot. if you are concern, bring more memory cards and duplicate shots.
good luck...
when i first started shooting weddings (not a professional though) it was film. you will not know the result until you develop the photos. nowadays we are using digital and you would be able to see what you have taken on the spot. the most you shoot raw and edit later. so no worry on that.
like some bros here who have suggested, do check and double check your equipment before the big day. batteries for flash especially. lens wise just use a normal telephoto lens for most of the time and wide angle for table shoot. if you are concern, bring more memory cards and duplicate shots.
good luck...
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