Help! Dilemna

[Malakite]

hey guys... i think i'm in a bit of a pickle now..

Well, a friend of mine is getting married on the 11th of feb, and she's asked me to be her wedding photographer for the day. She is paying me but the thing is, Weddings are like a once in a life time thing and i'm not certain enough of my own skills to want to attempt to shoot her wedding.

I've told her that and she's like don't worry, you can one... but , well it's just nagging at me la.. so i dunno? to shoot or not to shoot? I've told her i'll recommend another photographer to her, someone who does this for a living, but she still insist on wanting me to do it. Sigh, friends ar.....

I've done paid shoots before either controlled studio product shoots or Coverage for Dinner and Dance and other Functions. But i dunno, maybe it's just that, WEDDING! that i'm worried about. I really really dun wanna screw it up for her ya knoe?

And, i can't even ask for tips on shooting wedding photographs here, because i knoe some ppl might take offence, like as in (wah lau eh, another noob wanna make a quick buck by taking wedding photos and undercutting my livelihood)

As i've said la... i'm stuck in a jam now... any wise man with words of advice for me?

 

[wildstallion]

hey guys... i think i'm in a bit of a pickle now..

Well, a friend of mine is getting married on the 11th of feb, and she's asked me to be her wedding photographer for the day. She is paying me but the thing is, Weddings are like a once in a life time thing and i'm not certain enough of my own skills to want to attempt to shoot her wedding.

I've told her that and she's like don't worry, you can one... but , well it's just nagging at me la.. so i dunno? to shoot or not to shoot? I've told her i'll recommend another photographer to her, someone who does this for a living, but she still insist on wanting me to do it. Sigh, friends ar.....

I've done paid shoots before either controlled studio product shoots or Coverage for Dinner and Dance and other Functions. But i dunno, maybe it's just that, WEDDING! that i'm worried about. I really really dun wanna screw it up for her ya knoe?

And, i can't even ask for tips on shooting wedding photographs here, because i knoe some ppl might take offence, like as in (wah lau eh, another noob wanna make a quick buck by taking wedding photos and undercutting my livelihood)

As i've said la... i'm stuck in a jam now... any wise man with words of advice for me?

If u feel that way then dont do it, it may upset your friend in the short term but in the long term if the photographs are terrible then i think that may upset them more, id say leave it to the pros, they know how to do it well, im sure your friend would understand. Anyway gd luck with your decision!

 

[espn]

As i've said la... i'm stuck in a jam now... any wise man with words of advice for me?

Bring me along?


----

Alternatively, on a more serious view, I'd rather risk offending my friend than to do the job and worry about delivery of products. It's a hard choice, but you know what's good for her.

 

[schon]

get someone to do it, and you be backup.

and when I say backup, I do not mean backup as in when the first guy fails, but when you'll be able to provide goot shots that the main guy did not manage to catch.

that way, the goods are assured and whatever that you have that is good is a bonus.

 

[sORe-EyEz]

get someone to do it, and you be backup.

and when I say backup, I do not mean backup as in when the first guy fails, but when you'll be able to provide goot shots that the main guy did not manage to catch.

that way, the goods are assured and whatever that you have that is good is a bonus.

ttz wad i tot too! its too much of a pressure 2 do something out of ur league, d lower ur chances of meeting d expectation.

 

[Klose]

I suggest you try to look for one on cs and shoot for your friend too. 2 heads are indeed better than 1. I made a rule for myself not to cover wedding photos whether it's friend or family, dont want to tarnish any relationship or sort.

 

[sORe-EyEz]

depending on d result, such a task can make or break a frdship / relationship!! :devil:

 

[NE clicks clicks]

hey guys... i think i'm in a bit of a pickle now..

Well, a friend of mine is getting married on the 11th of feb, and she's asked me to be her wedding photographer for the day. She is paying me but the thing is, Weddings are like a once in a life time thing and i'm not certain enough of my own skills to want to attempt to shoot her wedding.

I've told her that and she's like don't worry, you can one... but , well it's just nagging at me la.. so i dunno? to shoot or not to shoot? I've told her i'll recommend another photographer to her, someone who does this for a living, but she still insist on wanting me to do it. Sigh, friends ar.....

I've done paid shoots before either controlled studio product shoots or Coverage for Dinner and Dance and other Functions. But i dunno, maybe it's just that, WEDDING! that i'm worried about. I really really dun wanna screw it up for her ya knoe?

And, i can't even ask for tips on shooting wedding photographs here, because i knoe some ppl might take offence, like as in (wah lau eh, another noob wanna make a quick buck by taking wedding photos and undercutting my livelihood)

As i've said la... i'm stuck in a jam now... any wise man with words of advice for me?

Like you have said, recomend her somebody who do this for a living and at the same time show her some bad shots that you have taken in the past ( I believe everybody do comes out with some bad shots from time to time). That may help you to push thru to her the idea of getting her somebody else to get the job done. Just my opinion thot. No offence intended.

 

[Ah Pao]

If she's so insistent even after you've told her about your confidence level, maybe you can try probing deeper to get the real reason for insisting on getting you for her AD shoot.

If it's about money, I'm sure lots of people here in CS with better skills will be willing to take the job at a reasonable price, and you can comfortably put yourself as the backup photographer to gain some experience.

Anyway, personal experience tells me it's easier to shoot for a friend than for a complete stranger - not because their expectations are lower, but because it'll be easier to connect with the couple to capture that special moment.

 

[dawgbyte77]

I would say go for it since she insisted but try to talk about it first. Honestly, every couple have different views about photography and each have different expectations from 100% to 0%. Maybe she is less interested on professional result than to have you as part of her wedding experience. If this is so, just go for it. I would advice to get her permission for you to have a photographer buddy along to cover as much as possible and have a backup in every photos.

 

[raptor84]

Even when i was the backup i was also nervous. Shots were not so great in the end but yea lucky i was not the main guy. PLus i learned quite a bit form that expereince..

 

[catchlights]

I would said you go for it, if a wedding couple do value their wedding day photos, they will source the photographer long ago, even that if really interested on your works, will also ask you very much early, just in case you unable to do it. (No offend, I didn't check out your work before I post)

Obviously your expectation is higher than theirs, she think you are competent to shoot her wedding, so shouldn't be an issues.

No matter what, some wedding couple would rather get any other people to shoot their wedding, most professional photographers will not bother by this. So this is not an issue of undercutting.

Sometime it is very hard to give some tips on how to shoot a wedding to someone is totally new, unless you have shot many weddings before. Or you are only asking how to handle some particular situations.

 

[jsbn]

hey guys... i think i'm in a bit of a pickle now..

Well, a friend of mine is getting married on the 11th of feb, and she's asked me to be her wedding photographer for the day. She is paying me but the thing is, Weddings are like a once in a life time thing and i'm not certain enough of my own skills to want to attempt to shoot her wedding.

I've told her that and she's like don't worry, you can one... but , well it's just nagging at me la.. so i dunno? to shoot or not to shoot? I've told her i'll recommend another photographer to her, someone who does this for a living, but she still insist on wanting me to do it. Sigh, friends ar.....

I've done paid shoots before either controlled studio product shoots or Coverage for Dinner and Dance and other Functions. But i dunno, maybe it's just that, WEDDING! that i'm worried about. I really really dun wanna screw it up for her ya knoe?

And, i can't even ask for tips on shooting wedding photographs here, because i knoe some ppl might take offence, like as in (wah lau eh, another noob wanna make a quick buck by taking wedding photos and undercutting my livelihood)

As i've said la... i'm stuck in a jam now... any wise man with words of advice for me?

:bsmilie: I can see where u're coming frm my friend.... :bsmilie:

U're lucky that ur friend's paying u and not even bargaining abt prices and den saying, "No Money" all the time. :bsmilie:

U can get another chap to follow u and he'll be main & u'll be backup? That will work I suppose.... Unless ur friend is too neow to pay for 2 wedding photographers (which I noe many are).

 

[simon80]

my buddy also asking me to shoot for his ROM ..
am afraid will screw up his shots .. I don think I would do it .. :sweat:

 

[AngelZhou]

Actually I did turn down quite few number of friends who ask me to take their pictures if that's out of my cup of tea.

 

[k3nn3th03]

hey guys... i think i'm in a bit of a pickle now..

Well, a friend of mine is getting married on the 11th of feb, and she's asked me to be her wedding photographer for the day. She is paying me but the thing is, Weddings are like a once in a life time thing and i'm not certain enough of my own skills to want to attempt to shoot her wedding.

I've told her that and she's like don't worry, you can one... but , well it's just nagging at me la.. so i dunno? to shoot or not to shoot? I've told her i'll recommend another photographer to her, someone who does this for a living, but she still insist on wanting me to do it. Sigh, friends ar.....

I've done paid shoots before either controlled studio product shoots or Coverage for Dinner and Dance and other Functions. But i dunno, maybe it's just that, WEDDING! that i'm worried about. I really really dun wanna screw it up for her ya knoe?

And, i can't even ask for tips on shooting wedding photographs here, because i knoe some ppl might take offence, like as in (wah lau eh, another noob wanna make a quick buck by taking wedding photos and undercutting my livelihood)

As i've said la... i'm stuck in a jam now... any wise man with words of advice for me?

same here... but unlikely u, i only shot ONCE studio shoot only.. but lucky, i got friends who are willing to bring me along when they got wedding shoots (wondering if they are reading this.. hehe.. )... but i am still not confidence enough..

 

[jsbn]

my buddy also asking me to shoot for his ROM ..
am afraid will screw up his shots .. I don think I would do it .. :sweat:

Well, the first time round as the main photographer, I oso almost pissed in my pants.

But I took all my shifu's advice, cool under fire, stay alert and always remember that the photographer shld be controlling the couple & the crowd. Not the other way.

Bearing these words in mind, I went ahead, still nervous but my shots turned out.

 

[sORe-EyEz]

on a practical note, if u r shooting d whole day- do u hav time 4 a quick bite? :sweat:

oso i hope u r not bogged down by ur cam gears but still hav 2 look gd at frd's wedding, w/o breaking a sweat? :bigeyes:

 

[Malakite]

If she's so insistent even after you've told her about your confidence level, maybe you can try probing deeper to get the real reason for insisting on getting you for her AD shoot.

If it's about money, I'm sure lots of people here in CS with better skills will be willing to take the job at a reasonable price, and you can comfortably put yourself as the backup photographer to gain some experience.

well, I dun think it's about the money. I've gotten down to talking with her today and SHE thought i was worried that they won't pay me much hence my lack of interest in the job, Well I dunno... the amount that she decided on was about $1000, meals and transport provided, no need to print, full day coverage.(According to her, that's about the rates she was quoted for, too much? too little?:dunno: )

Honestly, I would shoot her wedding for just a token sum because she's my friend. I've tried to tell her that I'm not too sure about it, and I have also shown her my crap shots, problem is, she's seen my good shots too... so she really hopes that I will agree.

I so need better equipt to shoot her wedding if i do intend to... currently i'm just using a prosumer coolpix.... i dunno but i feel like the cam cannot make it for low light indoor shots. sianz

 

[Malakite]

Sometime it is very hard to give some tips on how to shoot a wedding to someone is totally new, unless you have shot many weddings before. Or you are only asking how to handle some particular situations.

Yeah in this case, I'm like totally clueless about a wedding shoot, the eqquipt to use for one... as i've said... only using a prosumer now.

Then there's the situations that might crop up, Seriously, for all the professionals who shoot weddings for a living, i kow-tow to you man, how to put up with all that anxiety i dunno ( and that's just PLANNING for the shoot,I haven't even tried it yet!)

All in all, i really think that it's a sweet gesture of my friends to want me there, but wahhhh this kinda stress.... i rather live without. How la?