Wedding & Transport

[dawgbyte77]

A typical chinese wedding starts with one or more of the following : (a) bride's house tea ceremony, (b) location shoot, (c) church, (d) groom's house tea ceremony, (5) banquet, (6) etc... And at the end of the day, I feel like I just joined the Amazing Race.

With this in mind, is having a car important for wedding photographer? Is it a deciding factor for couples? Anyone here was not selected by the couple because he does not have a car? Does this (hopping from 1 place to another) also occur in other countries? Would like to hear experience from photogs with no car how you guys cope up.

 

[Zplus]

Normally.....
You go to (a) to get the "before" and "after" shots and also the jie mei sabo session, the etc etc shots.... then you follow the jie mei car.... to the rest of the destinations. If you dont have a car.

 

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

hmm if i'm paid like 10k per actual day shoot, i'll rent a merc...

there is pro & cons for driving, when you drive, make sure you know where they are heading, and get paid more to cover the driving and fuel cost... and tell them to wait til you arrive, park then do the rest of the things... cos unless you hire a chauffer, otherwise, sure miss out a few shots along the way.

 

[catchlights]

A typical chinese wedding starts with one or more of the following : (a) bride's house tea ceremony, (b) location shoot, (c) church, (d) groom's house tea ceremony, (5) banquet, (6) etc... And at the end of the day, I feel like I just joined the Amazing Race.

With this in mind, is having a car important for wedding photographer? Is it a deciding factor for couples? Anyone here was not selected by the couple because he does not have a car? Does this (hopping from 1 place to another) also occur in other countries? Would like to hear experience from photogs with no car how you guys cope up.

The sequence is unusual, is this what they tell you they gonne do?

Btw, you don’t need use your own car in between.

 

[espn]

I never use a car between shoots. If you take a detour and/or they take a different route suddenly, you lose your couple and the timing. Same goes brother/sister car, I ever kena before the brother/sisters lost their way. Fortunately, I'm in the main bridal car.

I always insist on tagging in the main bridal car.

For the first trip to and last trip fro, I rather take taxi. I'm already shagged, where got energy to drive? :bsmilie:

 

[melnjes]

Hey DB,

My preference is to go with the couple or their brothers/sisters/relatives accompanying them.

Reason: if you drive your own car, you need to park and may end up wasting time trying to find a car park lot, etc, and may miss the part where they get out of the car. Worse still, you get separated from them while in a traffic jam. Or your car breaks down!

If the couple prefers you to drive your own car, you can probably explain the disadvantages to them and bring them around to this alternative

Hope this helps!

 

[dawgbyte77]

The sequence is unusual, is this what they tell you they gonne do?

Btw, you don’t need use your own car in between.

Its not the normal sequence, just an example. From my experiences:

Couple A:
(a) Bride's house - Jurong (skipped Groom's house since he lives in JB)
(b) Church - Katong
(c) Hotel before Banquet - Tanjong Pagar
(d) Banquet - Tanjong Pagar (half dozen blocks from Hotel)

Couple B:
(a) Bride's house - Tampines
(b) New house of couple - Punggol
(c) Groom house - Woodlands
(d) Bride's house again - Tampines

* this is excluding outdoor shoots

 

[dawgbyte77]

Thanks for the response. Good to know the practical reasons for not driving your own car.

 

[Astin]

I just wonder, do they feed the photographer along the way or ???

 

[catchlights]

I just wonder, do they feed the photographer along the way or ???

not along the way, but you may have some brakes for light meal.

 

[dawgbyte77]

I just wonder, do they feed the photographer along the way or ???

Normally I don't eat or drink too much (except bottled water) unless its night banquet then I can be less cautious. I don't want to take the chance of eating/drinking something that doesn't agree with my stomach (gonna have blurry photos if that happens).

 

[catchlights]

Its not the normal sequence, just an example. From my experiences:

Couple A:.............................

................
* this is excluding outdoor shoots

Ok, just for one look only I find it is very unusual, so I ask you.

let the couple provide you transports.

 

[espn]

They do, but try not to eat till it's towards the end, else you might end up missing shots because you run to the toilet :bsmilie:

 

[dawgbyte77]

Ok, just for one look only I find it is very unusual, so I ask you.

let the couple provide you transports.

Hehe.. just an example but I agree the couple B is a bit extreme since all that travelling just the morning period. I agree now that its impractical to drive and get lost on a tight schedule.

 

[Astin]

They do, but try not to eat till it's towards the end, else you might end up missing shots because you run to the toilet :bsmilie:

:think: How come I know some wedding photographers who are a bit sweat: ) over-weight?

 

[zeiss planar]

Usually tag along with the bride's car .
I'll take taxi before and after the shots too .
I'll also 'eat/drink-all-I -can' while given the opportunity.....the last thing you want is to go shooting with a empty stomach:lovegrin:

 

[espn]

:think: How come I know some wedding photographers who are a bit sweat: ) over-weight?

You saying jOhO ? :bigeyes:


*espn runs from jOhO

:bsmilie:

 

[nikonsiao]

You saying jOhO ? :bigeyes:


*espn runs from jOhO

:bsmilie:

alan saying you lah.....:bsmilie:

 

[espn]

alan saying you lah.....:bsmilie:

No la.. Alan and me good buddies, must be saying you la :bsmilie:

 

[nikonsiao]

You saying jOhO ? :bigeyes:


*espn runs from jOhO

:bsmilie:

BTW, ESPN normally hires an assistant to carry his bag which contains potato chips, soft drinks, snacks to last him during the shoot.....:thumbsup:

i offered to help him before but he afraid i would finish his snacks before him...