My very first wedding... GULP!

[the.world.through.my.eyes]

Hi!
So, I was asked today to shoot a wedding in April! I am so excited but very nervous. I've never done this before, but I’ve been doing my research.

I shoot with a Canon EOS Rebel T1i with a couple different lenses. If anyone has any pointers or suggestions I would be VERY grateful to hear them I want to be as professional as possible.

But I am in a pickle. Since I’ve never done a wedding before I’m not sure what to charge, or even what a package includes. I know everyone is different. Because it’s my first wedding I don’t want to the rates to be very high, but I also don’t want to short change myself, because it does take a lot of work. Any ideas?




p.s I'm not sure if I have this in the right place, so if I am... sorry!

[PowerPix]

Congratulations K!!! Sorry I can't be of any help here. Just wanted to say congrats. That's awesome! Best of luck to you.

[FrankLamont]

Rent 2x5D Mark II's (or 1D Mark IV's).

Rent a 24-70mm f/2.8 and a 70-200mm f/2.8 IS, and if you don't mind swapping lenses and can do it under pressure (ie, quickly), then go for a 16-35mm as well.

Rent them a few times and practise in dark lighting, so you get used to the controls. Read up on some things.

Know your style, know what to do, know your limitations - the last one above all.

Aim to shoot what you want to achieve: photojournalistic/formal - a fusion - is probably the best and best-received style these days. So, formals, but generally more of a photojournalistic approach with a lot of the ceremony, reception, etc.

What do you aim to shoot? Have a look at other photographers around your area, their packages and prices. What do they offer? What are you willing to offer? A CD, prints and/or an album? The whole lot, for x amount? Do you cover by hours or by specific events (eg, ceremony, formals, reception, dance, etc - whatever applicable)?

Some posts on DPS:
Equipment. Tips. Pricing.

[CaptainNH]

Congratulations, your first wedding is always nerve wracking and exciting at the same time.

I can't help you with pricing, other than to say, research what others in your area are charging and work from there.

However, I would implore you to beg, borrow or steal a second body & lens(es). You absolutely must have a backup camera.

This is a once in a lifetime, never to be repeated event for your couple, no second chances - you need to cover yourself in case your camera stops working for any reason.

Good luck, don't forget to share the results with us!

[RexK_Cozumel]

DON'T DO IT... You have no experience shooting weddings and you want to be the primary shooter. This is not so much jumping into the water. It is more like going cliff diving off a 400 foot cliff. Yeah if you know what you are doing you will probably be all right. But if you have not jumped off a cliff before probably not the best way to start off.

That being said if you absolutely insist on this then first get really good insurance. both for your gear and to cover your butt if they sue you.
Look at what other photographers in your area are producing and what their rates are. Charge accordingly to the quality of the work you produce.

Make sure you have fast lenses 2.8 zooms are nice because you do not always have time to move and compose a shot with the fixed focal lenses. Backups for everything. and I mean EVERYTHING. Note that this does not mean that you leave the second camera outside in the car locked away. I mean you should have two cameras on you at all times. goes with out saying extra batteries for everything as well. also a ton of memory cards you will burn through them if you shoot raw (which you really should be doing.)

Cameras with good high ISO performance are nice to have. you can not count on the church allowing flash photography. Fast lenses will help out with this as well.

Get a light on a stick. ideally have some modifiers for the light on a sitck. (IE softbox w/ grid or a beautydish w/ grid, snoot, gels for light, etc.) have an assistant to carry said light on a sitck. wireless triggers.

a second shooter is always good if the bride and groom are getting ready at the same time. Note than the second shooter should also have a backup camera and lenses.

Sounding fun yet??

Ok so before the day of the event you need to scout the locations of all the places you will be shooting. Checking the lighting at those places. Write down what camera settings you will need to shoot ambient. Talk to the officiant and see if they allow flash photography. Talk to the wedding coordinator and find out the exact schedule for the big day. Try to get polaroids of all the important guests/family members before hand. put these on a ring attached to your belt. Make sure that your assistant and second shooter have a copy as well. (It will make your life a hell of a lot easier trying to round up people for formals. Also will allow you to know who is important and needs to be photographed.) Make a checklist of all the photos you want to make sure you get. Go over said list with the B&G and mother of B&G if necesary. Have the checklist on the rings with the snapshots of the family. Bring a pen or pencil to make off the shots as you get them. Your second shooter and assistant should be doing the same. I usually tell the assistant to coordinate between the primary and secondary shooter to make sure that all the shots are checked off.

Night before the event make sure that all your batteries are charged for everything. All the memory cards are formatted and ready to use. All your backups are in place and ready. Everything is cleaned and ready to go. Get plenty of sleep.

Day of the shoot. Wear something nice but comfortable. Heels are a very bad choice. Make sure you have a good breakfast because it will probably be the only real meal you will get that day. Bring lots of snacks to keep your energy up through the day and night. If you are prepared and have your shot list then the day should be busy but fun and relaxed. It is very important that your do not look stressed out. This will upset the bride for sure. Murphy's law is in full effect at weddings so even if someone breaks your camera/lens etc. it should be no problem if you are prepared.

After the day of the event you need to edit all the photos and then retouch all the final images using photoshop or some other professional level photo retouching software. This means that you do not use picassa or some other toy like that. I am not going to tell you how to retouch your images since that is a competely different topic which will take a very very long time to discuss.

As far as what to provide to the B&G well it all depends on what you work out. you can do a proof book and then albums and/or high res images on CD some people dont give proof books and instead use online proofs. some people include enlargements. Some photographers do an album for the bride and groom's parents. whatever you want to do is up to you. Just remember that you need to charge accordingly.

So with all that being said. Do you still want to do this wedding shoot? If so how much are you thinking about charging?


Hope it all helped.

[the.world.through.my.eyes]

Thank you so much for all of the great advice and suggestions. Everyone has been very helpful. I've talk to the future B&G and everything is working out great!

I suppose that diving off a 400 foot cliff would be a scary experience. Good thing I’m not afraid of heights.

[RexK_Cozumel]

Originally Posted by the.world.through.my.eyes

Thank you so much for all of the great advice and suggestions. Everyone has been very helpful. I've talk to the future B&G and everything is working out great!

I suppose that jumping off a 400 foot cliff would be a scary experience. Good thing I’m not afraid of heights.

Alright good luck and don't break a leg. That would make it very difficult to continue photographing the event.

Don't let these guys scare you...weddings are a lot of fun to shoot.

I have a T1i as well, and it's more than adequate to shoot weddings (5DMarkII would be nice, but not necessary). The lenses and flashes you use are way more important. Giving advice for something like this is pretty hard without knowing your gear, the church, or even your style of shooting.

The best advice I could probably give is bring a second shooter. I usually know 4-5 people that I can call on to help me out, usually for a couple bucks or just for fun. A second photographer can take a lot of the pressure off, and can help capture great candid moments and details while you take care of portraits. Plus, it's more fun that way!

[the.world.through.my.eyes]

I agree.... breaking a leg wouldn't be a good thing!!!

Thank you so much Photoboothguy I've already taken into consideration of having a second photographer. It's good to know that that is something important.

[olgabe]

Two camera bodies are mission critical, and it's better to rent or borrow the same camera as you currently shoot so that you don't get confused with controls (assuming you shoot in pro-modes, not on the green square .
At least 1 fast lens, 1.8 or faster prime. Must have a speedlite (can't use built in flash) on your camera. Shooting and processing RAW really helps cover up exposure mistakes.
Be prepared, don't be afraid. If you are prepared and calm, it's not rocket science.
Good luck