Acting like a pro check-list

[bbtom10]

I'm doing a wedding shoot in a month for my sister, this is well prepared for, practised and is the only way she will get some nice pictures from her wedding which is going to be in Cyprus.

I am not asking for people to tell me not to bother, of that we should throw down £1000 on a pro, cause that isn't going to happen!

I have spent a year preparing, taking shots, reading up, using my camera, I've been on an advanced DSLR course and I've spent time with an event photographer and think I will be ok.

I'm shooting on a Nikon D5000 with a D40 backup and I am hiring the Nikkor 24-70 f2.8 lens for the duraiton of the wedding (plus some practice time) to accompany my other lenses (as below).

In order to make sure I don't make an amateurish mistake, I thought I would prepare a checklist which I could print off in credit card size and check each time I get the camera out, and each time I change setting or group of people, and would very much appreciate your thoughts on anything I should/shouldn't do or add to this....

A lot of these are just questions I should ask myself and answer depending on the situation, so the questions are part of the checklist, but feel free to elaborate with any other advice.

Your expertise and comments have been invaluable over the past year, and I thank you in advance for any further help you can give...

Photo Checklist

“Leaving the Car” / “Leaving the Bag”

- Check Memory Card (needs room for 200 RAW shots minimum)
- Check which lens

o Low Light = 50mm f1.8
o Portraits = 50mm f1.8 / 24-70mm f2.8 (hired)
o Walkaround = 18-55mm / 24-70mm f2.8 (hired)
o Candids = 70-300mm

- Ensure all caps on previous lens and clean
- Do I need Tripod? Wireless Release?
- Add SB400 Flash / Flash Trigger

o Depends on situation – on what????
o Need to carry around flash then, how to set-up? Need good batteries?

- Do I need Reflector?


“Preparing the shot”

- Check Light

o Need flash? Need reflector? Need tripod?
o Where’s the sun? Where’s the shade?

- Check Camera settings:

o Aperture Priority
o ISO
o Auto White Balance
o Set Aperture – lowest aperture (i.e. f1.8) for throwing background out of focus, f8 to f10 for reasonable DoF, f22 for extreme DoF (must use tripod)
o Check Exposure compensation is +/-0
o Check Shutter release mode (multiple or remote release)
o Check metering mode
- For bride shots / white dress, use spot and meter for face

- Find a background
- Test Shot

o Grey card?
o Check LCD for results
o Check Histogram

- Prepare Subjects (for portraits)

o Prepare subjects
- Shoulders at an angle, head pointing different direction to chest, women hands on hip, arch back, men chest out, chin up stand up straight
- Keep talking, make jokes
- Check composition in viewfinder – check all 4 corners of the shot for distractions
o Take 2 /3 pics
- Full length – compose in viewfinder for feet to head
- ¾ shot – compose from just below waist to head
- Head & Shoulders – compose from 2nd/3rd button down on a shirt to head
o Check LCD
- Blinking, smirking, re-shoot
- Occasionally zoom in and check focus

Thats about it so far, thanks for looking!

Tom

[Jim Bryant]

Good luck! Reading, preparing and actually doing the job are two different things. Anything that can go wrong will.
However, seems you are prepared.

[zona5101]

You'll never cover every contingency - best thing to do between now and then is just shoot and shoot and shoot.

If you think you are going to do any extensive work with flash you'll want something with a tilt swivel head so you can bounce. The sb400 wouldn't cut the wedding mustard.

[WooD]

Best thing in the world to do, is go to the rehearsal, and shoot it just like you would on the day of the wedding.

I've only shot a few weddings, and have shot the rehearsal on all of them. That way you know exactly what, and where everyone is going to be.

I've only shot one where they would allow any type of flash, so that's something you want to find out before hand also.

[Ambrosia76]

I am shooting my daughter's wedding on sunday for the same reasons, It is either me or nothing, and I must say you are probably a lot more prepared than I am. I am also shooting the rehearsal, unfortunately it is in a different place than the actual wedding,since we could only afford the building for the one night and can't get in to rehearse there.

[Chip]

Maybe it's just me, but memory card storage for 200 RAW shots, minimum, seems a bit light. With memory cards so cheap, I'd like to have much memory space.

Are you just shooting the wedding, or will also be shooting normal vacation photos, the "getting ready" scenes before the wedding, reception, etc?

You may end up taking more photos than you expect, a card may fail, etc. And it would be nice to take as many photos as the situation demands, and not have to worry about running out of storage.

I suggest card space for 2000 RAW photos. Maybe several 4MB cards? It's likely overkill. But it would give me peace of mind.

For the flash, I suggest always having it mounted. That way, if you ever need it, you can just quickly turn it on. Do you have one of those "tupperware" diffuser things to mount over the flash? If you do, and if you use the flash for fill as opposed to your main light source, that set up could work reasonably well.

Cyprus and the wedding sound like fun. Have fun, Tom!

[mishu01]

Originally Posted by bbtom10

o Low Light = 50mm f1.8
o Portraits = 50mm f1.8 / 24-70mm f2.8 (hired)
o Walkaround = 18-55mm / 24-70mm f2.8 (hired)
o Candids = 70-300mm

IMHO you need a simpler lens setup. I'd suggest to stick on one body one of the many zooms starting with 17 or 18 and ending with 50 or 55 at f/2.8 constant. This lens is more practical in a wedding than 24-70 for a crop sensor.

So all you need is:

17(18)-50(55) f2.8
50/1.8
70-300

About the strategy... one important thing to remember: Keep it simple! You need a simple plan in order to make sure that everything goes smooth. Avoid any technique or equipment you are not very familiar with. That is not a proper time to experiment.

Good luck!

[velvet4269]

Adding an obvious, but I've forgotten before:
* Make sure all batteries are fully charged, and at least 1 battery is already in the camera.

[jdepould]

My comments in bold.

Photo Checklist

“Leaving the Car” / “Leaving the Bag”

- Check Memory Card (needs room for 200 RAW shots minimum)
I would carry triple that, at least. Cards do (rarely) fail.

- Check which lens Consider the 17-55/2.8
o Low Light = 50mm f1.8
o Portraits = 24-70mm f2.8 (hired)
o Walkaround = 24-70mm f2.8 (hired)
o Candids = 70-300mm Consider using the 24-70, candid doesn't mean far away

- Ensure all caps on previous lens and clean
- Do I need Tripod? Wireless Release? Probably not
- Add SB400 Flash / Flash Trigger Consider SB700
o Depends on situation – on what????
o Need to carry around flash then, how to set-up? Need good batteries?
- Do I need Reflector?
Reflector would only be useful for posed portraits. Depending on ceiling height, bouncing flash off the ceiling isn't a bad way to go.


“Preparing the shot”

- Check Light
o Need flash? Need reflector? Need tripod?
o Where’s the sun? Where’s the shade?

- Check Camera settings:
o Aperture Priority
o ISO
o Auto White Balance
o Set Aperture – lowest aperture (i.e. f1.8) for throwing background out of focus, f8 to f10 for reasonable DoF, f22 for extreme DoF (must use tripod) f/22 is probably not a good idea.
o Check Exposure compensation is +/-0
o Check Shutter release mode (multiple or remote release)
o Check metering mode
- For bride shots / white dress, use spot and meter for face check histogram, ensure dress isn't blown out
- Find a background
- Test Shot
o Grey card? I wouldn't bother
o Check LCD for results
o Check Histogram

- Prepare Subjects (for portraits)
o Prepare subjects
- Shoulders at an angle, head pointing different direction to chest, women hands on hip, arch back, men chest out, chin up stand up straight
- Keep talking, make jokes
- Check composition in viewfinder – check all 4 corners of the shot for distractions
o Take 2 /3 pics
- Full length – compose in viewfinder for feet to head
- ¾ shot – compose from just below waist to head
- Head & Shoulders – compose from 2nd/3rd button down on a shirt to head
o Check LCD
- Blinking, smirking, re-shoot
- Occasionally zoom in and check focus

hope this helps, remember to breathe

[ishootRAW]

Especially since this is your first time, I would shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, you get the idea. If you do it well, you might end up with 3000 shots.

I think that this list is good. But I would actually try to memorize it. Oh and just go with it. Things will go so fast that you probably not have time to look at your list.

Also, talk to the couple, see what shots they want.