undesirable wedding venue help me please!

[jinxykitty]

i am doing some photos for a wedding next week i checked out the place where the wedding is going to be, i will put this politely i would be upset if my wedding would be there, there is a wooded area cross the street where we can get some good shots but the ceremony area and reception area are a cluttered back yard does any one have any tips to help get some good ceremony pictures?

[jinxykitty]

pic of the yard they are going to have a trellis under the shady tree

[OsmosisStudios]

Shallow depth of field. You could also ask if theyre going to be decorating things any further than that. If anything, just some nice white fabric ruffled over that chain-link fence would hide the majority of the problem

[NathanO]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Shallow depth of field. You could also ask if theyre going to be decorating things any further than that. If anything, just some nice white fabric ruffled over that chain-link fence would hide the majority of the problem

I think that one of the most difficult things with wedding photography is dealing with the venue. The weddings that are in photography books and magazines are usually tens of thousands of dollars but in reality, not many people are able to afford the luxurious wedding package (I know I couldn't). Researching the site really helps, try and figure out which direction North is, what time the ceremony is that way you'll know where the sun will help you and hurt you.

I aggree with Osmosis: Shallow depth of field will greatly help the distracting background. I just had an undesireable location and using as wide of an aperture as possible really helped. If you have a decent zoom lens, you can opt for tighter cropped shots which help as well.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

-Nathan

[mozie84]

I actually shot a wedding in a backyard that looked similar (actually, worse) than that one- a bunch of random junk, chain link fence, patchy grass- the works. Not even a white fence like the one in your picture. They did have a tent for the ceremony, which helped, but not for everything. Check out my page to see how they turned out. Honestly, I used the clone stamp frequently and expanded the trees and bushes to cover the neighbor's house and other random objects, etc. Add to that a lot of close-ups, and you'll make it!
to have and to hold

[LeeR]

I might consider creating a small venue where you could take great shots. It wouldn't take much; hang a drop cloth from the tree, put a few palms in front, maybe add a chair or bench and you would be in business. No one would know where the photos were had been taken. The increased sales to family members should more than offset your expenses.