Re-marriage wedding photography

[Gran]

I am a novice DSLR photography hobbiest. I got my first DSLR camer in August 2010 and my first zoom lens for Christmas. Though fairly new at it, I get lots of compliments on my pictures. However I'm learning on my own pretty much by trial and error. My sister is getting married in April and has asked me to shoot her wedding. It's a 3rd wedding for both her and the groom. I'm looking for sites where I can find examples of nice shots to take at such a wedding since the couple is older and the event more sedate. I need all the help I can get to do a good job for them.

[candleman]

welcome to the forum, there's lots of good info here so feel free to search for specific info.
gear, photographic technique, etc etc ..there is much to be said about wedding photography.

So, a good place to start is your skill level.
how are you shooting, do you use flash and are you comfortable with vastly changing lighting situations?
Do you use Auto, manual, ....auto WB or do you know how to change your WB manually?

You need you to know a Wedding is very different to a family picnic, and because it's the third one, doesn't mean its any less special... so only the best should do.
Well done for trying to learn as much as possible.. but it may be in your best interests to hire a professional.

again... Welcome to the forum...

[Algernonep]

Weddings are the most difficult to do... I would say hire someone to do it unless your sister doesn't mind. With that said, you have to get a wedding under your belt if you are going to be getting serious about photography. Did I already say that weddings are hard to do? If you only started out in August I would say that it's going to be harder than you think.

[Gran]

Thanks for the honest advice! I am nervous about doing it because I'd only have 1 chance to get it right. I'll talk to my sister and see if she wants to hire it out or go ahead and take a chance on me.

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by Gran

Thanks for the honest advice! I am nervous about doing it because I'd only have 1 chance to get it right. I'll talk to my sister and see if she wants to hire it out or go ahead and take a chance on me.

Keep in mind that she may not want to hurt your feelings and might say she's confident you'll do fine...but if the photos don't come out like she imagined and she's disappointed, it could quite realistically cause a rift between the two of you. I really think you'd be better off just telling her you don't have the skill, experience or equipment to do it and you wouldn't want to disappoint her with photos that she quite possibly won't be happy with.

Perhaps you can help her find a professional photographer that will let you second shoot/assist?

Just my $.02.

[Gran]

Good thoughts. Thanks for taking the time to post to my thread.