Indoor wedding help PLEASE!!!

[wmdjameson]

Greetings all... I am having a bit of anxiety about an upcoming shoot and really could use some advice PLEASE!!

I am a nature/wildlife photographer but have some experience with outdoor-daytime weddings, and have been requested to do an indoor-nighttime wedding for which I have ZERO experience. So needless to say I am a little nervous...nah, I'm plain scared!!!

I am pretty sure my questions have been answered somewhere else on the group, but haven't been very successful in locating them. So, please forgive my ignorance.

I am shooting with a 5dmkii and a 500d with a 70-300 IS, a 50mm, and a 28mm wide with only a single speedlite 430ex ii. There won't be a lot of room in this hall, and I wont be able to setup verticals or reflectors.

My biggest issue is flash control, I believe... primarily diffusion for portraits... I really can't afford to screw this up, not to mention the family would be quite disappointed with sub-standard shots of their special day.

ANY advice ya'll can offer would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks in advance,

Will

[amymnc]

Maybe you could take a friend to the location and do a "test run" of sorts before the big day. Make sure you ask if flash photography is allowed in the building. Some venues are really not too fond of it. Without the ability to use reflectors and other modifiers, a small space, limited light....just gonna have to work with what you have. Good luck! Hopefully someone knowledgeable will be able to come by and help you with more info

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by wmdjameson

Greetings all... I am having a bit of anxiety about an upcoming shoot and really could use some advice PLEASE!!

... have some experience with outdoor-daytime weddings, and have been requested to do an indoor-nighttime wedding for which I have ZERO experience. So needless to say I am a little nervous...nah, I'm plain scared!!!

I really can't afford to screw this up, not to mention the family would be quite disappointed with sub-standard shots of their special day.
ANY advice ya'll can offer would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks in advance,

Will

Honestly, I would graciously back out - which I have - I'm a child/family portrait photographer and I have been asked to do weddings several times and I've respectfully declined, simply because I have not had the experience (nor do I have the equipment).

You do mention you've shot outdoor daytime weddings, so I understand that yes, you do have some wedding experience, but indoors at night is a whole 'nother ballgame.

IF you DO mess up, even with tons of advice taken, are you prepared for a lawsuit? Are you prepared for the couple to badmouth you all over town? It's not like you can do a re-shoot if the pictures come out poorly.

I don't want to rain on your parade, but you might be a lot better off sticking with what you know for now (outdoors, good light) and find a photographer in your area that you can second shoot for to gain experience. Perhaps with this couple, they can find an experienced wedding photographer that will allow you to second shoot?

Some may say "go for it". But, this is something I'd stay far away from until I had at least 2 - 3 second shoots under my belt.

Just my two cents. I wish you luck, either way you decide. If you go for it, I'd love to see your results posted here!

Take care and happy shooting!

[amymnc]

Honestly, I wanted to say what the above poster did. If you have plans to turn your photography into a business in the future, remember that every shot people see is advertising your work. A few great photos can help you tremendously, one bad one can be detrimental. I won't touch a wedding for any amount of money, including free. It's gonna take quite a bit more experience and equipment before I'd even consider it, regardless of how many kids and landscapes I've shot.

If you decide to go for it, well, see my original post

[natek313]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

Honestly, I would graciously back out - which I have - I'm a child/family portrait photographer and I have been asked to do weddings several times and I've respectfully declined, simply because I have not had the experience (nor do I have the equipment).

You do mention you've shot outdoor daytime weddings, so I understand that yes, you do have some wedding experience, but indoors at night is a whole 'nother ballgame.

IF you DO mess up, even with tons of advice taken, are you prepared for a lawsuit? Are you prepared for the couple to badmouth you all over town? It's not like you can do a re-shoot if the pictures come out poorly.

I don't want to rain on your parade, but you might be a lot better off sticking with what you know for now (outdoors, good light) and find a photographer in your area that you can second shoot for to gain experience. Perhaps with this couple, they can find an experienced wedding photographer that will allow you to second shoot?

Some may say "go for it". But, this is something I'd stay far away from until I had at least 2 - 3 second shoots under my belt.

Just my two cents. I wish you luck, either way you decide. If you go for it, I'd love to see your results posted here!

Take care and happy shooting!

I couldn't have said it any better. It may not be what you want to hear, but I think it's for the best.

However, if you do decide to shoot the wedding, it seems like you're going to have to put your flash on-camera and bounce it - that is, of course, if you don't have a stand, bracket, umbrella, reflectors, and radio triggers. A great site for bounce flash is Planet Neil. He uses on-camera flash in e-TTL/i-TTL (he shoots both Canon and Nikon).

You can read all the information on the Internet you want, but I think the best teacher is experience. I would definitely recommend shooting weddings as a second shooter for a while before tackling it on your own.

[zona5101]

If you go for it and plan on using your 430, you're going to want to get your flash off axis using a bracket and ttl sync cord.

[joep]

I have had this offer also, and now looking at the situation from the outside, I can tell I made the right choice.
I decided that my experience was not enough to pull this off. I can see now that by my uncertainty would have made people uncomfortable........not the desireable situation.
I decided not to do this, that the pressure I would have been under, would not have made for good shots..........that only come around ONCE!!!!!!
Good luck with what you decide to do........

[private]

If you do want to go ahead and do it, by all means get a faster lens. The 70-300 is just will not let in enough light. Your pics will more than likely be underexposed and noisy. Rent the 70-200 2.8 IS (if you have $1900 laying around you should buy it) The 28mm, will not let in enough light, the 50mm will but you will be limited...

What is the ceiling height in the hall, you might be hard pressed to even bounce the light. I do not want to be harsh, but with weddings, there are no do-overs, so you have to make sure you have the right equiptment.

[peeperita]

i shot an engagement party back in november...at night....in a small venue with white vaulted ceilings....the height ranged from fifteen to thirty feet....although i used a 28-70 zoom, i primarily stayed at 28 for most of the night....i also chose to stay at f7 since it was a party with scores of portraits with multiple subjects.....this had me dialing up my speedlite for more output and bouncing off the ceiling.....i did use a diffuser with the end (the part hitting the ceiling) off....that lifted the ambient light enough for the f7 and threw a soft light on the subjects

i felt like i got very nice results, but again it was an engagement party with more candids than portraits...not a wedding with once in a lifetime moments....

peeper

[wmdjameson]

Thank you all for the suggestions.. unfortunately there just isn't any way that I can get out of this, so everyone please pray for me!

I will definitely post some of the shots.