Petekd - how did it go?

Come on Pete tell us how did the wedding go?

Guess it was either really bad or went all fine. He might be curing his hangover in both cases...

But let's assume the best, our Pete certainly has done it

My guess is that Pete did a fine job.
I bet he over did it, and is sifting trough a thousand or so images, looking for the cream of the crop. He will have a nerve racking fit trying to choose what to keep and what to throw away, and will be tweeking hundreds in photoshop....
If we don't hear from him within the week, we'll surely have to send a search party!!

He'll only keep the ones that prove Pentax lenses are better the C or N ones and discard all the ones the bride likes!

yeah well, I feel for him.
I've got 748 usable images, outa which I've got to produce a 20 page pdf to send to the book printer (need 9 hardcover books). that twenty plus ten more to the pro print lab to be printed for a leather album.
that thirty, plus excerpts from 8 hours of high def video to make a 3-5 minute highlight video for dvd and podcast. A dvd with ALL the images set to slideshow, plus all the video broken down into chapters. and a multimedia web page with all the proofs, and the highlight video burned to cd.

I'd like to have it done this week, before we shoot again next weekend.

Pete I feel your pain!

Well I'm really glad I haven't shot a wedding in a very long time!!!

I was guest at one on Saturday and which seemed to be shot by a husband and wife team. The husband who was shooting the vid was there until midnight. When I was in that area of the business I'd be gone just as soon as I'd faked the cake cutting pic - and then off to another one. Sometimes I'd shoot three on a Saturday with guys on motorbikes picking up the film along the way and getting the proofs back to the reception. Being on commission on sales of guest pictures was a excellent learning curve. BTW, Don, loved the clingfilm shot in the other thread.

Ken

Ken theres a lot to be said for your style of wedding photography. I really hate it when the photographer hangs around the entire time and there is no chance to relax. Who really wants photos/video of Aunty Betty disco dancing anyway?
For my son's wedding earlier this year the photographer was a friend, who would have attended the wedding anyway, but they told him no photos after 7pm. That way everyone got to relax and enjoy the evening. At my nephews wedding the photographer ( a local professional) was still there snapping away at 1 am. Lots of photos of drunken uncles and the like. Didn't get the point of that.

on commission? I'm not sure i get that.
but here's some business advice to all that care to heed it:
Call up a pizza place, and tell them that you are holding a party for 100-200 people. Tell them that you want them to supply enough pizzas for everybody. Tell them that you don't know who wants what or how much of any. Tell them to deliver the pizzas and after the party you'll only pay for anything that got eaten. They can keep the rest.

see what they tell ya.

then ask yourself why so many photographers offer wedding photos on those terms....

I bill for the service. It costs you to have me show up. I have one package that covers nearly everything 90% of the couples could want, and for the other 10% they can custom order anything else on top of the original package...a la cart.

no used car sales tacktics, no high priced show package, and settle for the mid range package sales tacktics.

we have a gift certificate program and gift registry program to allow friends and family to "Help out" the couple.
keep it simple and honest, unbeatable value....and no we're not cheap.

[quote="Don"]on commission? I'm not sure i get that.quote]

It worked quite well, like this: Bride ordered a package which included a set number of pics and album, priced according to number, size and album quality. You could then make as much money again with sales at the reception. You photograph every couple and family arriving doing the kids separately as well if you've time (singletons are a waste of film).
Guest: 'Ah dont want mah photie taken son'
Me, telling fib: 'The bride has asked me to take everyone's picture'

You then get the guest and wedding films processed, 5x7 prints of the guest and traditional bridal pics and back to the reception to sell them after the meal. Hence the speedy getaway. Who could resist a professionaly taken portrait in their sunday best after a few drinks? So we were on 10% of the reception sales on top of our wages.

I saw my neighbour with a bundle of tapes of his daughter's wedding, I thought they were the rushes but no, the cut version was seven hours!

It was a Sikh wedding and they last about two weeks, even he remarked that in Hollywood a person's entire life can be cut down to two hours.

I like the three to five minute highlight presentation....the "I Do"'s, some slides, clip of the first dance, set to music. Let the Bride and Groom go over the albums, all the raw video footage and slides when they want to, but make the stuff they share, easy to watch for everybody else! Makes us look especially good to thier friends and family....

It may have not gone too well, got clobbered by the bride and has had to run away to Tibet to escape certain death. He has no way of getting in touch and is trying to sell the secrets of fish and chips to the Chinese governemnt so they can sell it to us with mind altering drugs and make us all zombies to eat the Americans and then die in Russia....


I'll get my coat...

I reckon he's trying to build the suspense
or he's immersed in learning SPS3
or it rained and ruined his lenses
or he got zapped by 30000V from a wet AF360 and is lying in intensive care with 90% of his skin falling off

Still hope it went well and we see some great shots, can't beat the look of a woman in white

I was going to say something a little closer to your last comment, but thought it best not to.

Anyone actually know what voltage actually builds up in the capacitors of a flash?

I'm not real good with numbers....but I do know this....
remove the flashtube, install two copper nails to the electrical leads where the tube once was.....voila...homemade stun gun...(.do not try this at home...don't sue me if you do.....).