Wedding Photography - Eeeek!

Hey folks,

I am shooting a friends wedding in Feb next year, its quite a low key registry office wedding with a reception at a country hotel.

My current equipment consists of K5IIs and K3II (with grip), AF360 Flash. I am thinking about using a Pentax DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 on the K3II as my primary and Pentax 50mm F1.8 on the K5IIs.

I am also thinking about getting a rapid black double strap.

I have previously do some low key event and band photograph (low light)

I am after any advice (apart from don't do it :roll, equipment etc.

make sure you take the photos that the happy couple and their parents want, then relax and get all those candids

I've done a handful of weddings for friends gratis over the last couple of years with my old, now passed back to my Dad, K20. I used the same 50mm you list above and would've preferred something longer, although you cover it with the 18-135. Best advice I can give? Don't be afraid to be bossy. The couple will want your photo's ahead of anyone elses and if that means upsetting Uncle Bob by telling him to move out of the way then so be it.

I've only shot one at a registrary office and light can be an issue, if you don't know it already make sure you get there early so you can have a look about for suitable areas inside and out to shoot.

Other than that, keep shooting, have plenty of batteries and enjoy yourself. Good luck with it, hope to see some good 'uns on PU after the event.

Hi, I did a wedding for free recently (our son best man) with two cameras (my and my sons K3's) One battery per camera did all day. I had two spares Do synch the clocks. I agree on looking at straps as i got in a right royal tangle.

I used the 18 - 135mm on one which is excellent save for very low light when it is not large enough aperture. I used my 12 - 24 DA on the other for large groups and my 300 F4 star for candid of speeches. Took around 900 pics, many duplicates to cover blinking and gurneying of guests

I used a Sigma flashgun with bounce in evening only. Just got away with available light at 1/60th second for ceremony so would have used bounce flash in day if I had to. Do talk to registrar first though!

A long day, hard work but much appreciated afterwards by bride and groom. We did an Abelli abum of about 200 pics which they love.

You need to scope the venue out ideally a month, a week and then the night before to check out the light. Can you get away with available light or will you need flash? What time is the light good and when does it start to get dark. Are the ceilings too high to use for bounced flash for when its too dark, or is it coloured? If so and bounced flash is out will you need a radio trigger and a light modifier such as lighting stand softbox for the flash? Where will the photos be taken, is there a nice area you can use?

Also, do they want posed images, the standard cliche shots, or some reportage and candid? Most people like a mix of both so best to ask. I can send you a printoutable checklist of poses if you like, score out the ones you don't need and the poses you do need, just add names so on the day you have the names needed to shout out and can gather the right guests quickly and effectively.

Camera on rear button auto focus, image instant playback turned off, camera AF beep turned off, Av mode with front jog wheel controlling ISO and drive set to continuous so I can snap a few images off of the same shot as there'll always be someone with their eyes closed, not smiling etc,

I'm half asleep so I hope this all makes sense! Long day and kids up last night means I'm ZZzzz just trying to type this!

How in the name of h**l did we manage with medium format ( 15 shots per roll ) ????? and light meters?????

1) Have your flash on camera at all times. You may need it. Indoors or out.

2) Have a decent defuser on your flash to soften the light.

3) Don't forget the cake on its own as well as the cutting of it.

4) The signing of the register. Live or staged? Ask the registrar what you can do?

5) If possible get the bride at home with a few shots "On the stairs". "By the window" and shots of her Garter, Shoes etc. With any pets. They love stupid things like that.

OH happy days.

CHEERS Vic.

And not just medium format Vic, 36 shots per roll on an SLR, how did we ever manage to cope with changing film every few minutes? But I don't think we did...we just didn't take so many shots. Apart from the practicalities the expense had to be considered.
David

I remember reading in magazines about the motor-drives available for Pro sports/news models like the EOS1, that could rattle off at around 9fps ... Clearly there was money to burn somewhere ....

So how many rolls of 36 was the recommendation you needed to shoot a wedding ?

I'm an amateur and would never want to do modern weddings other than for close friends.

I think wedding days themselves, and their demanding nature to record, have changed enormously with increased affluence that many of us did not enjoy.

An added change is the casual side of the wedding day into the evening. The guests in general have very few actual cameras to take decent photos and are often pretty poor operators of their pocket computers/communication devices. I thought I was done for the day but kept getting requests throughout. I too recall two rolls of 36 in your pocket days.

Thank you all for you comments. I am planning on visiting the venue next month and I told I have a room booked at the venue night before.

To re-iterate:
Sync your camera clocks, then always view by capture time. I go one further and after copying the photos to my computer (but before touching them), I run a macro over the folder to add a sequential number to the front of the file names. Never, ever remove the camera filename. 0001_K3_0988.DNG
Double straps - yes!
K5iis is your friend indoors, K3 for groups.

Wedding registrars vary from the really helpful to the self centred you can't do anything, our local registry office are marvelous, usually only rule is not to take photos of the registrar and no photos of the actual real signing and this happens a lot so they usually have a dummy book at hand. Usually not allowed flash in the registry office.

Ask the couple for a shoot list and order it so there is the least amount of movement of people so I always do the couples with parents, move the grooms parents out for the couple and bride parents then bring them back in and let the bride parents walk out of shot, also give the shoot list to the best man chief brides maid to help rustle people up, your couple will love you for this.

I also always start with the group shot first do those not on the shoot list can go get drunk, so again stick the shoot list up in a visible area

Not going to get into gear or settings just try and be a people person and don't be afraid to get bossy if needed, if there's an uncle bob, speak to him tell him you've been paid to do a job and if he wants some shots tell him to keep his camera down and you will invite him to take some shots when you have finished otherwise they will ruin all your shots if he stands alongside you guests will be looking all over the place.

Enjoy it the day goes fast

I did a wedding once. (my No2 son). The first shots in the chapel and the steps of the reception centre where not bad, but later inside the got more and more blurred. So did I.
Lucky the had a professional booked too.

Regards, Horst

Again, thank you all for your advice.

I have done a little bit of event and band photography, the first being for a friends party, where I only had my K-M and a Sigma EF610 Flash. The K-M was crap at low light and the Sigma flash was slow to recharge. I recently got the Pentax AF360FGZ II and it feels and performs so much better, plus the K5IIs and the K3II are brilliant at in low light.

I am looking for to it