To wed or not to wed????

[MARINERMAGNUM]

Well it finally happened...someone asked me to shoot their wedding.

It's a person I've done some family portraits for and they are really pestering me to commit to it.

I recently got a pair of Calumet 750's with stands and pocket wizards which I shot the portraits with although this stuff is probably useless in a church.

I don't really like the idea of being "Mr. personality" for the day-but the money is good..real good. The only idea I can come up with is bringing my wife along as my assistant to fluff up everybody and smile alot while telling them where to stand,etc. She's good at that-I'm not. I'd end up grabbing someone by their collar and "putting" them in place. It's in a very well lit newer church. I stopped by the other day and could pull 1/320th at ISO 400 with the mark III and the 50D.

One of their relatives is a techno geek in Chicago,which is the best part:no processing. They buy me three 8 gig cards,I shoot in raw+Ljpeg,when I'm done I hand them the cards-that's it. Their geekoid cousin will take it from there.

So,should a person do it? Or is it like a drug? Work a few hours where it's warm and dry taking pictures and get payed well. Hmmmm...I'm not finding too many negatives,but I'd like some advise. I know Steve does this alot.

[MN Shutterbug]

Well, you have the equipment and the skill. I say, go for it. You might even enjoy it. It certainly isn't my cup of tea, but I don't generally like working with people. And if your wife is willing to act as assistant, that's a BIG plus. When I tried weddings eons ago, I hired an assistant twice, and neither one did anything but stand and watch me. People need direction, and that's what an assistant is for.

Good luck.

[finnbay]

1/320th @ ISO 400? Wow! Usually I'm lucky to get 1/90th @ 1600! Good light helps a lot! I would think that there are two schools of thought on the "shoot the cards full and let it go" method. On the one hand, it's going to save you a TON of time. It takes many hours to go through wedding shots. On the other hand, you're letting someone else determine your final product. Even with someone who knows what they're doing, you may have an idea on how your shots are cropped, adjusted for temp, saturated etc. on how you would like your work to be presented and it could very well be different from what the expert thinks would look good. Maybe he's into architectural work and portraits would be foreign to him. Do you think you'd like to do this more often? If so, if it were me I'd like a go around at the shots and if I thought they could use some C&C or help with some aspects, get the "techno geek" involved. Just my humble two cents worth.

[mmeyer]

I'm with Ken. I wouldn't want someone else presenting my work in in final form. Just seems like trouble waiting to happen. I'd say go for the wedding but I wouldn't do it that way, but that's my opinion.

Good Luck

[MN Shutterbug]

Good points. I also wouldn't want someone else to see all the shots before I saw them. That just wouldn't seem right. Not only that, but there may be some I don't want anyone to see.

[MARINERMAGNUM]

Quote:

Even with someone who knows what they're doing, you may have an idea on how your shots are cropped, adjusted for temp, saturated etc. on how you would like your work to be presented and it could very well be different from what the expert thinks would look good.

I considered this too Ken,that's why I think I'd use the markIII and load/change out my own cards in the 2nd slot pretty sneaky huh?

That way if he ruined them,I'd still have the whole deal on my cards.

Quote:

1/320th @ ISO 400? Wow! Usually I'm lucky to get 1/90th @ 1600!

Like I said,this is a VERY new church with all kinds of lighting,including alot of natural light. From what the Pastor told me,he was informed by many photographers- who knew they'd be doing alot of work in there for years to come-,to make it a bright area for wedding pics.

Thanks for the input.

[Steve Foss]

MM, Almost all my wedding clients prefer a CD/DVD of jpegs over actual prints, so I'm usually functioning totally electronically for weddings. The potential downside to handing over the cards after the shoot is that you have to nail it all at capture and spend enough time after the fact chimping away the rejects so the cards have only the keepers with excellent exposure, poses and all on them. Even when it's nailed at capture, it takes a little PP to put the best face on your art.

I know you prize the photographer's ability to get it all right at capture and minimize post-processing. But this will add another element of pressure, and since you acknowledged a certain amount of impatience when posing/working with people, it's something to consider.

While the money is great for you, the equal (I'd actually say greater) consideration has to be whether the experience will be one you're suited for and whether the images will reflect the joy and love of the day. If not, everyone will be the loser. If so, you and the couple will all be happy.

Has your mate been your assistant before? If so, do you work well together? If she has not acted as your assistant, that's another potential area that might need some working out.

There are many, many excellent photographers who don't do weddings because they don't function in a relaxed and easy way under pressure and around all those people. It is, after all, the only day you'll have to get those images that will last the rest of their lives. And there are those photographers who thrive at the festive and fun environment of weddings. The best wedding photographers actively remove stress from the couple's wedding day instead of adding to it.

I certainly don't know you well enough to advise you one way or another. Talking online doesn't mean we know each other at all. I'd just recommend thinking these issues through before making a decision. At root, it's the needs of the wedding couple that must take precedence over your own desires. Nor do I mean this all to sound discouraging. Quite the contrary. Wedding photography is tremendously rewarding. The more you consider it beforehand, the more sound the decision will be, whichever decision you make.

Good luck, and if you go with it, have fun with it!

[MARINERMAGNUM]

Quote:

Has your mate been your assistant before? If so, do you work well together?

Sorry it took so long to reply,my wife and I were arguing and slapping each other.

Kidding!

We're pretty good together-I taught her how to drive a stick shift and we're still together.

I'll see how she feels and let her decide the whole deal-she's better at making those kind of decisions.