I am so tired and wore out. i shot from 12 to 5. all the way through. with no real break yes i did eat, but still! I'm drained! I had another photographer help out so that was a huge blessing, but it doesn't make too much difference when you are still the one in charge. every one i talked to said i looked great, but i was SO stressed out! well and irritated. not the best location for a wedding, but i made it work. And i unexpextedly got paid. I said i would do it on the cheap. really cheap. Meaning i wasn't going to get paid, atleast thats what i thought. the groom was generous enough to pay. :)
My first one I did for super cheap because they were on a tight budget and I wanted the experience. And when I delivered the shots and they reviewed them I got paid double :] I love to do weddings, I think I work a lot better under pressure.
Sofia, you are on your way, Girlfriend! Your first wedding brings so much anticipation and anxiety -- and so much surprise about how much grueling hard work it is, but once you get the first one under your belt and you feel like you have a better understanding of the "lay of the land', THEN you start making people pay for the hard work you put in, and it makes it much more worth it. I don't think you ever get over the nervous anxiety that happens before every wedding -- it's what keeps you on your toes, and keeps you always alert and trying harder to make it perfect, but when you are properly compensated -- and when you end up with pictures that make your client cry and feel happy -- it makes it all worth it.
But, P.S. Unfortunately -- the aggravation about people picking wedding locations (and times of day) that make it IMPOSSIBLE to get photographer's dream wedding pictures -- sigh -- that is an age old problem that every wedding photographer has to deal with, and that never ever EVER goes away. I had a bride once excitedly tell me about how stoked she was about how beautiful of a place her ceremony was going to be in. It was at the peak of the horrible sun time of day, and she was backlit by floor to ceiling windows that curved around the entire wedding party.
I have a wedding Saturday that will be 7.5 hours outside -- in TEXAS -- starting at noon. But they are paying alot, so I'm warning them about midday light, sucking it up, and planning on being miiiighty pooped when I'm done! Can't wait to see some of your pictures. I'm sure they will be amazing. So next time, make them PAY!!!!!! ALOT! :)
Congratulations, you've got your first shoot under your belt! I have done 2 weddings under the south Florida mid-day sun. Both were long, hot days for little pay... but what an experience, though. Looking forward to seeing some shots. How many hundreds of images do you have to edit?
well i hated the venue, the wedding was at 2 pictures had to be done at 1 and i filled up a little less than 20 gb... THANKFULLY my dad bought me and 8gb before we arrived there. i dont think i would have made it... and guess what!? i have no more space on my laptop. i suppose its time to get an external hard drive. :) but boy did i learn A LOT today!!! today was one of the nicest days since last summer here in WA. the sun was nice, but SO irritating for pictures! and there wasn't too much that was actually interesting for back drops. :( my first wedding was very irritating... but good lessons learned. :) boy do i still have a ton to learn about photography!
although a question rises. what do you use for flash when you are able to use flash, especially in dark or badly lit rooms? what is your ISO and f/ at? i made many mistakes but i feel there are many good pictures that i got from today.
although a question rises. what do you use for flash when you are able to use flash, especially in dark or badly lit rooms? what is your ISO and f/ at? i made many mistakes but i feel there are many good pictures that i got from today.
You should hook up with a local professional as a second shooter if you want to gain more experience. That way you won't be hurting the industry by giving your skills away for free.
Hey Sofia,
Congrats on your first wedding!
Funny timing, I actually shot my first wedding reception this Saturday in Seattle down on Lake Union at Lake Union Crew. The couple had already gotten married while on vacation so this was just the reception for family and friends. I was only scheduled 4-7PM, but stayed on my own dime to the bride and groom\'s delight... and ended up getting some shots I think the bride and groom will be very happy I stayed for. The bride's dad even gave me a $200 tip, which was a very unexpected and pleasant surprise on top of the regular fee.
I am also fairly new to weddings, but I think I could be of some help to you if you are interested in exploring wedding photography further.
"although a question rises. what do you use for flash when you are able to use flash, especially in dark or badly lit rooms? what is your ISO and f/ at? i made many mistakes but i feel there are many good pictures that i got from today."
To answer one of your questions...
It really depends on your location and the final look you are after.
Here is what I did for my wedding reception Saturday:
I was shooting with a Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 24-70MM 2.8L
I had a Canon 430 EX II with a Gary Fong Lightsphere attached
The ceiling height was not too high so I chose to bounce my flash off the ceiling, while the Lightsphere also reflects some of the light forward to help fill the raccoon eye shadows created by bouncing the light.
I shot in manual in this case...
ISO I set at 1000 to keep some of the ambiance of the room (1000 ISO on a Canon 5D mark II the noise is pretty tolerable).
Canon 430 EX II set on ETTL
Shutter speed will vary, but around 1/60 to 1/125 depending on the focal length.
Aperture will vary also, but generally between 2.8-5.6 depending on the group size.
By shooting manual the flash will then calculate the correct amount of power needed with the other camera settings to give you a correct exposure.
Hey Sofia,
Congrats on your first wedding!
Funny timing, I actually shot my first wedding reception this Saturday in Seattle down on Lake Union at Lake Union Crew. The couple had already gotten married while on vacation so this was just the reception for family and friends. I was only scheduled 4-7PM, but stayed on my own dime to the bride and groom\'s delight... and ended up getting some shots I think the bride and groom will be very happy I stayed for. The bride's dad even gave me a $200 tip, which was a very unexpected and pleasant surprise on top of the regular fee.
I am also fairly new to weddings, but I think I could be of some help to you if you are interested in exploring wedding photography further.
"although a question rises. what do you use for flash when you are able to use flash, especially in dark or badly lit rooms? what is your ISO and f/ at? i made many mistakes but i feel there are many good pictures that i got from today."
To answer one of your questions...
It really depends on your location and the final look you are after.
Here is what I did for my wedding reception Saturday:
I was shooting with a Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 24-70MM 2.8L
I had a Canon 430 EX II with a Gary Fong Lightsphere attached
The ceiling height was not too high so I chose to bounce my flash off the ceiling, while the Lightsphere also reflects some of the light forward to help fill the raccoon eye shadows created by bouncing the light.
I shot in manual in this case...
ISO I set at 1000 to keep some of the ambiance of the room (1000 ISO on a Canon 5D mark II the noise is pretty tolerable).
Canon 430 EX II set on ETTL
Shutter speed will vary, but around 1/60 to 1/125 depending on the focal length.
Aperture will vary also, but generally between 2.8-5.6 depending on the group size.
By shooting manual the flash will then calculate the correct amount of power needed with the other camera settings to give you a correct exposure.
Holy crap! People from the past are crawling out of the woodwork! First I see heida start a thread and now you contribute to this one!
Dude where've you been?
Holy crap! People from the past are crawling out of the woodwork! First I see heida start a thread and now you contribute to this one!
Dude where've you been?
Haha :) DPC was and will always be a great learning tool for me... so I am back to learn some more! I wanted to get back into some challenges every once in a while for some fun and get back involved with the community that helped me learn so much early on.
although a question rises. what do you use for flash when you are able to use flash, especially in dark or badly lit rooms? what is your ISO and f/ at? i made many mistakes but i feel there are many good pictures that i got from today.
Try dragging the shutter.
The first thing I do is get a feel for the ambient exposure and set my camera in M to that, then set the flash to E-TTL and use the FEC to adjust the flash exposure.
