Wedding photography trouble. Can you give me advice?

J

JBAX

New member
I am an intermediate level photographer with non-pro equipment (ie no decent flashguns, entry level DSLR). I have been asked to shoot an afternoon wedding. I am quite proficient with my equipment but i am petrified of camera shake especially seeing as i am going to have to shoot pretty freely (no tripod). I need tips for this, and i also wanted to figure out wherei need to be at different times through-out the actual ceremony. Like "try and be here, for this kind of shot" type answers. Any other wedding photo tips would be much appreciated.

Thanks
 
Unless you are trying to move in that direction and need the experience, you should NOT do it. This is a once in a life time event for the bride, and there are no second chance. And if the bride is a friend, that friendship could end badly. Or worse, you continue to be friends but have to face her all the time.

If you decide to do it here's an PDF you should read.

http://www.aljacobs.com/NEW%20WEDDING.pdf


Good luck...
 
If you are worried about camera shake here are a few things that might help.

Some lenses, specifically Nikon since I'm a Nikon guy, have a vibration reduction feature in them that is extremely useful for shaky/fidgety hands such as mine.

Any flat surface you can find of course can be used. Resting the elbow that is controlling the lens on yourself is another way to keep stable. Also, a fast shutter speed will help as well, if you are working in low light solutions you could still manage to pull off some fast shutter speeds if you turn up the ISO a bit but that will get you some grainy pictures so remember that! Of course, if you are shooting in the dark having a flash is very helpful as you will not need to turn up the ISO as much so your pictures will not be grainy and you can still keep your high shutter speeds.

I hope this has helped some what.

-Don
 
The best advice I can offer is to "Just say NO." You really aren't ready to shoot a wedding and you know that as well as I do. Tell the couple you're flattered but that you simply don't have the experience and equipment to do an acceptable job.

Their wedding day is the most important day in a couple's life up to the birth of their first child. Its no place for a wannabe amateur.

Just say no.
 
The best advice I can offer is to "Just say NO." You really aren't ready to shoot a wedding and you know that as well as I do. Tell the couple you're flattered but that you simply don't have the experience and equipment to do an acceptable job.

Their wedding day is the most important day in a couple's life up to the birth of their first child. Its no place for a wannabe amateur.

Just say no.
 
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