Wedding photos - advice request

[rcheshire (Rowland)]

My third eldest son is getting married and asked me to take wedding photos - I recommended a professional in preference.

My gear is as follows

Fuji X-Pro1 35 f1.4 and 60mm macro lenses. Canon 450D 50mm f1.4 and 200mm f2.8 - all prime lenses. The Fuji does not have a flash.

I have done some reading but experience is a great teacher and I will be very grateful of advice on which of gear to use. Should I run out and buy/rent. The real issue is of course the guy behind the camera?

Whatever you can offer... Help!

[glend (Glen)]

I shot a few weddings when I was young and would suggest that you need at least a good portait lense your wide angle should be ok for the large group shots. You will need a flash unit because it will get a workout. Its important that they tell you what they expect, for example you can't do video and stills at the same time - well. Also you won't enjoy the wedding because your 'working' and want to get it right.
Then you have the printing layout, album etc.

My best advice is to offer to pay for a professional to do a great job for them and enjoy it yourself.

[Octane (Humayun)]

I agree; this is your son's wedding. You should be there enjoying the show and not running around trying to capture it all!

I don't know anything about the Fuji camera or its lenses and what equivalence they have with regards to the DSLR, but, the 50mm would be the ideal portrait (head/shoulder) lens which is equivalent to the 85mm on a full frame. The 200mm is too long.

Unless you have access to multiple DSLRs that can take some primes and a zoom (I usually run with a 5D with the 85mm, 5D Mark II with the 24-105mm and the 5D Mark III with the 70-200mm) I'd be reaching for a 24-105mm, at the very least.

H

[acropolite (Phil)]

I agree with Glen, get someone professional to do it.

If you do go ahead, make sure you use more than one camera just in case you get a failure (e.g. Card). I once did a friends wedding using a medium format film camera and used my SLR as a backup. Somehow the photo lab botched one roll (of 2) of the medium format film , I had one perfect medium format roll to work with and another good roll from the SLR so all was OK. Make sure you have sufficient memory cards for the job and preferably an additional card in the event that one fails. Make sure that you have more than one fully charged battery as well.

Flash will be a problem for you if all you have is the internal flash on the Canon, if you're shooting in daylight the Canon flash may be quite useful for fill. Be aware that the flash from the 450D will produce harsh images with shadows if it's the primary source of light.

If you're mixing flash with indoor lighting you may get shots with a mix of colour temperatures which can be almost impossible to correct in post processing.

Make sure you shoot raw, that will give you more options post processing.

I'd be doing some practice runs preferably under the same lighting and location conditions as you will be shooting in.

If you're thinking of renting a lens the 24-70 F2.8L would probably be the best option, at F2.8 it's faster than the 24-105 and will achieve better bokeh (out of focus) effects at maximum aperture. On the subject of zooms, you really don't want to be running around and having to constantly change lenses.

[tlgerdes (Trevor)]

Likewise, you don't want to be the one to stuff it up and incur the wrath of you daughter in law

[AstralTraveller (David)]

A niece got a 'professional' to do her wedding. The woman was trying to break into photography and her inexperience was obvious. She only had a 60D and kit lens, her battery went flat as the bride was walking down the aisle and the spare battery was in the car (at least she could sprint pretty fast! ), she didn't position people properly against the backdrop in the group shots and there were problems with the shots at the reception. They were glad I took some shots so they had something, but what can you expect from a 400D and 15-85mm lens? So, if you get a 'professional' get a professional professional.

[Astroman (Andrew Wall)]

At our wedding I was lucky enough to have a few friends into weather photography, so we had them take pics (not one pro) at the reception we got a few of those disposables and put them on every table. We made arrangements with the local photolab to print them, which I think we got a discount. Even though we had some great images and everyone had a great time, including the photographers, having a professional there would have been good. At least with friends doing it, I was relaxed enough infront of the camera, I hate being at the front of them...

My advice is, get a heap of disposables at the reception, and have the Professional do the actual wedding... If you want to take pics also, just let the Pro know that you will also be having a go, I am sure they will be happy to let you move in, from time to time. Apart from that enjoy your sons wedding.

[Harb]

My advise would be don't do it......

This is a one time event.......we hope lol......... so don't risk stuffing it up.

To shoot a wedding and end up with photo's that are life long classics is not easy, and if you stuff up, you will bear the blame.

Sit back, be part of the wedding party and let the professionals do what they do best......less risk for you, and you wont feel bad if the bride doesn't like what you shoot.

[sheeny (Al)]

I got to agree with what's been said so far - get a professional to do it, so you can enjoy. (Then by all means take your camera and as many photos as you want).

If you are going to do it, get a GOOD flash, don't use the in camera flash. Get something with a decent guide number, say 50 or even 35 would do at a push, and use bounce flash where possible rather than direct flash. If you have a reflector adapter for the bounce flash even better - it'll give a little twinkle in the eyes but with the soft light of the bounce.

Use multiple cameras/cards if you can, or at least have them at hand if your main one dies. Borrow a spare flash if you don't have one. Murphy's Law says occasions like this destroy camera gear!

Make sure everything is charged, and have chargers with you - you may be able to charge batteries you used in the church during the start of the reception, and so on. It can get a bit testing when the batteries start taking time to charge the flash!

If you have more gear ready and available to you than you think you could possibly need, you might be OK.

Oh, yeah... sense of humour needs to be in tip top shape. If you let on that you've got some little niggly problem with the gear, it'll be reflected in the faces of everyone in the photos! You have to make everyone feel good (no pressure, no pressure... that's just the way it is).

Enjoy.

Al.

[bloodhound31]

I've been a pro wedding photographer for three years and been a guest at three in the same period. If it's family, get a pro to do it. Shooting a wedding is a MONSTER day. Sit back and enjoy it.

Baz.

[rcheshire (Rowland)]

Thank you guys. Yes, I much prefer not to for all the reasons cited and then only as a last resort. It turns out that my son and his fiance had engaged a semi-pro who pulled out last minute. Time is getting short.

We like the disposable camera idea very much and plan on having one per table.

I'm taking the 450D because it has a flash and will use the 50mm f1.8 lens with it for opportune moments. Another family member who does pretty well in various comps is going to pitch in as well.

I'll make sure there are spare batteries and cards at hand.

If we cant engage a pro short term that's the plan.

[Octane (Humayun)]

When's the wedding?

H

[rcheshire (Rowland)]

H. Today.

It's interesting how these things unfold. I think my son was a little apprehensive about the semi-pro and decided that he needed back-up - last minute - his concerns seem validated. He and his fiance arranged the occasion quite independently, which is their wish - Dads come in handy, sometimes They are both practical people and a very independent couple, without too many expectations, which is comforting - but has its pitfalls. I do my best not to interfere - information is strictly need to know - a bit more forewarning would have been helpful

We'll sort it out. Amazing what eventuates if we keep a cool head. I'm taking away all the hints and suggestions here and pulling a veritable rabbit out of a hat. It's going to be a warm sunny day with photography in the municipal gardens after the ceremony. A beautiful setting. I'm more concerned than they are... Oh well, it's their day.

[nebulosity. (Jo)]

Have fun Rowland

I'm sure you'll do a great job and hope the wedding is awesome

Cheers
Jo

[rcheshire (Rowland)]

Thanks Jo.

Just getting some basic camera settings together.

[Octane (Humayun)]

All the best!

Try not to shoot them in the sun. Horrible black shadows under the eyes will ensue. Shoot in shade or near where you have walls that will reflect light back into their faces. And, as a last resort, use flash... only if you can't find shade or a reflector. There's nothing worse than obvious flash fill.

H

[gregbradley]

Xpro 1 will potentially give the much nicer photos than the 450D. The 35mm F1.4 is a gem of a lens but a little narrow. That makes it 53mm in 35mm equivalent size.

With my XE1 I shoot this way. I set camera to shutter priority ode (S mode - check the manual) and shutter speed high - like 1/500th to 1/1000th outdoors sunny. Then I set the aperture to suit the depth of field I want - ie. how much in the image is going to be in focus - shallow are or a large amount? Stopping down reduces the depth of field and opening up makes it shallower. Then I set ISO to auto and let the camera pick it.

Indoors I use 1/250th to 1/320th of a sec and same as above. Works very well and most of my shots are dead sharp. With the 18-55 zoom its F2.8 and has optical stabilisation so you could go lower in shutter speed but I would be careful there. ISO 3200 is clean on XPro 1. ISO 6400 will start to be a tad noisy but useable. That zoom is better than most primes from other brands.

So ideally I would use that Fuji 18-55mm F2.8 zoom with image stabilisation. That is 27mm to 83mm. I found with 95% of my images that was the range I needed.

There is now a 23mm F1.4 prime which would be good for the wider group shots and general shooting but it may be a bit wide for the protrait type shots you will be doing. You don't want to be changing lenses all night either or fumbling around.

One that is about to hit the shelves is the 56mm F1.2. This is a dream portrait lens with amazing smooth background blur. As you probably know Fuji makes incredible lenses only 2nd to Zeiss (and not always).

Indoors at the dinner you will want to crank up the ISO to retain decent shots. Make sure the exposure preview is on so WYSIWYG in the electronic viewfinder. This is an awesome feature because you see what you the picture is going to look like before you even click the shutter and can adjust it.

I would also suggest you start practising on the type of shot you will be doing on the day so you are not fumbling with settings. That's why I like the settings above - no fumble and one or two dials shifted and bang you are ready to go.

XPro 1 autofocus will not be good for moving objects so it will be hard to capture a running child for example if they are coming towards or away from you. Make sure AF is on AFC and try to catch a vertical contrast line in the image for focusing - it'll be faster that way. Make sure you have the latest firmware for the XPro1 as Fuji has released at least 2 which improved autofocus each time.

For video you would be better of with your 450D or a Sony RX100 11. That's an awesome little video machine. Or a Panasonic GH 3 I think the model is. Often quoted as the hot video mirrorless camera.

I am very familiar with Fuji cameras so feel free to PM me for any other advice.

Oh shoot in RAW.

One thing you can do is make some presets for different types of shots with optimal settings for the camera. Generally speaking with the Xseries cameras turn down sharpening as they are already very sharp and it'll only accentuate noise.

Set a few for black and white to create some nice effects. Its amazing how classy a nice B and W portait can look. I also suggest you start looking over Pro Photographers wedding photo sites. You will get an idea of the commonly used compositions that go down well. For example a nice shot of the rings early in the day and the dress hanging off a door or a nice backdrop. Set up a location where you can photograph everyone before and after the wedding.

Turn off the beep in the camera for during the ceremony. Make sure you have several fully charged batteries and a few fast and large SD cards like 95mb/sec type.

I'd look into what flash you can get. Fuji aren't big on flash so maybe deck out your 450D to do the flash work, but as H says bright face flash isn't a good look. The XE1 has a good fill flashing which is quite subtle and works well without overexposing and showing every little skin flaw.

Finally there are several film simulation modes in the camera. Some work better for portraits. I would not use Velvia - that's more for landscapes and is the equivalent to Vivid in a Nikon or a Canon. Something more neutral like Provia.

Remember its somewhat of an emotional day and your job is to record that emotion so compositions and poses that evoke emotion rather than a boring straight pose for the camera. You want to capture that feeling and love. That's your job. Make sure the camera is level. I would turn on the level tool so you can see you are level and if it has a rule of thirds grid I'd turn that on to (I forget now if Fuji has that or that may be Sony).

Compose for the subject to be at the intersecting lines of the thirds vertical and horizontal. Keep lines flowing towards the subject from bottom left to upper right where you can. You want lines to direct attention towards the subject. Beautiful blurred background and sharp focus on the eyes is a god effect. Make sure the eyes are in focus.

I don't photograph weddings but I do know the X cameras. I took a few snaps at my son's wedding and it all went out the door at the
ceremony using a camera as a video as I was sitting and not a good direct view. So get in position early, it not like you can reshoot it.

Greg.

[rcheshire (Rowland)]

It's nice to see such an obviously happy couple - a great match. It all went quite well with the odd hiccup here and there.

Photography wise? Well... some good and some... wont make the light table. Fortunately, I wasn't the only person with a camera in an eclectic mix, with at least one award winning amateur photographer - the disposables were a hit at the reception - one or two might have found there way into the hands of two year olds - grandkids.

What did I learn from this? A deeper appreciation of the skill, knowledge and experience required of wedding photographers. It is demanding. The heat didn't help and wore folks down.

Thanks again for the wisdom and advice, which experience confirms. And thanks Greg, for the run down on Fuji settings. I ended up using the Canon because the X-Pro1 focus speed of the prime lenses is too slow - perhaps I need some teaching in this - is it any better with the newer telephotos? Image wise the Fuji is very good and I love using it where I have time to think, but I would have missed the in-the-moment shots.