Hello All,
I agree with most posters that taking on a wedding shoot is a terrible
idea unless one has prepared for the task. I had a very hard time
finding a wedding photographer who would take me "under his wing". The
ones in my home town were not interested, as I would be competition. I
finally met a photographer who works in the California foothills, and
asked him to introduce me to the practice. Since I was going to be
working a hundred miles away (round trip), he did not see me as a threat
to his income.
His first instructions came by way of viewing several of his "better"
wedding shoots. Though he had been photographing weddings for twenty
years, he admitted that some shoots just did not go as planned. From the
photo albums, I found what shots were expected, and a selection of the
"elective" shots. From there it became a study in framing, flash, and
filters. Never underestimate the power of color correction. The light in
some churches is terrible, and controlling color shift and contrast can
be problematic. Stained glass windows are the worst offenders. If the
windows have a preponderance of blue glass, the result can look cold and
strange. A 81A or B filter will correct, and only experience can help
make the call. A bright key light, often used at evangelical churches to
illuminate the pulpit can make the scene harsh. A contrast correction
filter works well here.
I use a SB-16b on my F3 on a Stroboframe, and yes, it does help to tape
the cable to the frame. I bounce off the ceiling whenever possible, but
have a rig that works well with vaulted ceilings. I use an old Vivitar
385 flash head reversed, flashed up at a 45 degree angle into a 15"
square Vivitar reflector umbrella. the flash is powerful enough to
provide decent coverage. This rig is manual, and I have had to
experiment with exposure, or use a flash meter attachment with my
Luna-Pro SBC. When flash is not possible, I use a light Velbon tripod.
If I am not using the Stroboframe, I use a monopod. I think the monopod
is one of the best photo accessories I have encountered in my time. It
is a serious aid to hand held photography, and when I am waiting the
next sequence, it takes the camera weight off of my neck and bad back.
John and I use almost the same lenses, relying on the 24-50 and 35-135.
I flat love the 24-50, and consider it my "normal" lens. I also use the
70-210 f4 for the chapel service, but add a modified pre-AI 105mm f2.8
for head shots of the bride. I seldom shoot this lens without a soft
filter, but occasionally, I find a bride who is up to that clean old
lens, and it dazzles. I bought it for $40US, spent another $40 having it
machined by Henry Paine, and would not part with it. I received the last
of that group of old "prime" lenses today, a 200mm f4 that will go to
Henry next week.
Aside from all of that, I shoot a lot of film. Film and developing is
the smallest investment in such a shoot.
There is one more item, and that has do do with satisfaction. I don't
shoot for people who want to magnify stress. People who are normally
"laid back" are bad enough on the wedding day. Relaxed people often
become like small nervous dogs on their wedding day, and people who
carry a daily dose of stress become monsters. I don't work for monsters.
Remember, this, along with births and deaths, is often the most
important moment in the customer's life. I do my best to do it right,
and if I don't think I can do so, I send them to a full time wedding
photographer.
I also have a policy about customer satisfaction. Understanding the
importance of the event, I will do anything necessary to please the
customer. And I have a basic rule that if the customer is not satisfied,
after all I can do, I charge them the price of the film, processing, and
other minimal expenses, and call it a day. I am not talking about a
disagreement over one or two shots, or cropping and enlarging. Heck, I
have even re-shot bride photos after the fact, because of problems with
lighting or makeup. I go a long, long way to please. If the problem is
intractable, and I have done all I can do, I recover expenses and take
the loss. This has happened once in 37 weddings, done over 20 years, and
I am comfortable that the problem was personalities, not my photography.
Adios,
Bill Hilburn Jr.
"John N. Wall" wrote:
>
> We may get our knuckles rapped for straying from gear to technique, but
> after all we ARE talking about using Nikon gear.
>
> The last wedding I shot (using my F4), I used -- at the recommendation
> of the local pro shop) NPS 160. Think finally I shot about 8 rolls.
>
> I used my old 70-210 f4 to shoot the actual wedding ceremony. I knew I
> couldn't use flash during the ceremony so I set up my tripod and shot
> the ceremony through a clear glass window beside the door to the
> sanctuary. Got some good shots there.
>
> I also shot the bride's procession as it formed in the narthex. Used my
> 24-50 and 35-135 Nikkors with my SB 25 flash, using a Lumiquest Pocket
> Bouncer (because the ceiling was very high). Later, I used the SB 25
> with the head tilted and the bounce card extended when I shot the
> reception, because the hall had a relatively low ceiling.
>
> I used a lot of flash and had to change batteries one time (thank
> goodness I thought ahead and had with me extra batteries for both the
> camera and the flash).
>
> The biggest disappointment I had with gear was a Stroboframe flip flash
> thing that is of course intended to let me mount the flash high to avoid
> red eye and also to flip the camera/flash rig when I went to vertical
> format to keep the flash in the same position relative to the camera
> body.
>
> This requires the SC 17 cord as well. The SC 17 cord is expensive but a
> good investment.
>
> The flip flash was a big waste of money. The rig that was supposed to
> attach the SB 25 to the flip flash would not stay straight -- the weight
> of the SB 25 caused it to twist in the socket. Apparently there is an
> even more expensive version of this thing that resolves this problem but
> I couldn't find it.
>
> Also the SC 17 cord kept getting tangled in the flip mechanism. I
> watched a pro shooter use another Stroboframe model since shooting the
> wedding and was interested to see that he had the flash cord taped to
> the flipflash in strategic places.
>
> The alternative is to hold the body with the SC 17 attached with the
> right hand and hold the SB 25 with the other hand, positioning it when
> and where you need to. The drawback to this is that the weight of the F4
> with a lens gets a bit much for one hand after a while.
>
> A good working flipflash unit would be a good idea; I just haven't found
> it yet.
>
> I made the natural light shots on manual, setting exposure to suit the
> situation. For the flash shots I just put the camera on matrix metering
> and P mode and let the flash unit do its thing. I figured any problems
> with exposure would probably within print film range, and I was right.
>
> The bride was older and had been married before, so she didn't wear a
> big white dress, which helped with exposure. Otherwise I might have
> dialed in one stop of additional exposure.
>
> The biggest problem with this wedding for me was isolating groups of
> people in good compositions. I came quickly to understand why
> professional wedding shooters use set-up group shots. People don't
> normally stand in groups facing outward; they face inward toward each
> other, so the shooter gets lots of the backs of peoples' heads.
>
> I tried to isolate individuals and small groups facing one direction; I
> also tried to get some traditional shots like the bride and groom
> cutting the cake
>
> Hope this helps.
> --
> John N. Wall
> email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> WWW: http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/users/j/jnweg/html
>
> We are not revitalized or transformed as often by a change of
> circumstances
> as we are by a change of perspective.
