Shooting tips... For pre-wedding

[Zerotonine]

Hi everyone

I have been asked to take photos of a bride getting ready for her wedding. They have no budget for a professional, so I have been roped in. So, I would like to get the best results but I only have the following available...
1x Fujifilm HS30 EXR Bridge
1x Canon SX610HS Compact
1x Lumix GF5 with 14-42 kit lens
1x tripod.

I am strictly amateur and I am still learning the ins and outs, can anyone provide me any tips to get the best photos? I do not know the bride, I have been asked by another amateur photographer as he cannot be in two places at once!

All advice would be appreciated.

[Simpo Two]

Take the camera with the fastest aperture (eg f2.8) and best high-ISO performance. Forget the tripod, it will just slow you down and be cumbersome.

'Oh and Perkins?'
'Yes sir?'
'Don't come back'

[thebraketester]

Sounds like a thankless task.... I would just refuse the gig in that situation.

[conkerman]

^^^ These sound like wise words. ^^^

[Lynchie999]

Zerotonine said:

I have been asked by another amateur photographer as he cannot be in two places at once!

All advice would be appreciated.

damn... f* that!

(i'd be surprised if this ends well... Its hard enough if you know the person, let alone doing it for a complete stranger!)

hope it goes well OP, best advice is get to know the bridal party well make them feel at ease around you, blend in and take covert candid snaps....

[Zerotonine]

I think I might get 'called into work' that morning... But with enough notice that they can arrange something else. To be honest the whole wedding has disaster written all over it! Thank you wise people.

[fido]

I've been asked twice to help out with wedding photos. First time was as an extra to the main (professional) photographer - was a request from a friend who always liked my photos - I was more than pleased to help them out. Second time was a stingy couple who wanted me to use THEIR camera and didn't show any interest in my photography - needless to say I made my excuses and did not attend their wedding!

[Mutley]

OP, if you do do this then as above, get to know the bride and bridesmaids. Ask if there are any shots she would like. Be invisible, but do things like her painting nails, doing hair, (being around the house) etc upto getting into the car with her father.

[Simpo Two]

Zerotonine said:

I think I might get 'called into work' that morning... But with enough notice that they can arrange something else. To be honest the whole wedding has disaster written all over it! Thank you wise people.

I find that bridal preps are actually the nicest part of the day. No pressure, usually a decent ceiling (ie a house) if you want to bounce flash, plenty of time to re-take a shot if it doesn't come out right. The difficult high-pressure stuff comes later.

The best case is that you'll have a nice time, get some decent photos, be liked and get useful experience. The worst case is that the photos are crap and they'll hate you - but that's too bad because you were a free amateur and you'd happily refund their money - except they didn't pay any! Essentially you have nothing to lose and experience to gain - if you want it.

[VoxPops]

Zerotonine said:

I think I might get 'called into work' that morning... But with enough notice that they can arrange something else. To be honest the whole wedding has disaster written all over it! Thank you wise people.

That's a good decision, well done. It's not about you getting experience, it's their big day. Gain experience watching someone responsible and learning from their professionalism, not by ruining someone's memories. Having the integrity to know your limitations sets you apart and they'll appreciate your honesty.

[singlecoil]

I agree with Simpo. Do the pictures, get the experience. Even st pictures are better than no pictures, and yours won't be st.

[Simpo Two]

VoxPops said:

That's a good decision, well done. It's not about you getting experience, it's their big day. Gain experience watching someone responsible and learning from their professionalism, not by ruining someone's memories.

Though if I pay someone £0 to service my car and they fk it up, it's really me to blame for being a tightwad and/or not respecting the skills required.

If it's their 'big day' and if photos are important to them then they need to dig a bit deeper. However I suspect they are not *that* important in this instance - witness the fact that even the main tog is an amateur. Every couple is different. Some want top pro results and will pay £3K, others are happy with guest snaps.

[Zerotonine]

Although I only know the groom, and even then as a passing acquaintance, I think I would rather not being held accountable for photos that they may not like. I would rather shadow a pro to start with and gain experience than to go in blind. The wedding is in two weeks, and I think it will be more hassle than it is worth. Thank you for all the advice people!

[davepoth]

The best shots of this sort of stuff is when nobody is looking. Pose a few so that they think that's what you're doing, but shoot from the hip the rest of the time - it's easiest with a camera with a bit of a lens to it so you have a better idea which way it's pointing. If you can turn off the noise it makes do that too. Make sure it's in full auto and just snap away.

Make sure to keep chatting all the time so they don't think you're doing anything.

[Simpo Two]

Zerotonine said:

I would rather shadow a pro to start with and gain experience than to go in blind.

I can't imagine anything worse than having a wannabee perched on my shoulder. What is the point? You'll get the same photos as me only worse; you'd need to go elsewhere and then you may as well be on your own anyway

I shot my first wedding on a D70 in JPG. Made it up as I went along. We woz tuff then

[Gold]

OP do you have any other lenses for the GF5? A fast prime will help blur out the background, removing the clutter and giving what may look more 'pro'.

I haven't used them but you can rent a 25mm 1.4 here for pretty cheap https://www.hireacamera.com/en-gb/products/HAC00-0...

Rent that, shoot on aperture priority mode at a wide aperture, with exposure bracketing and in RAW.

[rich888]

Gold said:

OP do you have any other lenses for the GF5? A fast prime will help blur out the background, removing the clutter and giving what may look more 'pro'.

I haven't used them but you can rent a 25mm 1.4 here for pretty cheap https://www.hireacamera.com/en-gb/products/HAC00-0...

Rent that, shoot on aperture priority mode at a wide aperture, with exposure bracketing and in RAW.

I attended a wedding yesterday as uncle and took with me my Canon 700D crop sensor and my Sony RX100 M3 compact camera as backup, the DSLR 700D with the 50mm f1.8 lens produced some very nice photos with fairly decent blurred out back-grounds. Having reviewed the photos I do think an 85mm lens would have achieved better results because of the longer distances I was away from the bride and groom and enabled me to take some more informal photos of the guests who were attending.

For the celebrations afterwards in the pub I used my Sony RX100 M3 which achieved some pretty good results despite the low-lighting. I set the camera to 'Shutter Speed' priority rather than 'Aperture Priority' so the camera bumped up the ISO rather than decreasing the shutter speed. I figured more grainy photos would be better than a blurred ones. The choice is yours?

I'm now considering a full frame camera like the Canon 6D or 5D3 which would be much better in low-light conditions and also take much improved blurred background photos.

Final word, thank you for the link to the camera hire store, I may well rent out the new 5D4 with a fast lens to see what can be achieved with a decent bit of kit

[Zerotonine]

I only have the 14-42 kit lens, and as I won't be paid for the photos or really know them I wouldn't really want to be out of pocket renting a lens.

[VoxPops]

Zerotonine said:

Although I only know the groom, and even then as a passing acquaintance, I think I would rather not being held accountable for photos that they may not like. I would rather shadow a pro to start with and gain experience than to go in blind. The wedding is in two weeks, and I think it will be more hassle than it is worth. Thank you for all the advice people!

Wise words my friend. No offence to any 'pro'..

[Zerotonine]

Quick update, I didn't do the photos in the end, and the photos they had done were, well, st. I have fixed a couple of them up in Lightroom, but it goes to show that you get what you pay for. If you want nice photos, pay a professional!