Ok, hold the laughter ...ME a wedding photographer!???

[bouwy]

Congrats Denise

[ddt0725]

Thank you! Even though things went much better than I had expected, I am sure I will still have my share of questions over the next month. Probably even some pretty stupid ones! Most have to do with lighting and flash and also best choice of f-stop. I already have a list started!

My daughter is already wishing this was over so I shut up! So bear with me guys! Just in case I have a complete meltdown ...remember I am still a very nice, sane person!

[clemmb]

Thanks! Oh forgot to mention ...my daughter and I are included in the dinner, so I don't have to pack granola bars either!! LOL!

Your area may be different but I expect this. If they are having a sitdown dinner, since I am spending around 8 hours of my day, My wife and I will be eating with them. I usually tell them that we will be getting in the line just after the bridal party and immediate family. There is not a lot of shots while the bride is eating since she does not want shots of herself stuffing her face so I will be eating at the same time. My wife and I may alternate eating just so we don't miss something.

[HDNitehawk]

Looks like finally this is for sure going to be a reality.

Soon you will be on to your next thread "please critique my wedding photography business website". We are looking forward to it.

And of course next go round your wages will be higher

[ddt0725]

I have been watching a number of videos and reading many forums on numerous sites about wedding photography but I can't really say I am anymore educated than I was to begin with! The more I see, the more questions I have!

Now that Part I "Signing of the Contract" is over with, I am ready to get Part II "Pre-Wedding Jitters" going!

A couple things that came up last night as I was reading a few threads on another site are #1 - A guy had posted a number of his photos from a wedding and one of the comments made was that a little consistency in the processing would be nice because he had done a couple that were processed different than the majority of his photos. So, is it better to have most photos processed the same or is giving them a variety best? I tend to process my shots in many different ways but for this I would most definitely keep it simple for most but would still like to do some in a more creative post-processing fashion.

Whick somewhat leads me into my second question. The complete red lighting for the reception! The venue coordinator did stress that it is going to be intense and definitely will make a statement, which even raised the gtb's eyebrow! Any suggestions on how to handle this so the photos aren't so extreme? A part of me wants to process them in b&w but that takes away from the bride's intent of what she is going for with it.

Last question for now. Does anyone have experience using OnOne's Perfect Resize Pro 7? It came with the package OnOne gave me for free but I haven't really used it until playing around with it some last night. I am wondering if it truly a better way to process their photos.

Any advice as I move along with this is greatly appreciated! Only 33 days left to go!

[HDNitehawk]

A couple things that came up last night as I was reading a few threads on another site are #1 - A guy had posted a number of his photos from a wedding and one of the comments made was that a little consistency in the processing would be nice because he had done a couple that were processed different than the majority of his photos. So, is it better to have most photos processed the same or is giving them a variety best? I tend to process my shots in many different ways but for this I would most definitely keep it simple for most but would still like to do some in a more creative post-processing fashion.

I would keep it simple. First, you are working cheap the first time around, do good post processing that is consistent through the whole range. PP is time and time is money. Second, of course since I am not a wedding photographer my perspective on this is from other ventures I have had in life, but whenever I have done something I had never done before I learned early that it is best to focus on doing the basics of the task very well. You can add extra as you progress.

Maybe at future weddings for particular situations you could expand out. For now you could play with some of the photos to see what you can do at this one, but do it for your entertainment or education not as part of the package. If you have a few you like, pass them on to the client for good advertising. Don't commit to it though.

Don't over think this Denise, keep it clean, simple and basic.

[Joel Eade]

I have been watching a number of videos and reading many forums on numerous sites about wedding photography but I can't really say I am anymore educated than I was to begin with! The more I see, the more questions I have!

Now that Part I "Signing of the Contract" is over with, I am ready to get Part II "Pre-Wedding Jitters" going!

A couple things that came up last night as I was reading a few threads on another site are #1 - A guy had posted a number of his photos from a wedding and one of the comments made was that a little consistency in the processing would be nice because he had done a couple that were processed different than the majority of his photos. So, is it better to have most photos processed the same or is giving them a variety best? I tend to process my shots in many different ways but for this I would most definitely keep it simple for most but would still like to do some in a more creative post-processing fashion.

Whick somewhat leads me into my second question. The complete red lighting for the reception! The venue coordinator did stress that it is going to be intense and definitely will make a statement, which even raised the gtb's eyebrow! Any suggestions on how to handle this so the photos aren't so extreme? A part of me wants to process them in b&w but that takes away from the bride's intent of what she is going for with it.

Last question for now. Does anyone have experience using OnOne's Perfect Resize Pro 7? It came with the package OnOne gave me for free but I haven't really used it until playing around with it some last night. I am wondering if it truly a better way to process their photos.

Any advice as I move along with this is greatly appreciated! Only 33 days left to go!

I would try to find a basic processing workflow and make them all similar to start. If you have time, and the inclination, a separate folder for artistic processing would be cool.

I use On One Genuine Fractals 6 which was renamed to Perfect Resize 7. It is fantastic for making very big enlargements and sharpening, otherwise it doesn't do much.

[clemmb]

I have been watching a number of videos and reading many forums on numerous sites about wedding photography but I can't really say I am anymore educated than I was to begin with! The more I see, the more questions I have!

Now that Part I "Signing of the Contract" is over with, I am ready to get Part II "Pre-Wedding Jitters" going!

A couple things that came up last night as I was reading a few threads on another site are #1 - A guy had posted a number of his photos from a wedding and one of the comments made was that a little consistency in the processing would be nice because he had done a couple that were processed different than the majority of his photos. So, is it better to have most photos processed the same or is giving them a variety best? I tend to process my shots in many different ways but for this I would most definitely keep it simple for most but would still like to do some in a more creative post-processing fashion.

Whick somewhat leads me into my second question. The complete red lighting for the reception! The venue coordinator did stress that it is going to be intense and definitely will make a statement, which even raised the gtb's eyebrow! Any suggestions on how to handle this so the photos aren't so extreme? A part of me wants to process them in b&w but that takes away from the bride's intent of what she is going for with it.

Last question for now. Does anyone have experience using OnOne's Perfect Resize Pro 7? It came with the package OnOne gave me for free but I haven't really used it until playing around with it some last night. I am wondering if it truly a better way to process their photos.

Any advice as I move along with this is greatly appreciated! Only 33 days left to go!

Denise,
On the first, Keep it simple just as HDNitehawk said.

Second, Set your flash on camera with omni-bounce. Set camera to 'M' with f3.2 to f4, shutter at 200. Not sure how intense it may be. Depending on the ceiling hight I shoot ISO 400, f4.5, 200. This washes out most other lights. On the dance floor if the colored lights hit someones hair you may see that color show up some.

[DavidEccleston]

I don't have an external flash to test with, but I know my old T1i would expose for ambient in Av modes, ignoring the pop-up flash's light contribution. What happens if you use a 430EX or 580EX on the 7D, using Mark's f/4, 1/200s settings, with ISO set to 'A'uto? Does it expose for ambient or correctly expose with the flash taken into account?

If auto ISO works your job is a lot simpler.

[Steve U]

Denise,
On the first, Keep it simple just as HDNitehawk said.

Second, Set your flash on camera with omni-bounce. Set camera to 'M' with f3.2 to f4, shutter at 200. Not sure how intense it may be. Depending on the ceiling hight I shoot ISO 400, f4.5, 200. This washes out most other lights. On the dance floor if the colored lights hit someones hair you may see that color show up some.

Great info Mark.