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

[Dave Throgmartin]

The fact is that a lot of people get married and have relatively "average" pictures to show for it. I'm sure Denise will exceed those results and do a really nice job.

Dave

[Johnny Rasmussen]

The fact is that a lot of people get married and have relatively "average" pictures to show for it. I'm sure Denise will exceed those results and do a really nice job.

Dave

Of course she will! You will do great, Denise!!

Hope you will get better soon.

[thekingb]

Simple. Don't do it. Your desire/need for income should never override your judgement or the best interests of others. A wedding is, for most people, the most wonderful day in their lives; perhaps next only to the birth of a child. It is also, for this couple, a one-time only event! If you screw it up it's gone forever. They deserve a true professional. If you want to be a wedding photographer it would be wonderful for you to apprentice with a professional for a year or two. Trying to become a wedding photographer on a real wedding would be wrong no matter how nice your photos. Wedding photography is a whole lot more than being able to capture nice photographs. Good luck.

Should a lawyer not take that first case? Should a teacher not get that first job in the classroom? Should a surgery resident not get to do that first procedure? Your logic fails.

Denise has been totally up front with the client. It's their choice, and they seem to be comfortable with it. And for good reason. Check out Denise's work.

[Jonathan Huyer]

Denise, congratulations on a very classy response to that unfortunate posting. You will do wonderfully at the wedding and I'm sure they will be very happy with your results. I can't wait to hear all about it. But first be sure to get well soon... nail that bug to the wall and keep on shining brightly.

[conropl]

...I am even more determined!

Denise - I can see a real transformation in you throughout this thread. You started out happy, but then a bit scared and feeling like you were in over your head. But you dug in and worked out those worrys with hard work, research, and a lot help from your friends (what a great bunch of people here). And now that you have the support and the knowledge base, you have transformed into a confident and "determined" lady on a mission to make sure this works. It is good to see. That confidence and determination is what is going to make this work for you and the couple getting married. It is a pretty slim chance that you would need Slim in the wings.

Get well soon!!!

Pat

[Joel Eade]

Denise, congratulations on a very classy response to that unfortunate posting. You will do wonderfully at the wedding and I'm sure they will be very happy with your results. I can't wait to hear all about it. But first be sure to get well soon... nail that bug to the wall and keep on shining brightly.

+1.....get well soon

[Sheiky]

I just want to add that I am pretty sure that any couple that gets married will prefer having their special and unique photos taken by an enthusiastic wedding-amateur with great overall photographic skills than by a grumpy "pro". If the connection between the photographer and the couple is great, the couple won't have to worry and that will show in the photos.
Also the photographers favorite shot is not always the same as the couples favorite. They might even like the photo, where a special moment for them is caught on camera, that you would have thrown away because it was blurry for example.

Denise I hope you get well soon!

Oh and if you have gels for your flashes. They might get in handy when the difference between the red-room and your flash light is too great.
Your bonus with the red-room is that you won't have to worry about red-eyes. It will probably will look better in the picture anyways

[ddt0725]

Here's an update on my wedding saga and of course, a request for more advice! Orginally, accuweather showed a beautiful sunny day for the wedding day! Fantastic! Beautiful Lake Michigan photos between the ceremony and reception late in the afternoon, couldn't asked for more cooperation from mother nature! Well, mother nature has turned on me and it now shows days and days of rain, including the wedding day! Granted, the forecast could change many times before the big day but I have to prepare for the fact that it might not!

I'm having a hard enough time struggling with how to take properly lit photos in the room for the ceremony but now I have to figure out how to do some group shots in this very narrow room!

Here's my problems I am having with this room. Feel free to chime in on any suggestions you may have!

The ceremony is going to take place in front of two long windows, which gives me the possiblity of a lot of glare. I don't know how they are going to have room for the entire wedding party of 12, bride and groom and minister. I am hoping to go to the rehearsal to see how this is all going to work. I was going to have my daughter on the left up front (by the french doors) if there is room for her. We are going to have to work hard with not getting each other in our own shots plus she will have to make sure she is not in any shots in front of the mirror across from her. 75 guests is not going to leave much room to move around in. The other problem with the mirror above the fireplace is back of head shots & glare. This is also the only room to take shots in after the ceremony if it is raining other than possibly a shot of everyone on a somewhat narrow stairway. So, full party shots is going to be challenging, not enough room in front of the french doors, half windows at shoulder height on the other wall. Further down the room is longer windows but they show the house next door!

So, what I thought was going to be an alright room is turning out to not be so easy ...or am I just suffering from pre-wedding jitters?

[Joel Eade]

By your description it seems you have considered most of the issues. Going to the rehearsal is a great idea, they may even want some shots from it, and you can see how to plan your shots. You might try standing on a small step stool, if you are in the back of the room a little elevation will help you. If it's not covered up you could possibly use the mirror....if you can get the right angle, you could have the couple face the mirror and get an interesting image. Lots of possibilities, I think being there with the wedding party ahead of time will solve it for you.

[ddt0725]

If it's raining there shouldn't be any harsh light coming in through the windows. It would be nice diffuse lighting. With that size of wedding party and the minister, there will likely be some backing up from the window especially if the table for signing the marriage license is located up there as well. Provided there is enough width in the room to prevent a semicircular formation of the wedding party the window light could become your new best friend if you lingered in the corners of the room to capture faces of the wedding party.

Other location options might include a porch or verandah if the venue has one. Were those plant containers sitting on a hand rail seen through the curtains of the window? Might be wishful thinking on my part but if it exists, or a gazebo, there could be shots of the new happy couple with a wall of raindrops falling off the roof above as the immediate background with the vibrant colours of wet foliage in the more distant background serving as a beautiful OOF background. Shots like that would make the most of the day and I can think of a couple of crazy photographers who prefer to do outdoor portraits on rainy days for the diffuse quality of the light and specifically for the opportunity to get the rain drop curtain backgrounds. Just so long as no one is getting wet, hair stylings aren't falling flat, etc then it can be a great opportunity to capture something unique that is different than everyone else's work!!!

Thanks for the suggestions and those scenerios would be ideal but no, nothing like that is available. No porch or gazebo. Just an old house with not even a yard to speak of. Hopefully, at that time of the afternoon it will have stopped raining at least to where I will be able to figure something out and turn a negative into a positive.

If it isn't raining and just a dark gloomy afternoon, there is a park with an old historic library right across the street that I think would be ideal for group shots on the steps!