At 12:50 AM 3/20/2006, you wrote: >> Skip wrote: >> My father had a very sage comment on this very subject, "The >> best way to lose a friend is to shoot his wedding."... > >On another list (Olympus OM), there's a bloke with a pretty >good article on this subject: a Wedding "Survival Guide for >the non-professional". > >http://johnlind.tripod.com/wedding/
I was about to suggest that link also. I have shot one wedding that mattered to me, my own daughter's wedding. I have been a supplemental photographer at a couple of others. The type of wedding shots that are desired can make a big difference. If the wedding is big with a lot of formal dress and a lot of people, best to get a real wedding photographer. If it is low budget wedding and formal shots are not desired, and the expectations are clear about what you will deliver and you are OK with that, then go ahead and experiment. The other question is how many events have you photographed? Lighting at events can be difficult to work with. Flash is often essential and not always easy to get right. Things happen fast, you forget to notice that glass behind people and all you see in the photo is a big flash, .... the list goes on. I would not take any more lenses than bodies I have to put them on. Changing lenses is fine if you have an assistant to help out. The last thing you want is dragging a bag of lenses around with you. People expect you to nail the shot in one take. So another question is, if you do the wedding and you make serious mistakes, is that acceptable or not? Whether you shoot the wedding really depends on other people's expectations. If you have never shot a wedding, maybe you can bring your camera and take some extra shots. But if they really want good photos of their wedding, and is that important, they should be hiring a photographer. People under estimate the value of the photos until they see them after the fact. If this is not their first wedding, is low key, informal, go for it. The fact you see it as a "big responsibility" to me says, be a supplemental photographer. And make sure when they hire a photographer, that he knows you will be taking pictures on the side. I'm a pretty good photographer, but in the chaos and stress of a wedding, it takes a lot of experience to get it right. Expectations for weddings are always very high, and it never matches peoples expectations. It really depends a lot on the people involved. Good luck with the choice. That choice really has to be weighed against everyone's expectations. If you are among a lot of people who know you, you will have to ignore them in order to focus on taking pictures. And stay away from the punch, a clear head works best. Also, if you decide to try, get someone else to help you, if nothing more than to help herd people. Wayne * **** ******* *********************************************************** * For list instructions, including unsubscribe, see: * http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/eos_list.htm ***********************************************************
