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Archive 2015 · practise makes perfect?

  
 
Seth Lord
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · practise makes perfect?


Well, hello again. I'm the poor bugger who started the thread: "which 70-200?" a little while ago.

Just wanted to let those who generously responded to my questions that:
(a) I finally purchased the Nikkor 70-200 f4.0;
(b) my first paying wedding shoot is now over; and
(c) the 70-200 f4 is a terrific lens - but I used the Sigma 35mm f1.4 Art most of the time.

If you sense from the words "now over" that it was a harrowing experience, then you are right.

Nothing went to plan. I studied the tips I had received here. I practised with the SB 910, the SB700, and fill flash, bounce flash, high speed flash, etc., etc. I committed to memory the suggestions about where I should be at certain times. I watched the YouTube video of my countryman Jerry Ghionis at B&H on how to pose people (and made notes at pocket size, stapled, and inserted inside my jacket pocket - just like Forrest Gump would have done).

I was all set to go. These would be 'Art' photos to stun the world, at least the world Down Under. Then reality set in. It was a riverside wedding in a park. There were three, narrow rows of collapsible seats. Yeah, I had attended the rehearsal. But you don't get to fine tune your exposures in an outdoor park the day before D-day. Weather forecasts are more relevant.

And the guests were surprisingly uncontrollable. Lots of them, quite a crowd. After the Bride and her Dad had passed through to the Pastor the guests came together in a mass around the seats. The aisle disappeared, and I had to battle my way through! I was standing there obstructing the view of people all around as I moved to get my angles. For a few moments I crouched so those behind me could see the ceremony. But then I thought, "stuff this, if I don't stand I can't get the shots!". So I stood up. To hell with them. Uncle Fred and Cousin Barry were there, with expanding zooms replete with gold rims, and they were standing up as guests.

None of my plans with the 70-200 worked out. I grabbed the D810 with the Sigma 35mm f1.4 Art and jostled to the front - right up the noses of the bride and groom - just like the rest of the b--tards. Surprisingly, they made space for me. They were nice people, and they probably thought I was some sort of demented idiot, like a crazy cousin who had fallen on his head shortly after birth or something.

The reception was in the city at a grand, colonial-era building. I had enough equipment to shoot Raiders of The Lost Ark. Umbrellas are not just to keep the rain off your head y'know. Had to drop my assistant nearby, unload the gear, then get a park. The Bride and Groom arrived before we could set up in the GCSB (grand, colonial, style, building). We shot into the main ballroom grinning like anxious baboons as they finished their entrance down the grand staircase. All entreaties for a repeat performance were turned down; too busy; too many friends to catch up with. Too true - very reasonable - commit hari-kari.

Fortunately my son was there as a guest with his wife and two week old daughter. He introduced me to his mates from Iraq and Afghanistan. I took some shots of dear little Sunday sleeping in her pram. Probably the best of the evening.

I really appreciated everything everyone said to me on this forum. Maybe I can decipher the instructions on how to post some of my pathetic images for you to mull over. Right now I'm attempting to process the rubbish, alternately reaching for a rum and coke and a loaded Webley revolver, which I press to my temple being very careful to keep my finger well away from the trigger.






Oct 11, 2015 at 06:58 AM
IrishDino
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · practise makes perfect?


Welcome to the world of wedding photography. It's messy, and getting good shots is a combination of having good clients, being in the right place at the right time, and a little luck.

You'll quickly realize all those amazing, peaceful bridal portraits you see online are actually stylized shoots with a professional model.



Oct 11, 2015 at 08:03 AM
coreybell
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · practise makes perfect?


nice story Seth, I hope your clients like the outcome.


Oct 11, 2015 at 08:27 AM
BSPhotog
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · practise makes perfect?


Sounds a bit like my first wedding in some ways. It is hard to know what you need, where you need to be, what to be doing, etc at all times until you've got a dozen or so under your belt (or I could just be a slow learner ). Even still, every wedding is different and some are still a hot mess. Pre-wedding meetings a few weeks before the event are one of those crucial things to help have the itinerary of the day cemented and also remind/inform the couple of what you're going to need from them. Whenever possible, I get into the reception hall early to drop light stands and some other bulky stuff off. I make a point of having at least 5 or 10 minutes at the reception location before the wedding party enters to be ready.

It sounds like you slogged through it though. Your D810's solid dynamic range will probably save your ass if your exposures were a little off during the ceremony. I hope you'll post some images after you've had some time to go through them!



Oct 11, 2015 at 08:50 AM
Scott Mosher
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · practise makes perfect?


Seth Lord wrote:
I had enough equipment to shoot Raiders of The Lost Ark....We shot into the main ballroom grinning like anxious baboons as they finished their entrance down the grand staircase.....Right now I'm attempting to process the rubbish, alternately reaching for a rum and coke and a loaded Webley revolver, which I press to my temple being very careful to keep my finger well away from the trigger.



I nominate this for best literary description of a first wedding of the year on this forum. If not the decade.



Oct 11, 2015 at 10:25 AM
Brian Virts
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · practise makes perfect?


Wedding photography is all chance and circumstance, there's no real way to define.


Oct 11, 2015 at 10:27 AM
Mark_L
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · practise makes perfect?


This post should be linked whenever we get a "my friend asked me to shoot their wedding because I have a dslr" post.

I still find there is nothing like wedding to show up my limits as a photographer and why photogs in other fields say they would rather jab themselves in the eye than shoot one! It gets easier but not by that much. I've learned the only way to stay sane is to assume any plan will get shot to pieces and that my best is not the same quality as I can produce with full control over things/no time pressure.

Seth Lord wrote:
Right now I'm attempting to process the rubbish


Don't worry, usually the good stuff starts to look a lot better once pulled out from all the rubbish! There WILL be facepalm moments as you go through, learn from them but don't beat yourself up too much.



Oct 11, 2015 at 10:35 AM
jeremy_clay
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · practise makes perfect?


good on you for coming back and updating everyone without ego. I would like to see the shots! Probably went better then you think!


Oct 11, 2015 at 11:16 AM
mikethevilla
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · practise makes perfect?


I wasn't around for the pre-wedding post, but you sound utterly traumatized, bewildered, and beaten-down.

Welcome. You're now a wedding photographer.



Oct 12, 2015 at 01:15 AM
ohsnaphappy
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · practise makes perfect?


So the aisle was too skinny, that's why your view was obstructed? Or the guests actually stood in the aisle?

People will think I'm crazy, but I show up early to every wedding, examine the aisle to determine if it's wide enough, and if not, I move every single chair. Customer service is deplorable where I live, so I probably have 5 weddings a year where the aisle is so narrow two people couldn't fit down it. Meaning the bride and her dad literally could not walk down the aisle together if the chairs were left alone. So I adjust the aisle accordingly. I've had other weddings where the aisle was too narrow for a large bride and large father. And sometimes the rows are completely unsymmetrical, so I fix them. After 7 years not once has anyone asked why I was moving the chairs or told me to stop, even at the Peabody Hotel, which is the priciest venue in my market.



Oct 12, 2015 at 01:42 AM
petr vokurek
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · practise makes perfect?


I had a really good laugh reading this, Seth! :-) Sounds like a perfect description of the reality of wedding photography. Iīve been doing this for 15 years and the fact is a lot of things usually donīt go to plan on the wedding day. Having all the equipement is one thing but managing to take the photos is another. Itīs huge responsibility being the main photog- itīs not like a friend snapping away. Anyway, it does get better with practice. Oh, and donīt worry, you will find some good stuff in the "rubbish". It always looks kind of messy when you start editing the raw stuff. Good luck and donīt let anything deter you.


Oct 12, 2015 at 05:09 AM
deckitout
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · practise makes perfect?


Nothing actually beats shooting a real wedding, you can read, practise, study all you want, but the biggest learning curve for me was to shoot real weddings. You will have learnt from this one, take what you learn't and aim to improve for the next one


Oct 12, 2015 at 05:57 AM
Seth Lord
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · practise makes perfect?


Hey guys, thanks for your comments and encouragement. It did me good to blow off. And you're generally right - a calm assessment shows that some are ok.

I could perhaps show a couple which demonstrate how the dynamic range of the D810 came galloping to the rescue. They are "neutral" sort of shots. I'll investigate how to do that here.

But, on reflection, I don't feel free right now to post any from which the wedding party and relatives could be identified. If after inspecting the collection they say they particularly like something, I'll ask if they would mind my sharing a couple of images among professional colleagues. Otherwise I think it's a breach of their privacy even though, in my jurisdiction and given our legal relationship, I could.

Once again, I salute you. I'm primarily a theatre photographer, and I thought I was pretty hot stuff. But wedding photography demands all the skills, and I am in awe of what it takes.



Oct 12, 2015 at 07:30 AM
NuclearRoy
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · practise makes perfect?


Ha! That deserves a Pulitzer.
If you decide weddings are too stressful, you can make a good living with the pen.



Oct 14, 2015 at 12:49 PM
Ziffl3
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · practise makes perfect?


What a fun thread.... well for everybody except Seth.

-Mark



Oct 14, 2015 at 01:35 PM
Jason Ferber
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · practise makes perfect?


Scott Mosher wrote:
I nominate this for best literary description of a first wedding of the year on this forum. If not the decade.


Seconded! Shall we put it to vote?



Oct 14, 2015 at 02:27 PM
elevationphoto
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · practise makes perfect?


sometimes we forget that non wedding photographers ( or clients ) don't really realize that shooting a wedding isn't easy. Thanks for reminding us of that since you were on that side of the fence just a few weeks back Great write up, glad to hear you were properly initiated!


Oct 14, 2015 at 04:08 PM
BSPhotog
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · practise makes perfect?


Seth Lord wrote:
Hey guys, thanks for your comments and encouragement. It did me good to blow off. And you're generally right - a calm assessment shows that some are ok.

I could perhaps show a couple which demonstrate how the dynamic range of the D810 came galloping to the rescue. They are "neutral" sort of shots. I'll investigate how to do that here.

But, on reflection, I don't feel free right now to post any from which the wedding party and relatives could be identified. If after inspecting the collection they say they particularly like something, I'll ask if they would mind
...Show more

You should really write more on your website. Some people have to work pretty hard to be clever or interesting but I have a feeling you could throw up a couple of sentences about a wedding or shoot to accompany the images that could really add value to the experience of the person visiting the site, as well as make them like you as a person before they even meet you. That stuff can be pretty important :-D



Oct 14, 2015 at 08:55 PM
WiredMike
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · practise makes perfect?


Sounds like you over came. Good job and thank you for posting.
I shot my first last weekend. To embarrassed to post the pictures or go into the many mistakes I made. You sir are inspiration.



Oct 16, 2015 at 08:01 AM
Seth Lord
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · practise makes perfect?


Once again, thanks for the comments - and the encouragement. My one piece of good fortune is that they were a very handsome couple.


Edited on Oct 18, 2015 at 05:49 AM · View previous versions



Oct 17, 2015 at 07:23 AM
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