While shooting those family portraits on Saturday, a friend of mine asked if I could shoot her wedding over Memorial Day weekend. After calling today to confirm that I would (details to be arranged later as she was driving at the time), I realized I didn't have any idea of what I would need to do.

I have never shot a wedding before. I have no idea what to charge, what types of shots I will need, or if I will need to purchase or rent any new equipment.

So my main questions are as follows:

1. How do I handle distribution of the photos? I already have a shutterfly pro galleries account. Can I just use that to sell the wedding photos, or is their a better/more traditional way of doing it?

2. How do I handle copyrights? Some of the wedding contracts I have read assign copyrights to the couple upon full delivery of payment, others have the photographer keeping it. Is their some happy medium between the two?

3. I shoot all digitial, and I will be shooting this event in RAW. Do I want to consider renting or purchasing a film camera, or should I just stick with digital? Should I consider getting a monolight kit for the shots of the wedding party?

I'm sure there are a lot of other things that I am not thinking of right now, so if any wedding photographers have some experience they would like to offer, I'm all ears.

3. I shoot all digitial, and I will be shooting this event in RAW. Do I want to consider renting or purchasing a film camera, or should I just stick with digital? Should I consider getting a monolight kit for the shots of the wedding party?
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OK, if you are shooting the event in RAW you are certainly letting yourself in for a lot of time and work in post-processing. The latest trend is the journalistic/candid approach to wedding shots by the way. All things considered you are not likely to blow up much beyond 8 X 10. I would tend to shoot RAW + JPEG for the more formal, classic type of shot, but jpeg for everything else.

I would probably take a long a 35mm film camera loaded with Kodak Gold print film, which by the way tested out with the better resolution than the professional films. Whether I would use it very much, would depend on the lighting conditions. My preference would still be to stick to digital.

As to a monolight kit, your choice, but a very good auxiliary flash is still easier to use and less to carry around.

Ronnoco

OK, if you are shooting the event in RAW you are certainly letting yourself in for a lot of time and work in post-processing. The latest trend is the journalistic/candid approach to wedding shots by the way. All things considered you are not likely to blow up much beyond 8 X 10. I would tend to shoot RAW + JPEG for the more formal, classic type of shot, but jpeg for everything else.

That is going to depend on two things - what the client wants and the lighting conditions. I have a series of questions that I am about to shoot off to her in an email, and that will tell me all I need to know about what she wants.

I would probably take a long a 35mm film camera loaded with Kodak Gold print film, which by the way tested out with the better resolution than the professional films. Whether I would use it very much, would depend on the lighting conditions. My preference would still be to stick to digital.

So consider getting a 35mm. Got it.

As to a monolight kit, your choice, but a very good auxiliary flash is still easier to use and less to carry around.

Ronnoco

Alright....spare flash. That shouldn't be too hard to track down. :D

Here is the list of questions that I came up with. Did I leave anything out?

1. What is the date and time of the ceremony? Where is it being held?
2. Is the wedding indoors or outdoors? If outdoors, where will the ceremony be held if the weather is bad?
3. Who is presiding over the ceremony? How may I get in contact with them?
4. Where is the reception being held? How may I get in contact with the hall? Who do I contact at the hall?
5. How many guests are attending the wedding? Are the guests mostly family, friends, or a mix of the two?
6. What theme is the wedding? Is it formal, casual, traditional, or other?
7. What sort of photographs do you want? Do you want a lot of candid shots? Do you want a lot of formal arranged shots? Do you or the groom want pictures of when you’re getting ready in the morning? Are there any special shots that you would like, such as shots with your friends, sorority sisters, or family members?
8. What is the schedule of events looking like? How much time is there between the end of the ceremony and the beginning of the reception?
9. Where would you like your formal shots taken? Do you have a location in mind, such as a local park or in front of the church?
10. How would you like to receive your pictures? Would you like them in digital format on a CD/DVD? Would you like a DVD slideshow? Would you like a wedding album?

All the wedding photo books I have purchased come with a check list that addresses your concern. I'm not sure if newer wedding books address the aspect of viewing proofs online. I wanted to post some help for you because I remember being in your shoes a few years ago. The problem is that there is SO MUCH TO IT. I think if you want to take this opportunity more seriously, you should buy a latte and hang out at the book store. The majority of your answers will be there.

Good luck.

By the way, if you get into a few weddings and they want CD or DVD, it may be worthwhile in the long term to consider an EVF superzoom with the ability to shoot stabilized video to the length of the card.

Mixing stills in a slide show on DVD with short video segments of the vows, tossing the flowers, the garter, etc. and getting into the car to leave etc. can be very effective.

You can also of course charge more if you are offering both stills and video segments.

Ronnoco

Well, I do need to get my brakes done, so I can't think of anything better than wasting another hour or two in Barnes and Noble.

Thanks for the idea, manasca. I will start looking more closely at wedding photography books.

I realize this is right around the corner, but if you haven't already, consider purchasing some brides magazines. Usually, they have a checklist for the bride to give to her photog.

Also, don't forget the formal family shots, even if they say they don't want them. That's what sells.

As far as the shutterfly gallery, if you are going to go with online proofing, be prepared for low print orders. If you leave them up, people can look at them whenever they want, and lessens the "need" to have prints. If you are proofing online, consider a time limit to leave them up. We have friends that got married in October, and their proofs are still online, and they still haven't ordered. They are expecting their first baby in a month or two, guess where wedding photos moved to on the priority list.


Good Luck! You should have good weather, I've been watching the map thingy for days...

Also, if you are going to give them the files, I'd release the copyright to them, otherwise they are going to call you everytime they are at Walmart to print.

If you are considering selling prints, then keep it, and have them order thru you, to ensure quality. :D

I realize this is right around the corner, but if you haven't already, consider purchasing some brides magazines. Usually, they have a checklist for the bride to give to her photog.

Also, don't forget the formal family shots, even if they say they don't want them. That's what sells.

As far as the shutterfly gallery, if you are going to go with online proofing, be prepared for low print orders. If you leave them up, people can look at them whenever they want, and lessens the "need" to have prints. If you are proofing online, consider a time limit to leave them up. We have friends that got married in October, and their proofs are still online, and they still haven't ordered. They are expecting their first baby in a month or two, guess where wedding photos moved to on the priority list.


Good Luck! You should have good weather, I've been watching the map thingy for days...

Thanks, Adina. I don't think I will be doing the wedding, though. I didn't hear back from the bride until yesterday, and the date she gave me was different than what she originally told me.

But this is all good advice, and I will be picking up a couple of books from the library and looking into doing more wedding photography.