First Time Shooting Engagement Photos..Help?

[xkaradactyl]

I am a photography student with hardly any portrait experience. I have no experience doing portraits outdoors. I have been asked to shoot her engagement photos this upcoming week (12/31/09). I am flattered they have faith in me to do a good job, but I am very worried about getting really good shots for them. I will be using a Nikon D40 and the 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor lens. I also have the 18-55mm kit lens, but I have found the DOF, sharpness, and speed of the lens to be not really the greatest. I have no flash besides the pop up flash on my camera, no reflectors, etc.
We will be doing an outdoor shoot downtown. So I guess you could consider it somewhat of a city shoot even though we live in only a moderate sized city in Indiana. I am concerned with a few things. One being my lack of experience and getting good, quality shots with nice color, lighting, focus, etc. The second being, it will be very cold and probably gray that day, seeing as it is the end of December. Some advice on shooting in these conditions are much appreciated. Third being, I need advice on what types of poses to do for an older couple in the city. I also have no idea what to charge them. I will be giving them a CD with the photos after I've edited them. They will be printing them on their own.
Any advice would be great. I am pretty nervous about this first time job, and would love to do the best job possible on my incredibly tight budget.

[freygr]

I would set the camera to save the photos as JPG+RAW.

[w.slayman]

As far as Digital goes I can not offer any advise, as I am a film fanatic. That being said I would recommend:
1. Bring extra memory cards and batteries.
2. Shoot lots of shots and bracket them with and without your built in flash.
3. Remember but don't dwell on your basics, DOF, Focus, Framing, Composition, Lighting (Especially Strong Lights)
4. Trust your instincts you probably have more talent than you realize.
5. Move in and out to get different perspectives
6. Do not be afraid to get low or high for different angles.
7. If you are comfortable with the AF and Programed Exposures use them, and concentrate on the composition.
8. Ask before you start what they expect, and allow the customer to select images that they like to be included on the CD.
9. Shoot more shots, you can always discard, but a reshot is not possible.
10. Relax and have fun.

[Franglais]

Prepare the shoot beforehand:

1. Talk to your subjects and see if they have any ideas. Chances are they do, so base your script around that
2. Go to your likely shooting scenes a few days before and figure out what you can do, where you can place your subjects where the background won't be distracting, props they can use, etc
3. Don't suffer your light, choose it. When you do your pre-shoot visit, find a place each time where their faces are well lit, for instance by a light wall just behind the photographer. Go down at the same time of day as the shoot so that the light will be about the same (depending on weather). The built-in flash on your D40 will only go out to about 6-10 feet so don't depend on it too much
4. Figure out what lenses you need. By restricting yourself to the 50mm it sounds like you are going to a view with your two figures isolated against an out-of-focus background. OK if that's what you want. Personally I find the 18-55 much more versatile. Why not take both?
5. Write a script and figure out the technical problems beforehand. If you need to use a specific aperture, focal length or ISO at a particular time then note it, plus the instruction to change back afterwards. Don't try to figure these things out on the spot, your subjects are waiting. You probably won't be able to follow the script exactly anyway, but having thought about it beforehand may help you avoid mistakes

Charging: Make it easy on yourself. Do it for free. A professional can charge because he knows how to do this stuff. You're still learning. They might give you some gift later anyway

Poses: What do people in love usually do when they're visiting a place? They walk in the street hand in hand, they pose beside monuments looking into a rosy future, they sit in cafés whispering sweet nothings, they sit on park benches, all that sort of stuff

[xkaradactyl]

Thanks for the suggestions. They are very helpful! I think im gaining confidence slowly but surely. haha

[xkaradactyl]

I also forgot to mention I have a Quantaray NF AF 35-80mm. I haven't used it much. It is well used and was given to me, but that is just another option I have.

[chocolic]

One thing I like to do when photographing anyone that is a bit nervous, or a group is to get them in place then say "I have to make a few adjustments on my camera" so they let down their guard and relax while I shoot away. Makes for some really nice real expressions and interaction. I probably got that idea from this board... ;)

[xkaradactyl]

I've never really thought about doing that. Great idea!

[Franglais]

I also forgot to mention I have a Quantaray NF AF 35-80mm. I haven't used it much. It is well used and was given to me, but that is just another option I have.

I don't think that the Quantaray will autofocus on the D40 and I'm not even sure it will meter. Leave it at home. Stick to what you know. Don't make experiments. You will have enough trouble just directing your subjects.

[gahspidy]

I think you have some pretty good advice here already. I like specifically what Bill layed out in # 5 and 6.
Charles hit every point I thought about and so I'll just say that I too would do this for free if i were you simply because my payment would be the experience I need in the future to charge a going rate.
However, what you could do is sign up with a site such as Printroom.com. You can upload an entire gallery of photos and give the link to your clients so that they may browse the online gallery and see all the photos, at least the ones you decided were keepers and uploaded. If they like any, they can purchase prints in many sizes directly from the site, and you make commission off of the sales. Everyone that attends this event may want to see and purchase a print. They can even order some photos as calendars, keychains, canvas prints. lots of options all of which you can make some money from.
Just food for thought,.
Good luck, and you will do fine

[Lori11]

Be sure to come back here and post some!

[byjamesderuvoDHQ]

Tell you what I would do, get a friend or two who are about the same size and go a day or two before at the same time and practice. This will give you familiarity with the lighting conditions for that day and giive you the benefit of experimenting with different settings and angles so you know what you need to avoid.

[CTdslr]

I am in the same boat, but I have a Canon XSi with a kit lens (18-55) and 70-300mm lens.
I've been looking into getting a prime lens for a while, but I'm only able to afford the f/1.8. Should I wait and invest in the 1.4?

I'm also planning to take headshots in the future.