11 Images from a wedding...you've been warned.

[Sebastian]

On May 15th DSL712, his wife Julie and I shot a wedding in the city. We started at 10am and finished around 11:30pm. The bride and groom were awesome. I came back with over 800 shots, but I tried to pick my favorites to post here. Some could really benefit from cropping, but I chose not to do anything beyond simple color adjustment on these.

Dennis, post some of your when you get the chance.


It all starts with hair.


Bride went first, now she waits.


She doesn't seem too confident in her hair dresser's abilities.


Then the makeup...


Bridesmaids getting ready at gramma's house.


Gramma and grandpaw.


I couldn't hear what he was saying, but they laughed a lot. I hope he wasn't telling dirty jokes...


Kidding around with the bus drivers...in her fuzzy slippers.


First dance on the pier before we boarded the boat.


Toasting the bride and groom.


The happy couple nearing the end of their special day...

[Cowgirl]

You caught some fun expressions. Weddings arn't easy, and its tough to be in the right spot at the right time to catch those unique moments. Well done.

WOW! You had a full day at this wedding!

I really like the last one w/ the city in the background.

What equipment did you mostly use?


Kathy

[Sebastian]

You caught some fun expressions. Weddings arn't easy, and its tough to be in the right spot at the right time to catch those unique moments. Well done.

WOW! You had a full day at this wedding!

I really like the last one w/ the city in the background.

What equipment did you mostly use?


Kathy

Thanks Kathy.

I shot with the 10D, 14mm f/2.8L, 17-40L and the 70-200 f/2.8.

[another view]

Nice work, Seb! Makes for a long day, especially with all the preparations. I'm guessing Sunday was a pretty quiet day for you...

[coloradoamigo]

That is one long day of shooting. It looks like it was well worth it though. Some really nice images. You know, I think I like the one of the grandparents the best, followed by the last one. All very nice though. I liked how you captured the sometimes "frantic" atmosphere that can surround a wedding.

[Asylum Steve]

Seb,

Looks like you have a good eye for candid wedding pics, but if you're serious about the number of images you shot, I have to say I'm having a tough time even comprehending it...

I realize we're all different, and I'm sure this is as much a product of large capacity digital cards as anything, but I don't think I've EVER taken that many shots in a day, even a full day commercial shoot. And you weren't covering the wedding by yourself, either...

I'm not criticising you, but to be honest, my jaw has dropped a few other times when you've mentioned how many images you've shot, and I can't help but think back to your posting about your recent "burn out" with 35mm cameras and wonder if there's a connection.

Like I said, it's completely a personal thing, but I do not like shooting mass quantities of images at a time and simply cannot force myself do it, I don't care what the subject is. IMO even commercial photography is 99% looking and maybe 1% tripping the shutter. The more I shoot, the more watered down I think my work is. Just me...

But I am insanely curious (ooh, there's that word again): why do you think you shoot that many images? To me it's ungodly. Do you feel that you might miss a shot if you don't try to capture everything many times? Or is something more obvious like with no film cost, why not?

In fairness to you, I do realize that this was an extremely long event. I also must admit since I made the switch to digital I find I'm shooting more frames for each of my subjects and setups than I did with film, but nowhere near the numbers you throw around...

I'm actually thinking of posting this subject as a new thread; whether it's possible to shoot too much, and how that might effect one's passion for photography. I'd really like to know how others feel about this...

[natatbeach]

to calm my nerves. I have been hired for three separate weddings between now and November and I have to tell ya my anxiety has been high.Seing as I've never hot a wedding and gotten paid for it. But to see how fresh and fun your images were (that and the fact that you shot that many shots) made me feel better.

I always worry with a wedding that I'll miss something that was special to them or that I won't take enough shots. That was one of the things about our wedding photographer that I loved---he gaves us negatives and proofs for almost 500 pictures and that was just the color ones....all great, all useable except 25 or so...unbelieveable but much appreciated now that I can't remember much... I have sequential and documented milestone...

My Favorites...
The hair salon where she's making the hairdstylist laugh and the grandparents, and the first dance are my favoites (so far)

Great job...were you happy with the outcome? and any suggestions or things you would do differently?

[Speed]

[QUOTE=Sebastian]On May 15th DSL712, his wife Julie and I shot a wedding in the city. We started at 10am and finished around 11:30pm. The bride and groom were awesome. I came back with over 800 shots, but I tried to pick my favorites to post here. Some could really benefit from cropping, but I chose not to do anything beyond simple color adjustment on these.

Dennis, post some of your when you get the chance.

Is your finger numb?! Over 800 shots?!! You masochist!!!

Like Steve, I'm dumbfounded by the sheer number of shots you took.

Great shots all, but my favorite by far is the shot of the grandparents. That is an AWESOME shot my friend!

[adina]

I like the toasting and the first dance best. But all of them are nice.

I was just reading a post on zuga about the number of shots people take at weddings. Some people are around 300-500, and some take upwards of 3000. Yes, that's three thousand.

So I'd say Sebastian is on the low end

Are you starting to shoot weddings regularly? Something your adding to your services? Or just trying it out?

adina

[Old Timer]

[ We started at 10am and finished around 11:30pm.]

Images that would make any bride the envy of her friends. Don't know how you do it, those hours are brutal. I don't think there is enough money in the world to make me photograph another wedding. Did that lugging around a couple of Mamiya's, heavy battery packs and tripods for about 10 years in the 70's. Payed for some nice equipment back than but made me hate weddings. Maybe if I could be the second photographer and not have the pressure of getting those must shots everytime it would be different. At any rate turely awesome images. Well done.

[dsl712]

But I am insanely curious (ooh, there's that word again): why do you think you shoot that many images? To me it's ungodly. Do you feel that you might miss a shot if you don't try to capture everything many times? Or is something more obvious like with no film cost, why not?

Steve,

I was there he did burn over 800 shots. I shot all film that day...gasp, so I haven't posted anything because I hate scanning stuff.

I think wedding photography is different than commercial/fashion photography. Way different. In commercial photography there is much more preparation and less shooting. You have the stylist, make up artist, creative director, account executive, etc, etc. There is much more time setting up the shot. Once it's all set up, you take the shots. Often this happens in one or two locations or sets.

A wedding may have 10 - 20 different shooting sets. Hair salon, make up salon, limo, inside house, front yard, inside bus, nail salon, inside church, outside church, preparation room, alter, reception site, etc., etc. Plus all the movement of the couple and then their are the guests you are shooting as well.

So if you take the number of shots for one set and multiply it by the number of sets at a wedding then add the guests, I think you can easily burn 800 shots. Plus there is the "cover my ass" factor. Sometimes I am handholding at appallingly slow speeds or low light situations, or while I'm walking so I will burn a few extra shots to make sure I got the image.

I think the number depends on your style and your subject. Nature folks burn maybe 5 shots in a 2 hour period, commercial people maybe 100 in 4 fours, Photojournalists maybe 1000 shots in a day.

I am also a high rate shooter. Just shot a wedding saturday and did 600 images in 8 hours. Am shooting another wedding Friday; the bride is gorgeous and it is in a tent outside. I'll probably burn close to 1200 images in 9 hours.

Typical wedding, Jules and I combines shoot about 2,000 shots.

Dennis

[dsl712]

Sebastian,

Had a great time shooting with you. I was so excited that you could join us. I just hope the next day, you could get out of bed. Awesome, awesome images. Love the shot 3 with the smirk. What a cutie she was and so much fun.

Love the mood of the one with the grandparents. A bit soft. Maybe turn it B&W? What do you think?

If there is another cool wedding, I'll definitely give you a call.

I'll have to post some stuff when I get home.

Dennis

[Sebastian]

(Asylum) Steve,

Adina and DSL already covered pretty much what I was going to say. Ever since "journalistic" wedding shots became popular, a shooter can easily put away 500-1000 shots, and that's on FILM. Digital can easily tripple that. DSL also makes good point about covering your ass and trying to get a broad range of everything that's going on.

The most important part of your question though, is whether or not the amount I shoot has anything to do with experiencing burnout. I don't think there is a correlation. Every time I've gone through that it was for many other reasons. The last time, for example, it was the stress and expense associated with switching equipment. Like I mentioned before, I had to sell and buy and learn in a matter of a weekend. And frankly, I was so comfortable and familiar with my Nikon setup, that I had no desire to mess with the Canon stuff unless I had to. And that, with the other factors, brought me down. If I shoot a lot, it means I was enjoying it, and seeing something. I shoot a lot because I try to get a certain moment, and then I recompose and shoot, rinse, alther, repeat, until the moment is gone. That assures me that I'll get a sharp shot, and it lets me pick from several different ways its framed. The differences are minor, but sometimes it's the difference between having distracting elements and having a clear shot.

[Sebastian]

You're taking pictures with your 10D like you've had it forever. Now that you have had it awhile, how do you like it? Do you have a favorite lens?

Penny,

First, thanks for the kind words. Now to answer your question, I am really torn on the 10D. The image quality is far better than what my Nikons gave me. The exposure is much more consistent, in regular shots but primarily flash shots. BUT, I don't understand why Canon insists on making the control scheme so backwards. Every other manufacturer uses a directional pad for switching focus points, the little wheel on the back with the little wheel up on top are just poor design, there is no excuse for it. And the flash needing to have a focus point on the subject for proper exposure is severely limiting when it comes to framing. That and the thing is not as energy efficient as the Nikons (I got twice the amount of shots with my D100 off of one charge) and the thing is just inexcusably slow to start up. I have gone as far as setting my auto shut-off time to half an hour because I got sick of waiting for it to "wake up." On the flipside though, the buffer is larger, it lets me shoot as many RAW images as JPEGs, and once it's set the way I want, it just feels really good in the hand, very well balanced.

As far as lenses go, I am not sure yet. Though that 14mm really, REALLY got me salivating. Too bad it was a rental.

[Sebastian]

Are you starting to shoot weddings regularly? Something your adding to your services? Or just trying it out?

Well, they pay REALLY well. Granted, it's really hard work, but I am interested in doing a few a year. This was just me helping Dennis so I would have images for my portfolio. It's impossible to sell weddings without having wedding shots, no matter how good the rest of your stuff is. At least it has been in the several that I failed to sell.

[Sebastian]

to calm my nerves. I have been hired for three separate weddings between now and November and I have to tell ya my anxiety has been high.Seing as I've never hot a wedding and gotten paid for it. But to see how fresh and fun your images were (that and the fact that you shot that many shots) made me feel better.

I always worry with a wedding that I'll miss something that was special to them or that I won't take enough shots. That was one of the things about our wedding photographer that I loved---he gaves us negatives and proofs for almost 500 pictures and that was just the color ones....all great, all useable except 25 or so...unbelieveable but much appreciated now that I can't remember much... I have sequential and documented milestone...

My Favorites...
The hair salon where she's making the hairdstylist laugh and the grandparents, and the first dance are my favoites (so far)

Great job...were you happy with the outcome? and any suggestions or things you would do differently?

Was I happy with the coutcome? Yes, I feel the shots did a decent job at capturing the laid back attitude of the event. I swear, it was like a college party, the bride's sorority was there in force, wth lots of sorority songs and stuff. That made it easy for us, this sort of thing is the exception, not the norm. I didn't detect any stress in anyone.

As for missing shots, I did miss the kiss, and that made me rather mad. I had a good shot lined up, and right as they leaned in towards each other the priest took a step forward and obstructed my view. That sort of stuff can happen, I will just have to find a spot next time with much less potential for obstruction.

I'm sure you'll do fine. You have an expressive shooting style, and as long as you use that to your advantage I'm sure you'll get them very unique photos.

[Sebastian]

[ We started at 10am and finished around 11:30pm.]

Images that would make any bride the envy of her friends. Don't know how you do it, those hours are brutal. I don't think there is enough money in the world to make me photograph another wedding. Did that lugging around a couple of Mamiya's, heavy battery packs and tripods for about 10 years in the 70's. Payed for some nice equipment back than but made me hate weddings. Maybe if I could be the second photographer and not have the pressure of getting those must shots everytime it would be different. At any rate turely awesome images. Well done.

OT,

I can only imagine why you stopped doing weddings, carrying all that stuff around must have been hell. Our setup was much more portable. Two 10Ds, two film bodies, a couples stands, two 550ex flashes and some umbrellas. Digital quality being what it is, and the flashes putting out more power than we need, there is simply no reason anymore to bring all the stuff you describe.

Anyway, thanks for the kind words, it's encouraging.

[Sebastian]

Sebastian,

Had a great time shooting with you. I was so excited that you could join us. I just hope the next day, you could get out of bed. Awesome, awesome images. Love the shot 3 with the smirk. What a cutie she was and so much fun.

Love the mood of the one with the grandparents. A bit soft. Maybe turn it B&W? What do you think?

If there is another cool wedding, I'll definitely give you a call.

I'll have to post some stuff when I get home.

Dennis

Dennis,

I had a blast hanging out with you guys as well. That's really what it felt like, not at all like work. The only stressful part was trying to find the busses after they lost us.

Grandparents shot, yes, the DOF was VERY shallow and gramps is starting to fall off. Even grandma is slightly in the OOF area. I was close, so the DOF dropped off dramatically. It was taken witht he 70-200 obviously. Love that lens, that's what number 3 was taken with. But that 14mm really has me wanting to start saving.

Definitely post some when you get the chance, I really want to see ow the event looked through your viewfinder as well as Julie's.

Later.

[adina]

Well, they pay REALLY well. Granted, it's really hard work, but I am interested in doing a few a year. This was just me helping Dennis so I would have images for my portfolio. It's impossible to sell weddings without having wedding shots, no matter how good the rest of your stuff is. At least it has been in the several that I failed to sell.

This is something I'm considering for the future as well. Right now, there really isn't anyone in my area doing this sort of thing. Plus the schedule is a huge bonus. Gone on Saturday (or whatever) and then doing all the post-shooting work in the evenings, from the comfort of my home.

Great start! Dennis, do you ever shoot up this way?

adina

[Sebastian]

This is something I'm considering for the future as well. Right now, there really isn't anyone in my area doing this sort of thing. Plus the schedule is a huge bonus. Gone on Saturday (or whatever) and then doing all the post-shooting work in the evenings, from the comfort of my home.

Great start! Dennis, do you ever shoot up this way?

adina

You're making it sound easier than it is. Even in the past when I was shooting for fun, weddings were still not easy. I don't know about you, but I HATE my take right after the event is done. I have to give it a little while to start looking at the shots with clearer eyes. Everytime I look at the thumbs nothing looks like I remembered it. That's more of an incompatability between my mind's eye and my capture of it though. I think I just remember it differently than it was.

Good luck with it. If there's a market for it, there is no reason not to do it.

[adina]

but the schedule is a huge part of why it would be appealing. Plus all the parties you get to go to

I do have a lot more I need to do/find out/ learn before I start, but it's something I've thought about. Kind of the "where do you want to be in x amount of years" type thing.

adina

[dsl712]

This is something I'm considering for the future as well. Right now, there really isn't anyone in my area doing this sort of thing. Plus the schedule is a huge bonus. Gone on Saturday (or whatever) and then doing all the post-shooting work in the evenings, from the comfort of my home.

Great start! Dennis, do you ever shoot up this way?

adina

Adina,

I do shoot in Milwaukee every so often. Actually know a couple photogs in Milwaukee and Appleton. Are you anywhere near there?

Wedding photography is great.

Dennis

[dsl712]

Definitely not easy. Carry around 10 - 15 lbs. on your shoulder for hours on end, running up and down stairs, juggling tripods, and lenses. Then tell me how your back and shoulder feels. Then, deal with evil Mother of Bride or cool bride that became a nightmare because of all the stress. Do this in 90 degree 70% humidity in Chicago. That's just the easy part.

On the way home, stress about film/CF cards, shots missed (Seb missed the first kiss shot, luckily Jules and I got it), potential malfunctions, etc.

Get home and edit down 2,000 images. Then color correct, crop and convert some to B&W. I do this to every image.

Layout and design album. Deal with damaged prints, orders that were completed incorrectly, etc.

Then there are the taxes and paperwork. Regardless of how you are organized, you will need to track and report all income and collect taxes from clients on albums sold. Then report the collected taxes too.

This is assuming you even get the bride to hire you.

Man after reading this, I think I am going to quit.....just joking.

I don't shoot weddings because I need the money. If I did, I would do something else. I do it because I love shooting weddings. I am still moved by something at every wedding. Sometimes, I hold a camera up to my face to hide the watering eyes at moments that are so moving you can't do anything else but photograph it. Only two types of photos have ever brought me to tears: war photojournalism and wedding photography.

I don't shoot weddings because I want to, I do it because I HAVE to. It is my way of expressing myself. I am capturing the emotions that I so often have difficulty expressing. It is almost emotionally cathartic for me.

Corny? Totally. But that's my take on it.

Dennis

[Sebastian]

This is something I'm considering for the future as well. Right now, there really isn't anyone in my area doing this sort of thing. Plus the schedule is a huge bonus. Gone on Saturday (or whatever) and then doing all the post-shooting work in the evenings, from the comfort of my home.

Great start! Dennis, do you ever shoot up this way?

adina

Adina,

I realize you knew that already. But if I said "yeah, it's a blast" then I'd be lying. This wedding was fun, but that didn't set in until a few days later, once I did my initial edit and got over the searing back pain. Carrying a camera at chest level for thirteen hours makes you find muscles you didn't know existed.

I do not echo Dennis' feelign about weddings. I really enjoy capturing that special day for someone, but I doubt that I would be willing to do more than a few a year.

And even the diting, in the comfort of your own home, isn't all it's cracked up to be. I don't know about you, but editing my work takes a lot of effort on my part. Especially when it's on a deadline. You get some leeway with weddings because the couple is most likely away on their honeymoon, but that's not always guaranteed. And sometimes it's not until you look at the files that you realize you screwed up.

Listen, I don't want to discourage you, I just want you to know what it's all about. It really is a boat load of work, and few things about it are easy. Go out and give it a try sometime, that's the only way to find out if it's right for you. I like your style of shooting, and I think it would make for some striking wedding shots, so it's not like you couldn't be good at it.

[Speed]

Penny,

First, thanks for the kind words. Now to answer your question, I am really torn on the 10D. The image quality is far better than what my Nikons gave me. The exposure is much more consistent, in regular shots but primarily flash shots. BUT, I don't understand why Canon insists on making the control scheme so backwards. Every other manufacturer uses a directional pad for switching focus points, the little wheel on the back with the little wheel up on top are just poor design, there is no excuse for it. And the flash needing to have a focus point on the subject for proper exposure is severely limiting when it comes to framing. That and the thing is not as energy efficient as the Nikons (I got twice the amount of shots with my D100 off of one charge) and the thing is just inexcusably slow to start up. I have gone as far as setting my auto shut-off time to half an hour because I got sick of waiting for it to "wake up." On the flipside though, the buffer is larger, it lets me shoot as many RAW images as JPEGs, and once it's set the way I want, it just feels really good in the hand, very well balanced.

As far as lenses go, I am not sure yet. Though that 14mm really, REALLY got me salivating. Too bad it was a rental.

You jumped ship too soon. :-O

If only you had known the D70 was going to redefine digital! ;-)

Still great shots, even if you do use a canon thingy.