The Wedding Photography Thread

I know there's a few other mags out there who shoot some weddings (single and smmokan jump to mind, but there's gotta be more), so perhaps there is a bit of interest in a thread like this. Any and all posts are welcome, sharing recent wedding shots you took, asking for advice for a future wedding you're planning (for yourself even!) or going to shoot. Or even networking with other mags for second shooters and the like.

Post pics, or don't. Or flame this thing til it dies a miserable death.

Here's four I just edited from a wedding last Sunday.

I don't do wedding photography (and probably never will), but I have serious admiration for good wedding photographers (i.e. those of you who go beyond the standard wedding shots and do more candid, casual, creative shots). I cannot imagine how you guys juggle so many shots, so many creative shots, of so many important moments, under so much time pressure.

One interesting thing to learn for me would be: how do you prepare for weddings, in terms of what kinds of shots you'll take, where you'll position yourself, what kinds of poses you'll use? Do you have a standard set of shots you plan to take and the wing it for the rest? Do you visit the venues beforehand? How do you experiment? With the time pressure, how do you spend precious seconds/minutes on shots that may not turn out?

Good idea Geoff.... although I don't shoot weddings often (one or two a year), I really like looking at the image creativity of good photogs. My personal style is more candid- I like capturing emotion and feeling of the day, as opposed to the posed shot with wedding parties or families. Sure, those have a time and place, but the other shots are where you can get original. Nice timing with this post, I'm actually getting ready to shoot a Mag's wedding next weekend.

Here are a few shots from a wedding I did last year:

http://www.stevemokanphotography.com...77_ynPJS-L.jpg

http://www.stevemokanphotography.com...89_YtEj3-L.jpg

http://www.stevemokanphotography.com...35_tXzCT-L.jpg

http://www.stevemokanphotography.com...43_HZf3c-L.jpg

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Originally Posted by Fuzz

With the time pressure, how do you spend precious seconds/minutes on shots that may not turn out?

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From firsthand experience it appears that Geoff succeeds at this by running around barefoot at high rates of speed with two camera body/lens combos strapped to him the whole time :biggrin:

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Originally Posted by smmokan

Sure, those have a time and place, but the other shots are where you can get original. Nice timing with this post, I'm actually getting ready to shoot a Mag's wedding next weekend.

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Pssh, must be some really trusting guy to let YOU do it. ;)

Geoff, I really like your shots above and the random/candid style of them. I am a fan of high heels, though...so that may be swaying me.

Steve, I agree completely with your approach - candids are where a great wedding photog sets him/herself apart from a good one. I really feel like I'm improving at an exponential rate, with each wedding I'm better prepared and I get better shots (and I get better at processing them too).

Fuzz, it's exactly as you imagine, I have a base shot list in the back of my mind (first kiss, ring shot, shoe shot, dress shot, etc) but other than that I just run wild. I spend a fair bit of time studying my favorite wedding photog's blog before any e-shoot or wedding (Tony Hoffer - the dude is INCREDIBLY good and his site is well worth a visit), and steal a lot of his ideas. The current trend that I'm working on is shooting through things, where the b&g are in focus somewhere, but there are large out of focus things in the foreground, or there are large areas of negative space that focus your eye straight to the b&g.

Here's one more for shits n' giggles (it's tough to get creative with the first kiss shot, so I've been working on some different angles, and I think this is my favorite first kiss shot I've shot so far):

http://stk.tetongravity.com/forums/a...0&d=1317236596

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Originally Posted by gholman12

Fuzz, it's exactly as you imagine, I have a base shot list in the back of my mind (first kiss, ring shot, shoe shot, dress shot, etc) but other than that I just run wild. I spend a fair bit of time studying my favorite wedding photog's blog before any e-shoot or wedding (Tony Hoffer - the dude is INCREDIBLY good and his site is well worth a visit), and steal a lot of his ideas.

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This is basically what I do too. I obviously meet with the B&G ahead of time (or at least one of them) and find out what they feel are the important shots- then I combine that list with what I feel is important, and go from there. I don't carry an actual list with me- I think that as long as I know what's going on with the schedule, I can position myself well enough for the shots I want. Outside of those main ones, I try to get creative with everything else.

I also make a point of scouting out the location ahead of time (assuming that's possible), preferably close to the actual wedding so I can see what the light is like. For the wedding, I'll make sure I have two bodies- usually with the two main lenses on each. My wife likes to help out, so she'll carry the bag and follow me around the whole time- she's a trooper. :)

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Originally Posted by gholman12

I spend a fair bit of time studying my favorite wedding photog's blog before any e-shoot or wedding (Tony Hoffer - the dude is INCREDIBLY good and his site is well worth a visit), and steal a lot of his ideas. The current trend that I'm working on is shooting through things, where the b&g are in focus somewhere, but there are large out of focus things in the foreground, or there are large areas of negative space that focus your eye straight to the b&g.

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I'm going to speak in generalities now, and I'm not calling anyone in particular out or anything like that. Just an observation or two.

As a(n enthusiast) photographer, I spend "alot" of time (whatever that means), looking at all sorts of photos. On trend I've noticed in wedding photography, and people pics in general, is a lot of "trendy" post processing going on. If you've looked at wedding pics in the past year, you know the style I'm speaking of. What I fear is that 5 years from now, if not divorced, people are going to look back at their wedding pics and hate them, because the "style" is dated.

Make sense?

Lonnie- Remember, the couple hired a specific photog with a specific style in mind. If they wanted someone who didn't do any significant PP'ing and only shot in basic RGB color, then they would have gone that route.

That's one reason why I like to mix up my processing... color, B&W, vintage, weathered, etc. I typically give them the same general shot with different processing in case they like one over the other.

Steve,

I'm not necessarily pinning this on the photographers. "Fashion" (so to speak) is fashion. Styles come and go. My general premise still stands, that while cool looking, if their pics are "trendy", they will go out of style. I think it behooves the photographers to communicate that with the bride and groom when taking to them about what they want the final product to look like. Give them the pros/cons. That will serve the photographer well in the long run. That's the only point I was trying to make.

I know our wedding photos were pretty "photo-journalistic" in nature without too much post processing involved. I think they'll stand the test of time. Of course, I also convinced the photographer to give me a DVD with the raw files on it, so I could also do anything I wanted to them if I chose to...

Tony Hoffer's wedding portfolio is pretty amazing, although I'd like to have seen more wedding shots rather than posed portrait-type shots. But top-notch work nonetheless. I love Jeff Ascough's photojournalistic style -- no wonder he gets the clients that he does.

To Lonnie's point, I think there is something to be said for classic styles versus fads that might looked dated in a few years. But if the B&G like it and are willing to pay for it, then who's to say otherwise?

Steve, it's interesting that you provide several edits of the same shots for the B&G to choose from. On the one hand, you ensure that the B&G are really satisfied. But on the other, do you feel that it prevents you from developing and branding your own style (since you're letting each client determine your final "look" somewhat)?

Question to the wedding photogs: did you start out as 2nd shooters first? Or just dive right in? Maybe doing a few as unpaid favors for friends (less pressure)?

Wedding photography interests me as challenging to shoot and be creative (since it's different from my typical photography; it's why I look forward to photographing family events, e.g. graduations, Christmas gatherings, etc.). But the pressure is something I have no interest in dealing with.

Fuzz, I'd say you should dive in any way you can. I started by splitting a $220 paid gig with a friend, made $110 and had almost no pressure. From there you make a website, and start marketing yourself to the craigslist crowd, who are always, ALWAYS looking for good photographers who are just starting out in the wedding field, to work for next to nothing. I did 1 or 2 at $500 off craigslist, built my portfolio, and upped my prices. The more weddings you shoot, the better you get, the more you can charge. It's a nice cycle, but you gotta start at the bottom. Second shooting is good once or twice, definitely, but what you'll find is that the b&g don't pay much attention to you, since you're just the second, so most of your shots are just side angles of shots set up for the main photog, and are therefore not as interesting/engaging.

As for the post processing/fashion issue, I haven't been in the game (or in the world, really) long enough to have witnessed a real shift in what's chic in the wedding PP world. That being said I can definitely imagine certain PP going out of style, and that's why I provide, in addition to a digital edit of about 150-200 of the best shots PP'd, every single .jpg file in its unadulterated form on DVDs. And like Steve, I mix up my PP a bit, depending on what a shot calls for (b&w, vintage, warmer, cooler, high key, etc), but tend to stick to a theme if possible.

Here's my main question: How do you market yourself? Google Adwords? Craigslist? Other? And if you're not a wedding photog, and wanted to hire one, where would you look first?

Fuzz- I probably didn't explain myself well enough... I didn't mean that I edit the *same* shot multiple times. It's just that if I have multiple similar shots of the same scene, I'll do them slightly different so the bride has a choice. For instance, if I have three successive shots of the cake cutting, I'll do one in full color, one in B&W, and one a different style. Despite which one they like, I still have my favorites that I'll post to my site.

Geoff- I don't market much at all. Facebook and friends/family referrals. I'm not in it to make a ton of money- rather, I just like doing it enough to make money to pay for vacations and gear. I have a nice website that gives me credibility (as do you), and I'm not afraid to give out cards and tell people to check out my work. I'd love to do portrait photography full time, but my day job is too damn good to give up. For now, anyways.

About your question on where to look first for a wedding photog- maybe I'm different, but I'd ask for referrals from friends in the area. After that, I'd probably do some google searches and check out websites before narrowing it down. I really think it comes down to style and budget for 90% of the brides out there.

Bridal Party Goes Swimming. Photog gets pics...

http://imgur.com/gallery/j6eH3

Smmokan did my wedding last week...we are super pleased with the shots!

Just sayin' :)

Here's a couple from a wedding I did this summer...

If any of you are willing, I could use help putting my website together. I was using Smugmug but they had a "database error" and lost all my coding. I'm open to suggestions for other hosts. I've been doing more commercial stuff along with the wedding gigs. I really have a passion for shooting sports/landscapes and weather. The other stuff has been purely for experience and to pay for gear.

Greg

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/8...1365766418.jpg

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http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/2...1395221418.jpg

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http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/4...1379891418.jpg

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Originally Posted by Lonnie

Bridal Party Goes Swimming. Photog gets pics...

http://imgur.com/gallery/j6eH3

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That's hilarious. Clearly that dock needed a "Max Load" sign - that's a LARGE wedding party.

All of you wedding photogs better have your shit together....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45144944.../#.TrKzkfQoHZU

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Groom sues photographer, demands new wedding

But what is striking, said the studio that took the pictures, is that Mr. Remis’s wedding took place in 2003 and he waited six years to sue. And not only has Mr. Remis demanded to be repaid the $4,100 cost of the photography, he also wants $48,000 to recreate the entire wedding and fly the principals to New York so the celebration can be re-shot by another photographer.

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The best part is that they are now divorced, and he has no idea where his ex-bride now lives in Latvia.

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Originally Posted by Fuzz

The best part is that they are now divorced, and he has no idea where his ex-bride now lives in Latvia.

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Caught that little gem, eh??

I just hope when he wins, that he can recoup his legal fees...