Help!!

[Amy]

A good friend of mine is getting married in July. This will be the 3rd marriage for both of them and they're keeping it as small as possible (only 50 or so people). They're also pretty much broke (the groom's daughter is getting married in Nov. so that wedding is where all their money is going). You can guess where this is leading.......today she asked me if I'd be the photographer for her wedding.

I would absolutely love to do this for her, I'm so touched that she asked me, and it's a great opportunity - if you've never done a wedding before, start with a small one, right? HOWEVER.....

My camera is a Canon S3 IS, not a dSLR. We went to a wedding on Sat., and I took a few photos just for fun. I wanted to enjoy the wedding, so I didn't take many photos at all. But I saw the limitations of my camera: flash photos (walking down the aisle) were dark until they got within flash range, and the flash recycle time is kind of slow, so I missed a couple of shots. Normally for dark indoor/outdoor shots (band concerts or marching band on the football field at night), I'll use Sports mode and clean up the photos with Noiseware. Unfortunately, I didn't try this on Saturday, so I don't know how Sports mode would work inside a church for wedding photos. (If only she had asked me last week and I could have practiced at this wedding!!)

She's a good enough friend that she's sat through looking at tons of my vacation photos , so she's seen some of my better shots, which is why she asked me. And the S3 does take excellent shots, esp. outdoors and in good light. I'm thrilled beyond belief that she thinks enough of my photography skills to even ask me!

Any advice?? If I had the S5, I'd have the hot shoe and could get a better flash, which I"m sure would help.

Aside from my camera's limitations, I have absolutely no experience with posing people - my boys (teenagers) absolutely HATE when I try taking pictures of them, so they never cooperate when I want to try diff. settings. But there won't be any bridesmaids, just bride, groom and families. Like I said, this would be the perfect wedding to shoot for a first wedding.

I know, I know, this is the ultimate reason for me to move up to a dSLR, but spending $1000+ is just not in our budget right now (DS18 is starting college in the fall).

What to do? What to do?

 

[Master Mason]

You have a couple of months to get ready. Tell her if she wants you to do it she needs to go with you to the church so you can do trial run. Then go and take some shots of her walking down the isle etc, see how they turn out and make whatever adjustments you need.

Also you have time to look around for various poses, just make a list of the ones you want to shoot, write them down and use it as a check list, then let them improvise for a while.

I really big suggestion is to at least borrow another camera to have on hand so that if something catastophic should happen to yours you have a back up, you don't get a second chance at a wedding.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Yikes, Amy!

I think I'd be nervous about this (regardless of the type of camera I had) if I'd never done it before or had a proven track record. But she must trust you enough to know you're going to get at least a few good ones and she's ok with that. I think it's nice that she asked you.

So I guess I'd just go ahead and try to study and get as much practice in as I could right now, then keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

FWIW, we had our BIL videotape our wedding and he did a nice job (though we did have a professional photographer). OTOH, a friend asked me to take pics for her son's First Communion, and they did not come out well at all (also using the S3 - in a church) - in fact her own came out a lot better with her brand new pns.

Another thought - what if you and some other friends pitched in and hired someone as a wedding present to her? At least that way, the stress would be off you and you could kick back and enjoy the afternoon.

 

[Amy]

Thanks, guys! I'm going to tell her to give me the weekend to play with my camera some more - we have our band banquet Sunday night in the ballroom of a local hotel, so that can be my practice for reception photos. I'll take my camera to church with me, too, and try some diff. settings after church. Won't be the same as in her church, but at least I'll see what I can get out of my camera and if I have a realistic chance of getting some decent shots for her. I'd really, really like to do this for her if at all possible, but there's a world of difference between taking photos for your own memories vs. taking photos for someone else's memories!

And I remembered that our bell choir played for a wedding about a month ago. The "professional" photographer had this big, hulking video camera he used during the service, but I remember when the wedding party was walking up the aisle after the service, he stopped each couple and used a still camera, and it looked like my old Canon A70, nowhere near even my S3!

I'll let you know how my practice goes. (And I know there are prob. a lot of others out there who read this thread and are shaking their heads saying I'm crazy to even consider doing this without a dSLR!)

 

[AndrewWG]

(And I know there are prob. a lot of others out there who read this thread and are shaking their heads saying I'm crazy to even consider doing this without a dSLR!)

Wow Amy. That is a tough one. I loved my S2 but can't really say that I would even attempt a wedding with it. I used my DSLR at a couple weddings this fall and still had to do a ton of post processing to get them to look right. Of course, I was a real newbie with the DSLR at the time and I'm sure I could do better now, but to not have the pp'ing power of the RAW files, they would have been junk.

Ok, now I know that you can take wonderful pics with the S3, and yes the S5 would be better to bounce flash with an external flash, but in either case, I would think that the in-church and reception hall pics will probably end up quite noisy. Honestly, I like Linda's idea of hiring someone if you can get enough people to chip in. If you can do that, I would probably also try to get as many pics as you can with the S3 as well so that you can have that practice.

I just wouldn't want to tell a good friend that I would do that under those circumstances. Even if they are fine with the pics that they get for free, I think you would be really bummed if you couldn't get the pics just how you wanted them. Know what I mean?

I hope by me saying all this it doesn't keep you from doing what the others suggest too by going to the church, etc to see how the pics can turn out. Who knows, the lighting may be decent enough. I wouldn't worry so much about posed shots, I think those you could do fine, you just have to figure out the poses you will want.

 

[Gdad]

Amy- I would be very careful with this request- I think even a small wedding with this camera would be a very difficult assignment. You get one shot at it and if something gets messed up- including something as out of your control as an equipment malfunction- it could be a disaster. I have seen friendships damaged over much less. (Okay- getting off soap-box now… )

Some random thoughts if you decide to proceed with this…

• Be sure to make yourself very familiar with the church and where the reception is.
• Know in advance what the rules are for photography- some pastors are very particular during the ceremony with where you may stand, the use of a flash, etc. so make sure this is not a problem with your equipment.
• See in advance how much ambient light is in the sanctuary at the time of day the ceremony is to be held- and understand a cloudy or rainy day can reduce this dramatically.
• Get a book on basic posing techniques for individuals and small groups- a little research here will go a long way towards more flattering pictures.
• Meet with the Bride and make a list of shots you want to get- the cake- the rings- etc.
• Have some kind of back-up camera even if you have to borrow it from someone- and be familiar with how it works if it is different.
• Recruit an assistant to help pose people- chase after people- find batteries- check off the list- whatever- you will need help.
• Take twice as many memory cards and three times as many batteries as you think you could possibly need.
• Always remember- it is all about the Bride.

Good luck!

 

[Amy]

Well, you'll all be happy to know that I've come to my senses....I am NOT going to do my friend's wedding. My S3 is great for outdoor photography, and I've taken some fantastic photos outdoors. If it were an outdoor wedding with a guarantee of good weather, I might stand a chance. But without an external flash, forget it.

I took my camera to practice after church yesterday, and flash photos were fine within about 10 feet of the camera. Existing light gave everything a yellow-ish cast.

We had our band banquet last night, so I used that to experiment for reception photos. Tried shutter priority, program mode, even using my favorite Sports mode, the photos were just average. Perfectly fine for *my* memories of the band banquet, but not something I'd feel proud to give to my friend for her wedding photos.

I realized that the whole reason I was getting such nice photos of band concerts on stage or marching band on the football field at night was because of the bright spotlights on the band, not because of my camera.

So, thank you all for indulging me while I dreamed of greatness for a few days. I've come back to earth now, and I promise not to think about doing anything like that until I get a dSLR. One of these days......

 

[jann1033]

you know even with a dslr i think it is a big request. sometimes people ask us for something when they don't really understand the enormity of. i tried taking photos at a friend's wedding( just for me) when i first got a DSLR and only had my 50mm for low light, and well, they are not anything i would want to show around. there is a reason you hire someone for certain things... ie experience... and until I got more experienced taking that particular kind of shot it wouldn't be me for sure . imo it's one thing to take a bunch of shots to "practice" for a wedding, another to be doing it for real.( not planning on going that route anyway but if i were i just would make sure i knew exactly what i was doing first since you don't get repeats ) sometimes it's a good thing to know your own limitations

 

[elizke]

I think that's asking a lot of even the best P&S. There is just such a difference inside. I taken quite a few at family members weddings, and many that they really like. But I spent hours and hours PPing them, and they would not have taken the place of the pro shots.

It's a compliment that she asked, but if I were you I would encourage her to hire someone, even for a short time. She may regret not having some treasured pics of the day.

And it would be too much stress for you! So I think you've made the right choice. You can always take some in addition to add unique perspectives that she'll enjoy too.

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

church photos scare me. So glad you were thought of, it really is an honor, but also glad you are going to step back. I would still take pictures and maybe make her a scrapbook but skip the part that makes it a job.