Thread: Lesson learned from my first wedding shoot

I survived the wedding shoot. OMG I think I have at least ~2000+ photos to go thru. I will post pictures as soon as I get the OK from the Bride and Groom.

If you are thinking of shooting weddings here are some of the advice I learned.

1. Scope out the area and determine best locations of where to shoot. I did this during their wedding rehearsal and before the actual ceremony. I was a bit disappointed when I was taking pictures outside due to the sun . I'll show you some of the pictures from this venue soon.

2. Definitely having an assistant to help you is a plus. My DH, assisted me in gathering people together, carrying my bag, etc. I don't think I could have done it by myself.

3. Get a list from the Bride/Groom on what pictures are most important to them. This was important and I made sure that I get all the pictures that they are looking forward to most.

4. Put another list together of what you want to take (traditional, etc.). This helped me tremendously to keep track of what I need to do.

5. Take control of the shoot. There was a moment, when the Bride's mother was telling me what pictures she want. I basically told her I have a list from the bride and if we have time, I'll come back to you. I didn't know if that was rude or not. But I was cramp in time, since people did not show up in time for group photos.

6. Bring lots of memory card. I ended up having 5 - 8 gig cards and I was glad that Jendodd suggested it. I was shooting in RAW and the cards filled up quickly.

7. Have a back up camera and speedlight. I think this is really important. This helped me avoid having to change lens in between events. Although I did not have a speedlight on the other camera, which I should have.

8. Bring lots of batteries for your speedlight. My speedlight started burning out (the batteries) and it took longer to cycle thru, so I had to keep swapping batteries, when I notice the lag. I wonder if there is a rechargeable battery pack available for it? Got to do my research.

9. Don't be scared to go in front of people. I didn't care if I was in people way. If I have to get the shot I need, I go up there, get in their faces etc. lmao

10. Don't do it while your 5 mos pregnant!!! The wedding requires a lot of standing. I started from 11:30am to 9:30pm. Half way thru the evening my back started to hurt, really bad. I managed to sit down when it did but wedding requires a lot of standing! For some parts, dancing, etc. I set the camera and had my DH shoot the dance floor.

It was definitely an eye opener for me. Weddings are really hard, since you cannot do repeats and its once in a life time moment. Overall, I had some regrets on several shots but its a great learning experience for sure.

You need to be fast, think quickly, be able to change your settings (I shot manual the entire evening), know where to bounce that speedlight.

Can't wait to share pictures with everyone!

Thanks for reading.

Oh girl you are so cute! What a good list of things though! What a trooper to do it all preg!!!!!!!! Your my hero! I cant wait to see some of the photos hun!

Can't wait to see them all! 2.000+wow!

I can't wait to see the photos! I'm sure you got some fantastic shots in the 2000+ you took!

Great tips! Can't wait to see the pics!!

wow! i can't wait to see what you came up with. Sounds like a lot of work! I'm sure you did great though!

I can't wait to see them! I have to applaud you for even attempting it at 5 months pregnant!

Great tips! Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to see the pics!

wow! that was a lot of work and pregnant too, kudos to you!

I can't wait to see the pix!

thanks for sharing all of that El, I'm really looking forward to seeing the pictures. great advice! and when I was shadowing the photographer at my cousin's wedding, my speedlite batteries went dead quickly. they had a tub FULL of rechargable batteries that they let me borrow from to keep my light going. I thought it was so smart that they had that.