My First Wedding...

[SeattleShooter]

...shooting stills! Oh ya, a long distance family member found out I work in the television biz and asked me to shoot their wedding for FREE! My head sunk when I heard. But when she asked for me to shoot stills I was in a kind of shock. I do still photography for a hobby and don't sell any of my prints. I don't even do portraits or weddings with my still gear! I love nature and landscape photography!

I have done countless weddings, including my fathers second wedding when I was 11, all with a video camera. They are not fun in my eyes. The only wedding I can remember that I have been to where I did not shoot it was my very own.

But I stepped up to the plate and gave wedding still photography a shot. And I will say this, its not as easy as it seems! I know my still cameras well but nothing compares to getting off a shot as fast as possible with the trusty video camera. Not to mention making it looking good.

What did I learn from this? I need faster lenses! I don't like flash photography from the flash on the camera and I don't have the gear for portrait lighting. So shooting in that dark church was not easy. I have a new respect for still shooters. I know that they are good at what they do because they do it day in and day out like us. But it was humbling when I got home, looked at some of my shots and said "SOB" why does that shot look like crap! Everyone has a learning curve.

I shot with a Canon 30D and a Rebel XTi. I will post some of my better shots sometime.

 

[dhart]

I did both my wife's niece's weddings on video. Not fun, particularly as a one man band. Got hammered when everyone stood up for the bride's entrance. Luckily I recovered. The bad part is you don't get to drink as much until you finish recording all the messages to the bride and groom The good thing is no ever really watches these videos until maybe 20 years later. I feel your pain.

 

[Stoney]

I shot a friend's wedding for him. I didn't pretend, when he asked, that I was going to produce really great pictures... but that was ok for him. In the end, it was hard work, but I was happy that I recorded his big event. I did realize that the skills involved are immense, especially if you are shooting it documentary style, like I was. We did take some group pics, but mostly it was go with the flow. I ended up with a handful of great pictures, which is all I wanted out of it. My buddy was more than happy.

I also had a video cam there for it, I tasked my other buddy to run the camera, a DVX100. He had no experience, but I wanted whatever he could get. I was surprised, it turned out ok in the end.

All that said, I don't think I am going for a career change. It was fun once, but I would rather be having fun in the audience, not working.

 

[SimonW]

I've done stills for friends weddings a couple of times. I hate each and every moment of doing it. Especially when stuck with lenses that aren't the fastest. Knowledge of how to drag the shutter with the flash is a must, as is how to use the flash in the first place.

I also made the mistake of doing my sisters wedding for her. The big drawback with that was that I had to moderate my drinking, and most of the guests didn't realise that I was the brother of the bride!!! So I was getting people speaking to me like I was the hired in camera monkey. Not fun.

I have total respect for wedding video guys. The pressure is immense, and it is highly difficult to get good video or stills at those events (unless you're lucky enough to live in a tropical beach area or something). Yet most people ridicule them as doing a second class job where photography and video are concerned.

 

[ChrisFigProductions]

In addition to shooting documentaries and news reports, I've shot over 200 weddings in 7 years. And it honestly took me about 3 full years to really get good at shooting weddings. It's fast and hectic. But once you learn the system, you realize most weddings are very similar in format. So very often you can anticipate the action before it develops.

 

[The Thing on The Sticks]

I've shot a couple of weddings on video over the years and for friends and such. But could never imagine doing it for a living there is indeed a ton of work involved and if you want to do it right a fair bit of expense. Which is something I never felt fully comfortable with for younger couples just starting out, probably why I will only do the rare one for a friend huh.

Now stills are a whole other story, yes they can be fairly difficult to shoot technically but those single images can last many lifetimes and defiantly have value beyond a few viewings. So if I had to become a wedding shooter back to stills I would go.

 

[Brock Samson]

I only do weddings for very close friends, and only for free. That way they can't yell at me, and I don't have to buy a gift because the video is the gift!

Luckily I'm finally getting old enough now that almost all of my friends are already married.

 

[Stoney]

I only do weddings for very close friends, and only for free. That way they can't yell at me, and I don't have to buy a gift because the video is the gift!

Luckily I'm finally getting old enough now that almost all of my friends are already married.

Good point, the video or stills were my gift to my friend. However, I also made a book with my favorite photos, using iPhoto's online book system. That was the real gift. I was surprised at how good that book came out, and it was only about $30.