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Crash course in photographing Weddings?
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Hi there folks. Am just wondering if anyone out there knows anywhere in Ireland/Dublin that does a crash course in wedding photography? I have to shoot a wedding for friends in 2 months and I just want to get everything right for them.
I’m confident enough that I’ll do a good job but a weekend course would be great for my confidence or even if a professional weding photographer based in Dublin could take me under his wing for a few hours tuition maybe over the course of a Saturday or two? (Though I fear the latter may just be pushing my luck a bit!). Just any tips or tricks would be fantastic.
I have information overload reading stuff on-line so I’d just like to get some honest to goodness tips & tricks that could be used or kept in mind throughout the day.
Thanks in advance folks
Regards,
Niall. :idea:Niallo wrote:
Am just wondering if anyone out there knows anywhere in Ireland/Dublin that does a crash course in wedding photography? I have to shoot a wedding for friends in 2 months and I just want to get everything right for them.
:lol: :lol: :lol: (Sorry, had to check to see if it was 1 April yet)
Niallo wrote:
I’m confident enough that I’ll do a good job
I was looking to see if you had a link to a gallery of your work or suchlike, but was surprised (shocked even?) not to see anything?
Don’t get me wrong, you could be capable enough, but then if you were, would you have made this post? And this is a sort of a ‘joke’ topic on photography forums…….. :oops:
Alas, I appear to be the butt end of a joke so! The story of my life!
Thanks for the reply anyway Brandyman … Now I’ll crawl off to that dark corner over there and just slip in under that rock.Seriously though … Am confident that I’ll do the job well alright but as they say … The biggest room, is the room for improvement … (Barf). Have shot 2 weddings before and got some good shots from both. But could do with more …
And regards to … “I was looking to see if you had a link to a gallery of your work or suchlike, but was surprised (shocked even?) not to see anything?” … It’s in the pipeline. I just need to find that 25th hour in the day to finish everything off …
Regards man,
NDon’t think you’ll find a crash course anywhere. It’s not my place to say don’t do it, but when I was asked to shoot my relatives wedding years ago, I immediately said No Way. It’s something you don’t want to mess up. I’m now getting paid to do them, but only after 5 years of being a pro shooting other things. If you do, do it make sure you have backup kit for your backup kit…if it goes wrong, you’ll need it.
Thanks Mark. Am jumping at the opportunity because it’s an area I wish to get into more heavily, with intention of staying at it full time. Have showed the couple samples of my work and they were v happy with the results.
A crash course or a weekend course would be great, if somewhere did them. I know there’s ones in the UK but there’s no way I’ll be able to get over there in time.
And re a backup kit … Yes, it’s paramount. I wouldn’t arrive on the day without one …
That’s my next problem … Does anyone out there have a loan of a ……
N
Just do what i did, bought a second hand wedding dress for next to nothing in a charity shop and
got a good friend to pose for pictures in different light conditions.
I made notes as I was going on how to expose for the white dress and came up a few ideas for
some shots.
I use those shots for the samples I use and it seems to work. All you need to worry about is planning.
Visit the church, the house, the hotel everywhere and plan all your key shots before hand.
If you have a second camera, have a friend come along who can take some candid shots.Dave from Digital Beginners has a section on one of his courses that is for weddings.
Perhaps you can get the notes from him, they could help.Thanks Byrne5012.
That’s not a bad Idea at all re wedding dress. Mighht even be able to get my wife into hers again for a few shots for metering purposes as you say. And I also know Dave McKane from DB. Might drop him a line.Thanks again
NThe wedding courses in the Uk…anabel williams etc, are so expensive! Don’t know of any over here, just seminars. Try to find a wedding pro near to you. Ask him/her can you assist/second shoot for them for free. That’s what I did here…7 as a second shooter, my first on my own is 20 april! Can’t wait! Try and find a photographer who has time for you…some guys are up their own arse….for no reason too.
Thanks Mark. That’s an excellent idea! Fair play to you.
Will let you know how I get on …N
I did the two day Wedding Course in the UK that Julie Oswin and Steve Walton are running in the UK and I can honestly say it was an excellent course. I did the Two Day Course: The Business of Wedding Photography. When you take into account what you get on the course, it’s GBP 395.00 well spent.
On the first day they talk about equipment and technique in the first hour or so and then the remainder of the day is spent actually shooting a wedding couple, going through the various shots and how one can best deal with the couple, the wedding party and the wedding guests. You should get enough images out of this to put together a mini sample album (but they will only feature a couple). The couple are not pro models but ordinary people so that you get a sense of working in a real life scenario, with all the difficulties associated.
The second day covers business aspects, workflow, album design and other related issues.
The ?395.00 covers the course fee which includes a light lunch, course materials, the cost of hiring the “models” plus their wedding attire and the cost of the venue, so it’s pretty good value for money really. As one photographer put it here, “Anyone who thinks that these course fees are on the steep side should consider the potential costs involved in dealing with a very upset bride – both financially and in terms of reputation.”
I chose to do the course on the strength of what I saw in their book, Contemporary Wedding Photography, which is probably the best book I’ve come across on Wedding Photography.
You can see what others have to say about the course over at ePhotozine
Personally, I’m so glad I chose to do this rather than an Annabel Williams course.
Hope this is of some help.
I have that book also Thorsten, but can’t say I was too impressed with it. Although I’m sure the training courses are good, and valuable, I think the experience you get as a second shooter at a wedding is much better…you get to see how the whole day pans out, and what a real couple are like. The fact it’s real is the whole point. I was lucky in that the guy I was helping out didn’t ask for any of my pics afterwards, and he knew I was after sample album images, so he let me do what I wanted…ie I was not a tripod holder!! Try and find someone like that!
Thorsten, I presume you’re trying to get into the wedding business? If so, you might be interested in possibly the best seminar of the year – Yervant & Joe Buissink together 25 May in Dublin – http://www.thempa.com/ I think I’m going to have to attend.
Man! The feed back has been great. Thanks folks.
Yes, I think going down the route of being a second shooter at a wedding or two prior to the one I have to do would be hugely beneficial.
NP.s. All I need now is for Jeff Ascough (http://www.jeffascough.com/) to come online and tell me .. “I’ll take you on as a shooter” …
Jeff … If you’re reading … call me man!
Hi Thorsten – that course looks very interesting – might try it myself.
Frank
markcapilitan wrote:
I have that book also Thorsten, but can’t say I was too impressed with it.
Each to their own. Two other books which I find very good are The Art of Digital Wedding Photography by Bambi Cantrell and Skip Cohen and Digital Photography Bootcamp by Kevin Kubota.
markcapilitan wrote:
Although I’m sure the training courses are good, and valuable, I think the experience you get as a second shooter at a wedding is much better…you get to see how the whole day pans out, and what a real couple are like. The fact it’s real is the whole point.
I agree, there’s an awful lot to be said for working as a second shooter with an established professional, and given the chance, it’s an opportunity I’d like to take up myself. But as you know there’s an awful lot more to wedding photography than just the day itself. In fact, I would say that the pre-wedding planning that a photographer does ahead of the day is absolutely essential to a successful wedding day. Meeting the couple a few times in advance of the wedding to get to know them, find out what they want and set their expectation levels are paramount in my opinion. Then there’s the post-wedding finishing work. Neither of these are things you’re going to learn by just turning up on the day to shoot alongside of a professional. But I agree, if you can find someone willing to have you help out on the day, it is of enormous benefit.
markcapilitan wrote:
I was lucky in that the guy I was helping out didn’t ask for any of my pics afterwards, and he knew I was after sample album images, so he let me do what I wanted…ie I was not a tripod holder!! Try and find someone like that!
That’s rare indeed. As you say, lucky you!
markcapilitan wrote:
Thorsten, I presume you’re trying to get into the wedding business?
Until a few years ago, I swore I would never do a wedding. They just seemed so formulaic and boring. However wedding photography has changed significantly in the last few years and I now see it as an exciting opportunity. I don’t think it’s possible to make a business based on weddings alone and even if it was, I wouldn’t want to. But yes, it is an area of photography I am seriously considering.
markcapilitan wrote:
If so, you might be interested in possibly the best seminar of the year – Yervant & Joe Buissink together 25 May in Dublin – http://www.thempa.com/ I think I’m going to have to attend.
Yeah, the MPA mailed me about that one already and it is very tempting. However, I’m already committed to going to a talk given by Tony Corbell the week before that and without any income coming in at the moment, I’m on an extremely tight budget so I may not be able to attend the MPA talks as well :cry: But thanks for reminding me about it!
Hi Niall,
I was thinking of designing a course along the lines that Thorsten showed the link to: ordinary couple in wedding attire etc, try out the various shots etc. I have access to a Dublin Church on Saturday’s and I think that would be an excellent way of going in at the deep end without any risk. Any wedding photographer out there willing to discuss co-teaching a course like this with me?
Dave
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