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Help, suggestions and ideas required (wedding)
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A French friend of mine is marrying a Colombian friend of my wife and they are getting married in France (as its working out too expensive to get married here surprise surprise). They are quite smashed as they just had a baby and they know that I am a keen amateur photographer and they asked would I do the photos. No money is changing hands, I told them I would do the photos as my wedding present to them and I already picked up a beautiful and unique photo album in Italy this year.
Now the problem is this, I have never done a wedding before, I can’t scout out locations our check out the church/hotel as its all happening in France and I have never met either of their families before, nor will I before the big day.
So I would be most grateful for any suggestions, tips, ideas etc that could be provided. I have done a kind of list of the “must do” shots and I do intend sitting down with them to go through what I intend doing and what they would like me to cover.
OK folks….hit me….
First thing – relax !!
You are starting from a great point in that you are friendly with the B&G – therefore they will be a bit more relaxed, and they also know your situation.
When you meet with them ask them to give one list of any photos they want to the best man (to look after the grooms side) and another to the chief bridesmaid (to look after the brides side). Explain to the B&G that you won’t have a clue as to who Aunty Mary & Uncle Jim are !!
Get the name & address of both the church & hotel from the couple when you meet them. I’m sure if you google both you will find some detail – very few hotels don’t have a website and the ones that do usually have a load of photos. This will give you an idea. After arriving at the hotel you will probably have 15-20 minutes which you can spend looking around for suitable locations for shots so you should be fine.
Remember, very often the best shots have nothing to do with the location, but everything to do with facial expressions etc. so just concentrate on getting everyone to relax in front of the camera and you will be fine.Best of luck.
Kevin
Hi Markst33. You are already onto a winner as you have a Colombian connection, so therefore language shouldn’t be a major problem. I would suggest that if you know of anyone getting married in your area, to contact them or a local wedding photographer and ask them if they would mind sharing ideas or give you suggestions on the proceedings and then make a list of them. It would be easier on the day for your wife to explain to the families what type of shots you want etc. This would take a lot of pressure off and as mentioned by KPM, if you are relaxed, everyone else will feel relaxed. Good luck with it, I think you will do fine.
ps Forgot to mention. Bring plenty spare batteries, backup camera/flash etc if you can.
check out the photos in this section! and one important thing i learned, have a look at other people’s wedding albums if you are putting an album together for them. It’s important to get great stand alone portraits and group photos but details are important and the give the final album a sense of cohesion. good luck, can’t wait to see your photos!
And you might want to find out how the priest will be about taking photos inside the church during the ceremony. We seem to get away with it here but in other countries they can be quiet touchy about someone walking all over the altar clicking and flashing all the time. I recently had experience of this Poland where the priest was a bit reserved and none too pleased about me walking around the church with a load of gear.
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