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| | | | FAQ Revisions | Editors: tmpchaos  , Edit This , Psychephylax , DavisPhotog , climbers
Last modified on 2008-03-29 11:05:22
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| | Every now and then, the DI Forum gets asked for tips about shooting weddings. Most often, the person asking is an amateur/hobbyist photographer with little or no experience shooting under wedding conditions. Most often, these amateur/hobbyist photographers are being asked by a co-worker, friend, or family member, or they have a co-worker, friend, or family member who is looking for a photographer to shoot their upcoming wedding, and the persons getting married might not be able to afford a professional wedding photographer. Perhaps, they are looking to spend as little as possible or, in some cases, they are looking for a good deal to have their wedding done at little or no charge because the photographer shooting it is not a professional. Whether or not it is a good idea or a good deal to have an amateur/hobbyist photographer shoot one of, if not the most important days of their lives has been the subject of much debate and discussion. Some amateur/hobbyist photographers willing to accept this "challenge" may look at the opportunity of shooting a wedding as a way to gain experience and, to some extent, they are looking upon the opportunity as a way to confirm their skills as a photographer and they are willing, in many cases, to offer their services at a much reduced fee or no fee at all. That is when they will come to the DI Forum with questions about what is a fair fee, should they have a contract, what equipment should be used, how much memory should one have, whether to use JPEG or RAW, is permission needed to shoot during the ceremony, and any number of other questions someone with little or no wedding photography experience would ask.
This FAQ is an effort to provide some of the very basic answers to these questions and to offer some limited advice to amateur/hobbyist photographers willing to take the leap into wedding photography. Details such as shooting styles, lighting, composition, crowd control, post-processing methods, etc. will not be examined at this time because it is hoped that anyone willing to shoot a wedding will already possess sufficient knowledge in these areas. Let's hope so, at least! If not, there are any number of wedding photography checklists available on the Internet that will help prepare you for the essential shots that would need to be taken before, during, and after the wedding ceremony. In addition, there are any number of wedding photographer sites where the photographer has posted a sampling of his or her wedding portfolios. We are not suggesting that you copycat other wedding photographer's styles of shooting, but you can certainly glean some useful information by visiting these sites. One of the most effective ways to prepare for shooting a wedding is to contact a wedding photographer in your area and ask if he or she will allow you to tag along without camera to assist him or her for free. Not only might this experience help ready you for the big day, but the pro might let you tag along to another wedding with your camera, allowing you to take a few shots of your own. Who knows, the shots might be good enough to sell to the wedding couple at a reduced price. Of course, you should clear this with the professional first.
• Cameras - Generally, wedding photographers use a digital single lens reflex camera, commonly known as a dSLR, and preferably one with at least 8MP that are capable of producing 240-300 dpi 12"x18" prints. These cameras are chosen for their ability to accept many different types of lenses and external flash attachments. Most wedding photographers carry one or more backup cameras, just in case one or more of their primary cameras should fail. Imagine being in the middle of the cake-cutting ceremony and your one and only camera fails! That would be disastrous for the newlyweds, wouldn't it? One could certainly use film 35mm SLR cameras, or medium format (645, 6X7, etc.) to shoot weddings, and many wedding photographers still use this equipment, but since the forum is primarily about digital cameras, we will keep the discussion on digital.
• Lenses - Since a majority of weddings are indoors, usually inside a church, wedding photographers use a variety of lenses from wide angle to telephoto, covering focal lengths from 12mm to 200mm. One of the most common pieces of advice given regarding lenses is, no matter what the focal length, fast lenses are best, preferably f/1.8 or faster, which means going for prime lenses. Also, a lens/camera combination that provides fast auto-focusing is a must. Using flash may not be allowed under certain conditions and having a fast lens/camera combination will allow the photographer to shoot under indoor or natural lighting conditions and maintain fast enough shutter speeds to ensure images that aren't blurred due to subject movement or camera shake. Of course, not everyone getting started in wedding photography can afford a bag full of fast prime lenses, so compromises may have to be made. Image stabilized lenses or cameras can be helpful for shooting under no flash, low lighting conditions, allowing the photographer to shoot at two to three stops slower than normally would be required to get a sharp image. This brings up cameras, again. Ideally, one would carry two cameras and three lenses. One camera with a wide zoom lens, say in the range of 24-70mm, and one camera with a telephoto lens in the range of 70-200mm. Keep in mind, though, that most consumer level dSLR cameras have a field of view multiplication factor of 1.5 or 1.6, meaning 24mm may not be wide enough to capture a large group photo. This is where having a super-wide zoom, such as the Sigma 12-24mm, the Canon 10-22mm, or the Tamron 11-18mm would fit the bill. Having fast prime lenses and fast zoom lenses to cover the focal range from 12mm to 200mm may not be absolutely necessary for shooting weddings and one could certainly do a reasonably good job with other lenses, but having the right tools will go a long way in making the photographer's job much easier.
•Flash and Other Lighting Equipment - One could certainly shoot a wedding without flash if the lighting conditions allow it, coupled with using fast lenses and/or high ISO settings. However, there will be those times when flash or other lighting equipment would be needed to properly expose and enhance particular shooting situations. There are many choices and possibilities; too many to get into in this FAQ. In fact, the subject of flash photography and lighting could fill a whole FAQ on its own. Tagging along with an experienced wedding photographer, as suggested earlier, would help with gaining knowledge and experience in this area. One thing is for certain, though. Do not attempt to learn how to properly use flash or other lighting equipment at the wedding!
•Memory Cards and Batteries - The wedding photographer should have a sufficient supply of memory cards and fully charged batteries to cover the event. What constitutes a sufficient supply is anyone's guess, since every wedding will be different. As far as memory cards, suffice it to say that the old axiom "don't put all of your eggs in one basket" should apply when it comes to memory card capacities. In other words, many photographers will recommend spreading the day's shooting over several memory cards instead of having all of the wedding images on one card. The reason for this is in the event the one card containing all of the image files should become corrupted and not recoverable. Chances are slim that this will happen, but why chance it? Also, it would be a good idea to have some type of digital storage device on site in order to offload the images. Many types of devices for offloading memory cards are available, including, but not limited to, notebook computers, standalone hard disk drives, and standalone CD burners.
•Tripods and Cable Release - A good and sturdy tripod will come in handy for those group shots and for shots from the back of the church during the ceremony. A cable release, when used with a tripod, will allow eye contact during group shots and will allow the photographer to engage the subjects, especially if there are young children in the group.
•Fees and Contracts - Fees play a very important role for the wedding photographer. The more experience one has and the more accomplished one is, the higher the fees one can demand for their services. Fees charged can range anywhere from the budget wedding ($500) to the extravagant wedding ($50K+). Fees charged will be up to each individual to decide, but charging less than $500 for a wedding would be doing a disservice to you, the aspiring wedding photographer, and it is a disservice to those who earn their livings as established professional wedding photographers. A wedding photographer’s services and time are valuable and many wedding photographers have purchased thousands of dollars in equipment and have spent thousands of hours perfecting their craft in order to enable them to perform their job to the best of their abilities and to provide their clients with a quality service and product. An average starting charge is at least $1,500.00, once enough wedding shooting experience has been attained. Of course, charges vary by geographical area, so be sure to check local rates before setting prices. Also, when setting prices, just because you are not an experienced wedding photographer, doesn't mean you should underestimate your worth, but just as important, don't overestimate your worth, either!
Another important matter to consider before setting fees is to decide which of two business models to follow. The traditional, or original, business model, provides less fees up front of the actual photographer's fees. Then, the bulk of fees collected is on various packaged print sales. The newer business model has evolved with the advancement of digital technology. This method is to collect most fees up front and then sell prints a little above costs and/or supply high resolution images on CD with a release that would allow the client to get whichever images they want printed, wherever and whenever they want. Because of advancements in digital technology, this business model makes it very easy for clients to purchase one print package. Then, the client can copy or scan those images and either print images themselves or have prints made by third parties, which means less profit for the wedding photographer using this business model than using the traditional, or original, business model. Again, the choice on which business model to follow will vary according to each wedding photographer’s preferences and what business model is being most used by wedding photographers in your geographical area.
Also, there are add-on fees most wedding photographers will need to consider, as well. Many wedding photographers will set a maximum travel distance. Anything over that distance, additional fees would be added. Additional fees would be charged for rehearsal and reception shooting, although some photographers incorporate these prices into their existing packages. Wedding albums are another add-on cost to add to wedding photography fees. Wedding albums can range from $30-$500+ depending on the quality, type of covering, and amount of pages. That would be the wedding photographer’s cost. What you would charge is, again, up to each photographer to decide and is best set based off of local area rates.
Last but not least, with regard to fees, are deposits. Generally, a deposit is collected at the time of booking services. Typically, deposits are non-refundable. Then, it is standard practice for the remaining fees/charges to be paid in full prior to the wedding day.
One of the most important areas of doing wedding photography is the contract. Some might ask why contracts are important. Contracts are a must for many reasons. First and foremost, they can protect the photographer against liability. One of the most common problems wedding photographers face in todays society is being sued! Many people, these days, are very litigious and will sue for anything and everything, so the photographer may need legal protection in the form of a contract. Contracts protect the clients, too, and they can add an air of professionalism to your business, as well. There are other things that might be necessary to include in the contract, such as indemnity clauses. Since the writers of this FAQ are not attorneys, it might be necessary to contact a lawyer to draw up a standard contract that would suit your needs or you could search the Internet for do-it-yourself contracts.
•Useful Wedding Photography Links -
The Wedding Photojournalist Association
Wedding and Portrait Photographers International
Wedding Photography e-Book
(Many valuable contributions by Gemologist )
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by SandShark edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2006-06-22 23:31:13 |
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