I've been following this thread with great interest. I'm surprised at the
number of doom and gloom sentiments expressed about wedding photography and
getting friends to do the job. Well, I've been that friend, and I think it
worked out OK. This last August, a friend of mine got married, and her and
her husband both being students they're not overflowing with money. So they
asked me and another photographer friend to do the job. I went about it all
the wrong way, really, buying a flash the week before the ceremony and
trying to learn to use it without the time to see the results, hardly even
having time to read any books or get any ideas (in case this makes me look
appalling badly organised, I plead mitigating circumstances - an unexpected
but essential trip abroad disrupted my plans). When the day came I can't
deny I was extremely nervous, and I felt underprepared, but by the end of it
all I was very happy with what I was doing.
Obviously, not all my photos came out as I had hoped, and there were many
instances where I could have done better. But thankfully, I got a good
number of worthy shots, and between me and the other photographer, the
couple have filled a large album. They do seem genuinely pleased with what
we produced. (My personal favourite was a shot taken at the evening party -
Bohemian Rhapsody was playing, and since Wayne's World there's only one way
to behave at the end of the middle section. The bride, groom and many
others did so with glee, and a bit of slow flash sync caught the moment
beautifully!)
Would I do it again? I think I would, and in fact my sister has asked me to
take the photographs at her wedding in May. Generally bad vibes from the
list have made me ponder this further but I probably will.
As I see it, the main reason to get a pro is a reasonable certainty that a
competent job will be done (but witness Albert's stories about his sister's
wedding photographer, and a couple of not so great experiences related in
this thread to see that it's not necessarily guaranteed). Reasons to get a
friend to do it - well, maybe they'll take pictures a pro wouldn't be able
to. The fact that they know you, and probably many of your guests as well,
has got to make for a different style of photography. Maybe the fact that a
friend took the photos will make them more treasurable to you? You know if
it's a friend they're going to do their very best for you - I wonder if pros
might have a more jaded attitude to proceedings.
So, my final conclusion - don't write off getting a friend in to do the
work. If she's had experience then that's definitely a good thing. If you
can do it without causing offence, a second photographer might give you
greater peace of mind. Whichever way you go I hope you get good photos from
the happy day!
Roger
-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel J. Mitchell <DanielMitchell@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: 'olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx' <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: 25 January 2002 21:09
Subject: RE: [OM] Re: Brave New World of Wedding Photography
> Here's another interesting question about wedding photography;
>
> We (fiancee and I) have a friend who's very much into photography; she
took
>a two-year postgrad course, wants to do photography for a living, etc, etc.
>We're thinking about asking her to photo our wedding -- I can't see any way
>she'd object, in fact I suspect she'd be flattered; she's doing that for
>some other friends' wedding a few months before ours.
>
> Now, I don't doubt her ability as a photographer -- but at the same time,
>all I've ever heard from this list is doom and gloom about doing wedding
>photos for people you know. I'm trying to work out the etiquette here -- I
>don't have any obvious reason to suspect she won't be good, and heck, less
>money on photographers = more money for booze -- but on the other hand I
>have a sort of nebulous dread brought on by the numerous tales of horror
>I've heard..
>
> Can anyone think of a good way to deal with this? I'm trying to work out
>some way to find out if she'll be good at the job of photographing
weddings,
>without sounding like I'm doubting her general ability. On the upside,
we'll
>be the second one she does so she should have had some experience at this
>sort of thing first -- but I don't really want to wait until we see the
>shots from that wedding because that'll leave us with very little time to
>book a pro if that turns out to be necessary.
>
>
> any suggestions will be very welcome..
>
> thanks,
>
> -- dan
>
>
>
>< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
>< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
>< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
>
>
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|