Event Photography: Wedding

I shot my first wedding a couple weeks ago. Not for fun, but for real. Not "for real," like I was the principal photographer (no way, that's too much stress), but as a second photographer for candids. I learned a lot doing this, and made a ton of mistakes too. Wanted to share some lessons learned, and also picked out a couple shots that made it into my final set and why I chose them.

Lessons learned
• Get a fast lens, preferably one with a substantial zoom. I used my 50mm f/1.4 and borrowed a 70-200mm f/2.8 for this event. Glad I did that. Lighting conditions in churches are often fantastically bad, and to get the shot I wanted, I needed a lens that could do event/indoor shots in sub-optimal lighting conditions.
• I opted for no flash. Partially because I haven't experimented with it and don't feel so good about it. But also because I didn't want to distract those who were attending nor the main players (bride, groom, officiant, etc.). I figured, I would be taking shots of the critical moments. The last thing they want is to see a flash bulb and blue light filling the moment.
• Think through the shots you want before the event. It'll help you get to the right places so you're not scrambling and tripping over stuff during that important moment. I kicked myself after the actual event because there were a couple good shots that I didn't think through, and consequently didn't get. Total bummer. Jenny reminded me that a picture of the hands (especially as the older people are praying a prayer of blessing and protection for the bride) can communicate really powerfully.

Couple as part of the larger context, but in the background.

Laughter is one of those things that when you catch it, people simply understand it. It's a different quality than saying, "Everyone look here: 1, 2, 3..."

It's just funny seeing how happy the bride is here, in this symbolic gesture of binding the other person to herself. My one regret is not getting closer and framing the shot tighter.

I like it that Pastor Ed Kang is there in the background, clearly smiling, very happy for the new couple, taking their first steps together.

Flash inverse law...what?

This might make your head hurt a little bit but an interesting read and start on flash photography from Dustin Diaz. Although being able to use our 2.8 lenses is nice, I think it's important to understand and learn how to use flash to create shots and do more. Here's a pic I created with some off camera flash lighting and a small softbox.

How to shoot an event: MYT class 4

Here's the final slides from class 4 from MYT in Photography. The 3 mini-topics were: 1) how to shoot an event 2) how to shoot a classroom setting 3) how to shoot with obstructions

Exposure slides from class 2 and 3

Alrighty, slides posted! (thank you kev for covering class 2 for me). I added content re: relationship between ISO, shutter speed and aperture (see slides 22-27), the different metering modes from a Nikon screen (see slide 3). Please email with any questions, as well as further topics that I didn't cover that you would like to see!



[Further Reading]
A Basic Look at the Basics of Exposure

DIY Bounce "Card" and Barn Door

This is a tutorial that a friend of mine made about how to make your own bounce card/barn door for your flash. He's a canon shooter and did this for his 580EXII. pretty slick. it only cost him $2. And he gave me one for free! Of course, I bought him a hot chocolate at Starbucks to thank him. =)

You can find the original link here if you'd like:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r22692750-Stofen-upgrade

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Composition slides from MYT class 1

I got the slides posted, finally, from our first class. Take a look to refresh your memory about what we went over. For those who couldn't make class 1, please look it over before class 2.

Which picture(s) did you like, and why did you like them?



[Further Reading]
A Basic Look at the Basics of Exposure

Welcome! Gracepoint MYT Photography, Session 2

Hello everyone!

We're going to spend 4 Fridays together learning the craft of photography! I hope you're excited. I'm excited and a little nervous and humbled to be able teach you all, to tell you the truth.

I got started with photography in 1997 when I was still in college. I had a paid summer internship and so in the Fall of 1997, I bought my first SLR (single-lens-reflex) camera through the mail, bought a box of film at the student store, and shot like crazy, at really anything that moved. What I wanted to accomplish with a camera was document what my eyes saw. My favorite subject then was people within their context (more photo journalistic rather than portrait), their expressions, and their emotions. Taking pictures of people is still the most interesting subject for me.

Now I shoot with a little digital Canon P&S (point and shoot) and a couple of larger digital Nikon SLR for larger events such as G-Live or retreats or mission trips.

Please share with me what camera (and lens if it applies) you will be using, and 1 thing you want to learn to do after our 4 weeks together. Also please feel free to ask me any questions that you might have, and I'll try to answer it for you. I'll be mainly corresponding through this blog.

For the first class you don't have to bring your cameras.

Thanks and I'm looking forward to hearing from you all.

Dennis.