Bob Docherty wrote:
> Well I went and did it. I hadn't put any red hot pokers in my eyes lately,
> so I shot my first (and last) wedding last Saturday.
[rest of semi-horror story snipped out]
Bob,
Missed this in the mound of email that flows through here when you first
posted it.
I'm glad my tutorial helped although there's a lot of stuff to try to
absorb in half a day! I very, very likely would have turned down the
opportunity for greatness you were offered. I filled in for a couple
other full-timers when they had emergencies and needed a hired gun to do
the job. Just getting a call on Friday night and pulling everything
together for the next day is stressful enough; hard to imagine just a
few hours!
I need to remember your "how about in front of the camera?" quip to use
some time for comic relief . . . some patter can help loosen up stiff
and nervous subjects. Not that it was in your situation and I don't
want to make fun of your angst at the time. You were fortunate to have
"Patty" there to help. Your description sounds like she slipped into
the task quite naturally which is a bonus. Some male "sole proprietor"
wedding photographers who shoot them solo are accompanied by their
significant other. Not only do they look after the bag of gear, they
watch for posing details, help round up wedding party that has wandered
off and ensure none of the "must have" portraiture is missed or skipped.
When working quickly to shoot all the portraiture due to time
constraints, the risk of these things goes up.
Many wedding photographers who have been at it for a while have some
flash horsepower that recycles quickly. From your description, my mind
is envisioning the pile of equipment you hauled to the event. I don't
do much if any lens changing unless I'm limited by the officiant to
working the ceremony from the back in a loft. The best thing I did was
get a pair of 35-105/2.8 lenses for two bodies and an 80-200/2.8 for
working from the back. AG Schnozz is right . . . f/5.6 is the magic
aperture indoors with film. The fast lenses make focusing much easier
in low light . . . brighter viewfinder with shallow DOF when focusing .
. . and a constant aperture is simpler to work with. It's highly
unusual if I use an aperture outside the f/4-f/8 range; usually for
outdoor stuff in direct sunlight when stopping down further is needed to
allow fill. Direct sun is something I avoid, but it's not always
possible. Regarding the rest of the gear, I take an Impala trunk-load
with spares of just about everything plus monolights, stands and brollies.
Congratulations, you've now been initiated into the club, whether or not
you wanted to be a member!
-- John
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