Bristol Wedding Photographer - Albert Palmer

The Photographer's Wedding Schedule

0 Comments Published by Albert Palmer on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 12:19 PM.

Ensure you get a schedule from the bride and groom at least one month from the wedding date. You need to know what's going on and to check the formal portrait and group shots have been allocated enough time. Normally they haven't.

Sequence of Events (Photo opportunities are in bold.)

Get to the location of the ceremony beforehand to check for locations both inside and outside for formal shots. You need to know what the light will be like and check the weather forecast. Take some test shots and scout out good locations for the formals.

Getting ready with the bride:

1. Makeup application - (before, during and after shots)

2. Get dressed - (after shot)

3. Hair styling and and decoration - (during and after, mother putting on vale)

5. Final Check.

6. Leave for the ceremony - (car/getting in)

7. Arrival at ceremony in transport - (getting out)

8. The ceremony - (rings/tears/people in the front rows and the aisle walk)

9. Leave ceremony venue - (confetti/formal photographs/candid opportunities)

Arrive at the Reception:

1. Arrive - (arriving (if possible))

2. Food - (shots of table decorations, cake, buffet or meal before being eaten)

3. Speeches - (at least one good shot of each speaker, different angles etc)

4. Cutting of the Cake - (full/half and close up shots)

5. First Dance - (lots of angles, crowd as background)

6. The party - (lots of candid shots)

7. The end - (shots of people leaving)

Normally a lot of alcohol is consumed at weddings and it's highly likely that someone will offer you a drink - especially if there is an open bar. You need to be very careful here and I recommend you don't accept if it is early on in the day. If something goes wrong with your gear or memory cards and someone says they saw you drinking at the wedding you will have some serious explaining to do. Just say something like 'sorry but I need to make sure that everything is in focus. Maybe later!" and don't accept the offer. Only when you have had time to make a backup on the laptop or a harddrive do I suggest you accept at the end of the evening.

As far as I can remember that is the general trend at most weddings in the UK. Obviously it depends on the couple so make sure you study that schedule.

Labels: Guide, Techniques

How to be a wedding photographer

1 Comments Published by Albert Palmer on Friday, March 20, 2009 at 2:25 PM.

The internet is scattered with places where you can read how to be creative and take eye catching photographs. Personally I listen to a number of podcasts which give technical advice and also advise on technique. But no amount of reading or listening is a substitute for real life experience. If you're thinking of getting started in the business I recommend you make connections with professional photographers and ask whether you can assist them, or even just come along and observe what they do. You will get many rejections but keep pestering them because this is the BEST way to learn. Simply ask if you can carry their heavy gear bag and pass them lenses as they need them. Of course you need to be observant and note what goes on in the wedding and how the photographer reacts. This sort of experience is great before you do a wedding of your own. Don't expect to be paid for you time - instead consider it as the cheapest education you will get! The more experience you get the more you will be able to participate and help other photographers and perhaps become a second shooter. This might be a good point to evaluate whether you are good at being a wedding photographer and whether it is something you want to continue to do.

Once you have learnt all you can, try and find someone better and move on, trying to learn as much as you can from different people. Inevitably a time will come when you will be given the opportunity to shoot your very first wedding. This will be a big moment and the impact of being a wedding photographer will hit you.

There are many wedding photography associations and gatherings. Consider joining them because despite the joining fee you can meet with your fellow businessmen/women, network and gain a lot of education from the experience.

SWPP - Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers

The Royal Photographic Society

The Masters Photographers Association

The Association of Photographers

Canon L lenses - which wide angle?

0 Comments Published by Albert Palmer on Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 2:40 PM.

Making the right lens decision is an important one to get right. Unlike other camera accessories lenses are a big financial investment. They make a big difference to the quality of your images and if you get it right they stay with you until they either break, or you upgrade.

The two Canon L lenses I have owned are the 17-40mm f/4 and the 16-35mm f/2.8 II and I will be discussing them below. Please note all references are to the second version of the 16-35mm - not the original.

The latter lens is probably twice the price of the former so if you're considering either of these you are probably wondering whether the extra money is worth it?

Canon 17-40mm f/4 L USM V's Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 II L USM

17-40 - cheaper - almost half the price.
17-40 - an extra 5mm on the long end - more useful than it sounds
16-35 - a wider f2.8 aperture - very useful for indoor events
16-35 - 1mm extra on the wide end - good but a minor point
16-35 - could be sharper at f/2.8 - only gets as sharp as the 17-40 at f/4

Like all comparisons there is a compromise. Both are excellent lenses but the 16-35mm is not as sharp as the 17-40 at its widest aperture. Of course I'm pixel peeping here but it is a consideration as it is good - but it only becomes excellent when you stop it down to f/4. This begs the question why pay so much more if it is only sharp as the 17-40 at f/4? Well - you will probably want (or more accurately 'lust') for this lens if you need the wide aperture. If you're after a wide angle that performs in low light this is for you. Armed with my Canon 5DKII I can shoot scenes that I wasn't able to without a flash .

If you don't need the low light performance (there is NOT a huge difference when you look at depth of field) you might be tempted to spend a lot less and gain an extra 5mm.

The luminous landscape website have visual samples shot from both lenses. Well worth a look if you haven't already seen some.

If you don't have the money for the 16-35mm f/2.8 II then perhaps consider the first iteration of this lens. It is excellent for the money although there is a second version for a reason.

Labels: Equipment

Some photography tips for the reception.

0 Comments Published by Albert Palmer on Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 1:04 PM.

After the ceremony and other formal parts are done the bride grabs a glass of champagne and the groom a beer. Someone shouts 'let the party begin' but your work has not finished.

Here a few tips that will help you out during this part of the wedding. Now you don't have that many responsibilities but there are a few 'must have' shots you need to make sure you get. The cake cutting, the food, the bouquet toss and the first dance. Other than this you have free reign to photograph anything that catches your eye. Sometimes I try to scout out a good location for the a quick portrait session with the bride and groom or just snap away at people dancing on the dance floor. I tend to find this time the most enjoyable part of the day as people are letting their hair down and enjoying themselves.

The must have shots are similar to those of the ceremony in that they are very predictable. This is good news because you need to position yourself in the prime location before the crowd arrives and blocks your view or steals your spot. Getting there earlier is far easier than having to ask people to move for you.

Do yourself a favour by befriending the co-ordinator or DJ as they will ensure you are notified BEFORE something important happens. This will help you get to 'the prime spot' and making your life easier. Make sure you position yourself facing the bride, but off to her right at a 45 degree angle or so. If you are on the groom's side he can easily obstruct the view of the bride by leaning in to cut the cake. I recommend shooting with direct flash because a lot of things happen quickly. If you bounce off the ceiling your flash uses more power and takes longer to recharge so you will miss the action shots. Things tend to happen quickly when cutting the cake and you could easily miss different facial expressions or cake smearing on the dace. Don't worry too much about using a long shutter speed to get ambient light - if it is longer than 1/30th of a second (wide angle lens) you will come away with an unacceptable amount of ghosting in your image.

Capturing the first dance is also a bit of a challenge, but an emotional moment and one you don't want to miss. Try shooting from where the DJ is so that the crowd is the backdrop and not the stereo equipment! You can see in the blog post image that I didn't do this and whilst I have some nice lighting I had to crop the image awkwardly to cut out DJ. Make sure to give the couple some space for this emotional moment - resist the temptation to get up close and personal with the wide angle lens. Shoot with something fairly long, I would use either my 24-70 f/2.8 or the 70-200 f/2.8 and from a distance so that you won't be distracting for the couple or the crowd. Keep shooting when the parents come on to the dance floor and when the whole crowd joins them do what you want as no one is really going to notice or care what you do. Capturing good facial expressions is the way to go, and whilst it can be tricky with people moving your efforts will be appreciated.

Finally the bouquet throw. Technically speaking this can be pretty tricky. Quick action, in poor lighting where your subject is separated from the crowd is a difficult challenge. Using a flash is problematic as you can either expose for the foreground (the bride) or the background (the crowd) - but not really both without blowing a lot of highlights. Three ways to solve this.

1) Use a slave flash for the crowd.

2) Take the shots in stages. The first might be the bride holding the flowers and looking over her shoulder. The second is the flowers in the air and the crowd trying to catch them.

3) Lastly you can stand to the side and try and capture both bride and crowd in one image.

Personally I think you are better off shooting at different stages and capturing the detail rather than one shot of everything. As with the cake cutting events happen quickly so setting don't count on bouncing your flash off a high ceiling again and again because the batteries simply won't have enough time to recycle. Timing is everything with this shot and you might want to practice by shooting some sports photography or of people throwing balls to each other.

Mishaps - point this one out if you see that it could happen.

Sometimes the bride can throw the bouquet in to a light fitting and it falls to the floor before anyone has time to grab it. Make sure you have a word with the bride to avoid this embarrassment!

Well hope these tips help. If you have any comments or questions feel free to leave a message!

10 gear tips for wedding photographers.

1 Comments Published by Albert Palmer on Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 11:39 AM.

There are a lot of aspiring photographers starting out in the industry these days with some incredible gear that photographers wouldn't have dreamed of years ago. Photography is an art for many of us and whilst there are no 'rules' in photography here are a few tips you might want to browse through.

ISO performance. Depending on your camera try to stick to the lowest ISO setting. Whilst I wouldn't shoot above ISO800 on my Canon 30D I would have no problem shooting at ISO3200 with my Canon 5DMKII. In fact I would shoot at ISO6400 with the knowledge that I could use noise reduction software in post production if I really needed to. Get closely acquainted with your gear so you know it's limits.
When to use your flash. Try not to use your flash during the ceremony. It will be distracting for everyone and you won't be thanked by the couple for ruining their special moment. If you HAVE to use it then make sure you get permission to cover yourself.
"Chimping." By all means take test shots to ensure your lighting is okay and the camera is exposing properly but you really shouldn't need to keep checking the screen on the back of the camera. Zooming in to check sharpness or check for sensor dust is a BAD idea. You should know your gear well enough to trust your skills and equipment. Chimping is likely to mean you will miss the moment.
Wide apertures. I love the effect of a wide apertures but make sure you know how it effects the image. Using f/1.2 for group shots is a BIG no no. One person out of five will be in focus and you simply can't use the shot.
P is for professional. This mode can be great at times but be aware of the amount of control you are using. With the advent of AUTO-ISO there is less need to 'P' as you can control your aperture and/or shutter speed without having to worry too much about exposure. You can still retain some creativity with this setting but the P mode is not reliable for professional portraits or creative slow shutter speed images.
On camera flash. If you're using professional gear you probably won't even have a built in flash. If you do don't use it. Either buy/rent a flash, be prepared to crank up the ISO or use a tripod.
Tripods. Okay - so the amount of time you actually use one of these at a wedding is fairly limited - but they can be great for creative shots. Long exposures or low light situations tripods are your friend.
Shoot now worry later. This isn't an option - you need to know that you are getting the images in camera. Cropping, adjusting exposure, white balance shouldn't be left to post processing. If it can't be avoided then do what you need to do but post processing is a huge time drainer.
Your memory card. Turn 'shoot with memory card' off on your camera settings. It's never happened to me but trying to get an image when your memory card is out of space must be a nightmare situation. Memory card reliability is good these days so don't worry too much about buying cheap, large capacity cards. You can always swap them over and do a quick backup even if they aren't full.
Know your equipment. When you move from indoors to outdoors you need to adjust your settings to stop your images coming out over exposed. There is nothing wrong with using AUTO ISO if it means you get the shot. This feature allows you to ensure you contain some control over aperture whilst maintaining a decent shutter speed.