DSLRUsers.com

i have been following around a local wedding photographer, and getting ideas from him....thinking about doing some weddings of my own in the future. These are some samples of my shots from the past summer...
Do any of you do weddings as a side business? if yes, has anyone done a wedding as a business with their d70? what's your guys and gals thoughts on it, seeing as how it is more of an entry level dslr.....one big problem i have noticed is it's lack of dynamic range...shooting black and white beside eachother is not something that any digital slr is great at from what i hear, but i ran into lots of over/under exposed images....

Dee, not me but all look good except for the first shot, i would be trying to straighten that pic if possible to line up with that carport it is very distracting its the first thing that jumps out at you.
Cheers
John

yeah, i saw that too but havent gotten around to fixin it yet

thanks for the heads up man!

A excellent mix of shots there, and some really nice moments captured.

Thanks for sharing.

Dee
my wife used to be a wedding photographer many years ago and I used to go around and help her on occassion. All I'll say is be prepared to take charge. The Bride/Groom/Families are all so caught up in the day, they don't realise how quickly time is running away (anyone that has been married can vouch for this !), and you need to stay ontop of this and get people ready for taking the photos "they" want taken. It's funny how people obsess so much over getting the right photographer etc. before the day, but on the day easily get pi$$ed off when the photog is pushing them around & watching the time tick on....

As for the D70 being good enough, I personally believe that it's the person behind the camera that makes the biggest difference. If you can recognise the limitations of your gear before you begin, you should do fine. Perhaps you should be more concerned about what lenses you have instead of what body ? And if you haven't yet purchased an SB800, go out TODAY and get one

Most things you can fix/fudge on the PC in PP anyway, so I wouldn't stress (personally) on the D70 issue. Of course as your abilities get better and you find yourself picking up more work, you may then look to getting a camera that has a few less limitations (for wedding shoots), such as the D2Hs or D2X....or even by then the D200 (if Nikon release it in our lifetimes )

flipfrog wrote:.....one big problem i have noticed is it's lack of dynamic range...shooting black and white beside eachother is not something that any digital slr is great at from what i hear, but i ran into lots of over/under exposed images....

I was taught to expose for the wedding dress. It usually contains a heap more detail (e.g. lace, beading etc) than the grooms suit and without a doubt it will be the thing people look at when looking at the final images.

I learned to meter off the brides face, and although I've only been to one wedding doing this, it certainly worked a treat. There were still a couple of shots where parts of the brides dress were blown, but not much.

Also flipfrog, most shots I really like, but the one with the two girls and the really long path, when I look at that I'm lead down the path but there is nothing at the end where I am epecting something else. I'm thinking if there was a little boy in a suit or something like that at the back of the path?

Also the little girl holding the posy of red flowers, a nice shot but the background has a big bar from a door in it... If that was a plain background I think it would make the shot much better.

Cheers and good luck with your future weddings.

Owen.

There are some very nice shots there, Dee. Hard to pick a fav but I think the B&W of the 2 flower girls on the path is it for me.

embi wrote:

flipfrog wrote:.....one big problem i have noticed is it's lack of dynamic range...shooting black and white beside eachother is not something that any digital slr is great at from what i hear, but i ran into lots of over/under exposed images....

I was taught to expose for the wedding dress. It usually contains a heap more detail (e.g. lace, beading etc) than the grooms suit and without a doubt it will be the thing people look at when looking at the final images.

Yep, try and always shoot for hightlight detail- then adjust shadow level in PS - try using a selection mask and the highlight/shadow adjustment in CS ( very cool curve tool) and it also lets you adjust the saturation and mid grey level(and hence contrast) in a one stop fix...
Good luck with the wedding 'thang'...

Aussie Dave wrote:Dee
my wife used to be a wedding photographer many years ago and I used to go around and help her on occassion. All I'll say is be prepared to take charge. The Bride/Groom/Families are all so caught up in the day, they don't realise how quickly time is running away (anyone that has been married can vouch for this !), and you need to stay ontop of this and get people ready for taking the photos "they" want taken. It's funny how people obsess so much over getting the right photographer etc. before the day, but on the day easily get pi$$ed off when the photog is pushing them around & watching the time tick on....

And watch out for the guests taking over - everyone thinks they know what makes for a great pic these days (now that they have a dig cam - theyre all semi pro's arent they ). They all want their paparazzi moment, and before you get your shot they'll drag the bride/groom away to get their shot. HEY !...
Welcome to my photog nightmare...

flipfrog - fistly - on the whole they are great images - hopefuly you can carry your eye (and your nevrve!) succesfully over to the payed jobs!

on composition - the sharp eyed photogs amongst us notice doors and suchlike in th back ground but, given the informal approach you seem to have you cant always move folk, i'd argue you have at least got the shot.....

as for exposure - as already said - expose for the highlights, shadow detail can be recovered in PPing if needed, blown highlights cant....

good luck on the future plans though - i'm starting down a similar road myself - all spured on by someone booking me for their wedding next year having seen shots i did for mutual friends a couple of years ago......i'm currently trying to get a folio together and i'm taking out a couple of ads on internet sites that specialise in wedding services - i'll see what comes in.........

Chris

Chris

Dee, as always you have a great eye for picking out the detail in a scene. One thing I would mention is get two bodies, I think you would find a mighty pissed bride if you got the BGLOD at the start of the wedding

Looks great Dee.

I started using the D70 as my main camera recently, my partner still uses the Fuji S2. The D70 is a great little camera, it will do the job very well.

Dee,
some great captures there.

I'd think the D70 is up to most photographic tasks in the right hands. From what you've posted here and in other threads, thats not going to be an issue!

As Glen mentioned, the one major thing that would stress me shooting a wedding would be having a single D70 body - any important one-off events such as a wedding you'd feel a bit more reassured having a second similar/compatible body available.

You just never know when something is going to crap out on you. Nikon stuff on the whole has great build quality... but... It's reassuring to have something there that you could swap lenses/compact flash/speedlights with instantly. And, when you're not relying on the second body for it's backup role, run two different lenses (ie say a 17-55 on body 1, 70-200 on body 2 or whatever). It'll allow to easily keep shooting and not worry about missing shots during a lens change.

D.

Thanks for the feedback everyone...

glen:

what is a BGLOD

Hi Dee - nice shots. Better than anything I have taken snapping away at a wedding!

I was at a wedding recently and the hired photographer was also using a D70 (but I had more gadgets and lenses!! )

Is the D70 good enough for weddings? I think you have answered your own question on this forum over recent months - your images are of such high quality (I am thinking of your series from Italy - if my memory of the location serves me right!) that I think you and your D70 would be a fine combination for the Bride and Groom. PS how do you photograph people hugging??? All I seem to get is arms and backs of heads!!!!!

Cheers
Gecko

flipfrog wrote:what is a BGLOD

Blinking Green Light Of Death

http://www.d70users.net/viewtopic.php?t ... ight=bglod

There's been a few who have experienced this, I'm praying I dont!

Flippie,

Shot #1 is absolutely sensational IMHO, the timing, composition and feel with group of blokes in the background is wonderful.

Max