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I'm being asked to do second photographer at a wedding in september and i'm quite apprehensive about it.

I've just got a really simple question to ask, although the answer i know has the potential to be quite long (if anyone is up to the task of educating me)

Would the "style" I present here suit weddings? I shoot people often, but I'm aware that weddings and people interacting are two different things. (feel free to correct me on that)

CC would be from both the fieldwork and PP perspective ideally.









Apologies if you've already seen these photos before. Please keep in mind i've only shot on and off for around 8/9 months so it's not like i've been doing this all my life or anything.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful work.

If you can take these pics in a wedding situation, I'd reckon the final album prints the clients chose would be half full of these.

Number two is just a little staged for me, but imagine the picture you'd get of the girl if you worded up the bloke only...

The wedding day is all about the family and the people you invited to be there, so there is the "required" photos that need to be taken, but your style immediately takes the viewer right back to the day; boots, food, exhaustion and all.

(If I were silly enough to get married again) I would employ you in a flash.

Number two isn't staged. The boyfriend had already licked her and I was waiting for the moment in between her looking at me and her saying "I hope you didn't get that shot." As it turns out that picture was her favourite one of the day.

Being the second Photographer would probably mean that you can miss some of the "Formal" wedding shots and feel free to roam around and get photo's like the ones above.

IMHO these kinds of photos tell more about the day than the standard Bride and Groom in an archway....

Imagewise I do not see anything wrong with these types of shots.

From the weddings I have shot there seems to be more of a trend towards casual/informal shooting and less emphasis on the more formal shots. This depends on the age of those getting married tho. Maybe you should ask the other tog what the client is after. This is something I find out at a pre-wedding interview.

Having said this as you are the 2nd tog maybe you need to workout your role with respect to the 1st tog. I have co-shoot a couple of weddings now and I have found that you need to have a plan between the 2 of you so you do not get in each others way. Very important is not to confuse the subjects as to who is taking the shot, ie the subjects not knowing where to look.

As a first wedding I would suggest you try to stay in the background and take the informal shots as above. This is where a longer lens comes in handy. Once you get a bit more experience/confidence you can then start to take on a more active role. By planning with the other tog you can then start to workout which segments/positions/shots each of you are go to handing.

In any event, good luck and enjoy the experience.

If I can add some personal experience here............
90% of the shots that my wife and I kept for our wedding album are exactly like your shots. Sure we have the occasional posed setup shot but it's the informal portraits of people acting like people that we loved. I think it is really hard to force people to show emotion but they'll do it when you aren't putting them under the pump. You ask someone to smile for the 100th time and you get a grimace but wait 5 seconds when you aren't sticking a camera in their face and you'll actually see a real smile. Obviously you pay your wedding tog to take the photos that all the oldies will stick on their mantlepiece but like I said 90% of our photos (that we kept and didn't give away) were shot by the #2 tog. We just liked them better. Just shoot what you've already been shooting, there's no problem there.
Hope that helps.

Thanks all for your comments, I will surely keep them in mind when september rolls around. A while back i saw someone post a list of the "must have" shots. Does anyone still have a link to that thread in the forums?

And does anyone feel up for sharing their experiences of the bride and groom shoot? Did you guys get guided away from the reception for a little while or something?

Hi

I think your candid style will suit a wedding very well indeed. I have shot a couple of weddings as a 2nd tog and you do need to have a plan to work around the pro. Dont worry too much about the having a checklist of things you should get. They are good to keep in mind but I find that if you religiously follow this, you may miss candid opportunities. I agree with some of the comments above about using a long lens. You will find that subjects are more emotional when they dont have a camera in their face. One tip - its not the quantity but quality. Take time to compose and wait for moments.

Here are some of my photos in perhaps a similar style.







Good luck

Joe

e-e-e-excellent

I'm sure you'll be able to do weddings exceptionally well! Love your candids from the graduation!

Alex