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[OM] Wedding Photography notes, was winder turns

Subject: [OM] Wedding Photography notes, was winder turns
From: Ken Norton <image66@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 08:55:46 -0800 (PST)
I decided to change the subject header.

As far as going prices is concerned:  I charge
$600-800 USD for a wedding which includes the proof
book.  I retain ownership of the negs for a minimum of
six months before giving them to the couple to do
whatever they want with.  Reprint income from the
couple is usually pretty limited, its the families
that buy the majority of the reprints.  So if your
focus is reprint income (which is what most wedding
pros seek), you will focus your attention on those
images that have a high resell rate--which is the
formals.  The couple will buy enlargements of a few
pictures, maybe if your 8x10's are reasonably priced
they will want an entire album (18-20 prints) done
that way.  Don't expect enlargments or reprints from
more than 20 images though.  Of all the pictures you
take, only 20 or so really count as far as most
wedding pros are concerned.

In recent years there has been a change in wedding
photography style away from the 20 shots to a
photojournalistic style where you blast away roll
after roll of every imaginable picture opportunity. 
This is fine for building "memories" of the party for
future posterity, but with video cameras also whirring
away is redundant.  This is an area where digital
cameras will really rule.  Most candids are nice to
look at, but I can probably count on one hand the
total number of reprints/enlargements ever sold of
candids.  Again, they are redundant with video
cameras.

One question that comes up is whether the professional
wedding photographer is really responsible to capture
the "party" and all that goes on outside of the basic
wedding package.  The vast majority of established,
successful wedding photographers I know say "no". 
First of all, they sell a "package" and don't charge
by the number of frames they've shot.  Every picture
you take comes out of your profit.  If I can capture
an entire wedding on three rolls of film (trust me,
you can do very well with three rolls), why shoot six?
 Last year I shot for another company and they sold
packages based on TWO rolls of film!  Two can be a bit
tight and doesn't give you much room for error, but
three is comfortable unless there are multiple step
parents involved.

The two rolls of 220 is, in my opinion, not a good
idea.  I'd rather have four rolls of 120 instead.  Not
only do you reduce the risk of film transport
problems, but you also spread the risk of
processing/accidental exposure problems.  Having had
film destroyed during processing of a very important
shoot taught me the value of not only multiple rolls,
but multiple cameras too.  I give my lab specific
instructions to not process my rolls simultaneously. 
In fact, a lab I used to work for made it policy that
for the wedding photographers, that only one roll
would be processed at a time, with inspection
afterword before the next one from that assignment was
processed.  They had accidently destroyed all rolls
from several weddings one day!  OUCH!

I would suggest that you automatically shoot with the
medium format camera for every shot that could be sold
as enlargements.  This means that all formals are done
with the medium format (backed up with 35mm shots),
some ceremony shots and anything staged. Most candids
won't get enlarged, so don't bother wasting the big
negs.

Think small.  Limit the number of shots you "think"
you need.  Focus hard on those must do shots and if it
means that you missed a candid moment, oh well.  Let
it come out in video.  I will take several shots of
the cake-cutting for instance to make sure I've got
the best possible shot (no eyes closed, etc) instead
of getting aunt mimmie and uncle george yacking.

You don't need to get overly creative in your
compositions.  First of all, few people are connisours
of fine art, secondly, there is a "formula" of
standard wedding shots that are expected to look
pretty much a certain way.  Not quite "Sears Portrait
Studio Photography" but not National Art Museum
either.

Limit yourself to only two cameras:  The medium format
camera and one 35mm camera.  Trust me, any more and
you will accidently shoot with an empty camera and
make other stupid mistakes.  Plan on only using two
lenses during the ceremony:  A wide angle lens and a
normal to slight telephoto lens.  I personally use
only the 24/2.8 and 35-70 zoom during the ceremony and
the 100/2.8 (and 35-70 zoom) during the formals.  Once
in a while, I might sneek a long lens shot (200mm) in
of the groom outdoors, but otherwise you must stick
with the normal lenses.  I have been converting over
to using the IS-3 more during the weddings and use it
for my "backup" second shots during
processionals/recessionals. (yes, I do use three
cameras, but my goal is to get back down to two again.

Film is your friend, proofing is not.  What I mean is
don't be afraid to change rolls early (wasting 10
shots) if it means you will be able to shoot a
sequence of events without interruption.  Film is
cheap, proofs aren't.  At approximately $1 per shot
you will have a tendency to conserve and think ahead.

Speaking of film, Kodak Portra 400NC and 160NC are
wonderful films.  Don't be afraid to use the 400NC as
it is plenty sharp and the two are identical (color
cast, etc.) in the final printing.

I can't imagine that you will need to shoot more than
3 rolls of 120 and 3 rolls of 36.  Carry five rolls of
120 and five rolls of 36 exposure film just to be safe
but don't plan on shooting that much.

Finally, always leave an extra shot in your camera at
the end of the day.  Get in your car and drive down
the road a half mile to a parking lot and then rewind
the film and put everything away.  You aren't finished
until you've actually driven away--only then can you
wrap it all up.

Wear comfortable slacks (suits are nice, but can be a
bit confining) that you can do deep knee bends in. 
Your shirt and jacket should provide enough shoulder
room to be comfortabe enough to do bench presses in. 
Wear a clean silk tie that can double as a lens tissue
in a hurry.

I have found that bicycle riding helps build up the
shoulders for having to wing stroboframe clad cameras
around all day.  You will still be sore for a few days
though.

Ken Norton
Image66

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