advice from wedding photographers please

[smee]

Think you folks might be the best people to ask what will all your awards and all. I have bee asked as a favour to do some photos for a christening. I have advised that I am not a professional and it's not really what I do but it's my boss and he won't take no for an answer. What are the absolute must pictures to get, they just want me there after the ceremony. Also what kit should I bring and how do I go about organising the people. Thanks for any help, I'm sweating about it here a bit as I don't want to get it wrong.

[DavieK]

Sorry no help what so ever but if your boss "wont take no for an answer" thats a lot of pressure to put you under.


just tell him that your normal fee is about £1000 for a christening and see what he says

[chrisdb]

Have a read at the top few sticky posts on here. Same principal.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/board/48

[vx220]

If they just want you there after the ceremony rather than covering it put the onus back on to your boss, i.e ask him what groups he wants doing then do them all outside of the church.

There are no "essentials" so let your boss dictate what he wants with regards to who is in the groups.

I would use a 24-70mm lens. If you have to shoot inside the church due to weather you either want to use fast lenses or flash.

At the end of the day just chill, you arent a professional and so cant really be held responsible, plus he cant be that bothered or not if he gets the images otherwise he wouldnt have been a tight wad and hired a professional to do it.

If you need any more advice just ask

Cheers
Kevin

[smee]

Thanks guys, helpful as always, I'd just like to point out my boss is actually an alright guy most of the time Lens advice was great kevin I was planning on taking a 50prime, 17-85 and 70-200, flash and reflector and panicing about how many lens changes I would need without a spare body so plumping for one might be a bit more simple.
Thanks again

[D50]

Check with the church first to see if you can take photos inside during the ceremony. Some churches have multiple christenings going on and if everyone had a photographer it would be like paparazzi city. Also - don't just take photos at the church - quite often if there is going to be a lunch or something afterwards, the baby and the parents/godparents are more relaxed and there will be other props there too like balloons, the cake etc. that you can also take to build up the collection of photos. What i found was that if you ask, after the ceremony you can maybe get good pictures with whatever groups the family wants in the church, empty. That way you can take your time and if the weather is not good then at least you have somewhere dry and warm to get pictures. Remember to ask if the priest/minister/vicar wants a picture with the baby too.

Finally - relax. You can't take pictures if you are tense. It will show in the pictures.

Enjoy

D50

[David Bryce]

My advice.........

don't do it

seriously

Christenings should be taken just as seriously as weddings, they are not an occasion for amateurs to practise their skills.

No offence sir, but asking about what kit to use is always a great indication that the job is beyond the ability of the person asking.

[Shug]

My advice.........

don't do it

seriously

Christenings should be taken just as seriously as weddings, they are not an occasion for amateurs to practise their skills.

No offence sir, but asking about what kit to use is always a great indication that the job is beyond the ability of the person asking.

Not hugely helpful when the chap has indicated he's got no choice in the matter.

[David Bryce]

Of course he has a choice.

Making a mess of anyones photos during an event that can't be redone is bad enough, but for your boss

I have a scalpel here, anyone require any surgery?

I also have a drill, anyone require any dental work?

I also have an oven at home, anyone require a chef?

oh and I have a pen and ruler, anyone requier any architect?

[Shug]

Of course he has a choice.

Making a mess of anyones photos during an event that can't be redone is bad enough, but for your boss

I have a scalpel here, anyone require any surgery?

I also have a drill, anyone require any dental work?

I also have an oven at home, anyone require a chef?

oh and I have a pen and ruler, anyone requier any architect?

Pompous slightly, no?

I believe he's explained to his boss that he's not a pro, the boss still wants him to do it and he's asking for advice in how to do it. Not be belittled.

It is possible for an amateur to take a record of an event - will they be as artistically 'impressive' as a professional can do? No. Will 90% of people (especially as they've asked a colleague just as a favour) give a sh*t about that? No...

[GBOBM]

I did a few shots at my nephew's christening but nothing too much. Shooting inside a church can be hard from a distance because of the light so just get in there and get some shots of parents, grandparents etc. with the baby and you should be fine. I used flash in the church, but it was after the ceremony and the minister let us take a few shots at the alter, ask if this is ok.

A few things to try:
Get in close, put your iso up a little (400-560) to get a little ambient light, and dial back your flash about 0.7-1.0stop. That should get you fairly natural looking shots.
A few close in shots, a few wider of the same people. just remember that the further back you go the less light your flash will provide.
Try to get some different angles like looking over the shoulder at the baby etc.
After you've got the bread and butter shots just get a few people milling about afterwards and you should be fine.
If no flash is allowed, jam on the 50mm and get some shallow DOF shots.

At the end of the day, if you give them a couple of straight shots they'll probably be happy so don't stress too much.
Most importantly, enjoy yourself.

[GBOBM]

It is possible for an amateur to take a record of an event - will they be as artistically 'impressive' as a professional can do? No. Will 90% of people (especially as they've asked a colleague just as a favour) give a sh*t about that? No...

Amateurs can take just as good shots as a pro, the reason that the pro is a pro is because he has the consistancy to pull it out of the bag time and time again, which cannot be guaranteed by an amateur. Take enough shots and that amateur will probably have enough good ones to satisfy the end-client.

Everyone has to start somewhere and we can't all be assistants to an established pro when we start out.

[David Bryce]

Shug, how many times have you heard from people that they really wish the had not asked a friend, uncle bob, or a colleague to photograph one of the most important days of their lives?

Probably not many

I on the other hand hear it all the time

[Shug]

Shug, how many times have you heard from people that they really wish the had not asked a friend, uncle bob, or a colleague to photograph one of the most important days of their lives?

Probably not many

I on the other hand hear it all the time

David, I don't disagree with that at all. Just before I left the industry, the AV company I worked for started moving into Wedding Video - as I'm sure you are aware, it's an even more prevalent problem there, as there's no hiding with discarded shots. The amount of idiots with a handycam quoting for video jobs was galling - that's before the families who's last wedding was done by Uncle Willy and totally arsed up.

My point is not that it's inadvisable from the POV of the boss (and I'd agree, I'd pay money for a record of something like a Christening). My point is that it's not the question being asked and furthermore it was indicated in the first post that bodyswerving it wasn't an option.

[David Bryce]

OK sir, I can't argue with that.

FWIW I do not ever agree to photograph friends or family's weddings, they always want twice as much for half as much, add in the extra pressure of doing a job for your boss (I have not had one of them since I was 18 thankfully) and it could all end in tears.