 Kathy L. Pollick |
Amature Photographer I am a total amature when it comes to photography. However, I'm always taking pix. I have a Minolta camera (don't remember the model) but it was a higher price camera. My daughter is getting married & I want to use a really good quality film to take some pix. What film suggestions can you give me? The wedding will be inside a church and the reception will be inside a dark building. Thanks for the help. Oh yea, I always use the automatic settings as I don't know how to successfully run the manual end of the camera. I've tried, but I guess I need some professional schooling. Thanks
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John P. Sandstedt |
YOU'RE THE FATHER OF THE BRIDE. GET SOMEONE ELSE TO TAKE PICTURES. But, if you must shoot, use ISO-200 color print film and with flash. Set your camera and flash to Program Mode. Shoot away. I use Fuji Superia at all ISO values. Others will tell you to use Kodak Porta films. It's a matter of personal taste as to which film to use.
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Kathy L. Pollick |
Thanks. I assumed the 400 would be more versatile, but I will get some of the 200. I will have someone take pix during the ceremony as I will be IN the wedding (actually I'm the MOTHER of the bride & I'm also the matron of honor), but afterwards when the photographer is taking her pix, I want to take some of my own, plus at the reception. My camera does have program mode, but I'm not sure what that does. I don't think I ever used it.
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John P. Sandstedt |
Sorry, Mom. I wasn't paying attention to the sender and assumed it was a father. My advice still goes. Let someone else take the pictures and enjoy yuor daughter's day. The Mother-of-the-Bride is the second most important person at a wedding. Don't spoil it by attempting to take hum-dingers. If you MUST shoot, use a throw away. I've shot too many weddings to speak with forked tongue. When my sons got married, my wife wouldn't even let me bring a camera to the ceremony or reception. And, the Father-of-the-Groom is the most useless person at a wedding. She was right!
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Kathy L. Pollick |
Thanks. I was looking at some of your pix in your gallery. they are very nice!!! I wish some of you people here could be at the wedding to take pix... The groom got a "friend of the family" to take the wedding pix. They said she was just starting her own business & had only done a few weddings, so she was doing this for experience..... that really worries me. That's why I want to take a few pix myself. I haven't seen any of her work & am hoping she knows what she's doing. I have a lot of money tied up in making the wedding look nice... I'd like nice quality pix to look at later on. I'm sure I won't get to spend much time taking pix, but I do want to get a few anyway.
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John P. Sandstedt |
If you're worried - maybe try to hire an established pro. If not, do this. Follow the photographer around as much as practical; be sure to have flash and telephoto lens. Let her do "the work" in setting up pictures. Snap the ones you want to after she's done the set up. If she's using color, use B&W. If she's shooting B&W, use color. Take lots of candid portraits of the people at the wedding while they're having fun. Leave the formal portraiture to her, but try to get candids of key events [cake cutting, garter throwing, etc.] from unique angles. Above all, don't make picture-taking the most important thing. Enjoy the great day yourself!
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Karma Wilson |
Well, you're obviously not prepared to take better photos than the girl hired if you've never shot manual and don't know which film to use, so relax and let the girl take photos. She has shot at least some weddings and most likely knows how to use her camera. But I still think you should take some of your own pics with a good camera. If you're anything like me you'll take your own pictures to add to the pros pictures and your own pictures will be by far the most meaningful to you IF you do it right. You know your daughter and family better than the pro and you'll know which moments will be the most special. No disrespect to the previous poster, but I've yet to see a pro get better pictures of any special events in my life than I can. Maybe I'm a control freak. And at my daughter's wedding on some future date I'll hire a great photographer--but they'd better be prepared for me to get some shots as well with all my best equipment. There will never be a special event in my life that I won't get pictures of if I can. I wouldn't enjoy the wedding without a camera in hand--but that's just me. My family is used to it. They probably wouldn't know what to do if I didn't have a camera in tow. :-) That means you'd better get a handle on the settings and equipment before you go. If you have an SLR camera that allows you to change lenses put on a fast lens. Buy, rent, or borrow a fast good portrait lens. By fast I mean the ability to take pics in low light. Program mode is fine. The preassure is off you as you don't need to get every moment captured on a film--just a few really good keepsakes. If you don't have an SLR just do your best with what you have and leave the really tought shots to the hired photographer. So take pictures and enjoy them--but don't assume that the girl starting out is bad. She's got at least some experience. Karma
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Kathy L. Pollick |
I have an older model Minolta Maxxum, which works nicely. I only have 2 lenses. A zoom lens and the lens that came with the camera for standard pictures. I'm not sure what a FAST lens is... and you're probably right, the girl will probably know MORE about taking pix than me, but like you I'm probably a control freak too & think I know more than her, even though I don't!!! LOL BUT, I know I have taken some nice pictures (all purely by accident) that have gotten many compliments so at least I know if I take a few pix, I might be satisfied with some of them!! I'm probably thinking too, that two heads (or photographers) are better than one.) I'm also setting up my video camera to film the event. Any tips from anyone on those things, besides point & shoot? It's a sony digital 8 that has a memory chip to enable still shots. works pretty cool, but the pictures can tend to be fuzzy when printed out.
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Karma Wilson |
A fast lens is a lens that allows the camera to open up and let in the most available light possible. My fastest lens is aperture 1.8. But even 2.8 is fairly fast. If you talk to somebody in a photography rental store they should know what a "fast" lens is. The reason I think you'd like a fast lens is that some of the best wedding photos don't use flash but available light. There are usually quite a few flash photos, to be sure. But those photos of the bride with window light streaming on her don't incorporate flash. Many other "classic photos" don't either. So it would be nice if you had a lens that allowed you a few non-flash photos and then use the flash for those times it's absolutely necessary. As for the video camera I have a sony that allows me to take still shots. I'd suggest forgoing those. The quality really suffers and you're better off scanning your film photos later on and getting some good prints from the hired photographer. I agree, you'll be very disapointed if you don't try to get some shots and you aren't happy with the photographer. I'd never step foot in ANY chapel without my camera. It follows me everywhere I go. And that comes in handy when somebody inevetiably forgets their film or the battery is dead. It just happened at a baptism and I got some great shots for the family. Glad I brought my camera!!! Karma
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Kathy L. Pollick |
Thanks for all the advise. I'm going to check the 2 lenses I have to see if they have anything on there that tells me what type of lenses they are. then I'm going to buy some 100 speed film. What about those films you keep in the fridge? Are those for special cameras? Is that film any better than department store film?
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Kerry L. Walker |
As John said, some folks prefer Fuji and some prefer Kodak. I'm one of the latter. (I will agree that both are good.) Unless you have a fairly powerful flash, use 400 speed and a medium aperature (f/8 or so). I suggest Portra 400NC. Here's what I REALLY want to suggest. Take pictures of your daughter at home getting ready. Take a few pictures during the reception. Otherwise, LEAVE THE CAMERA ALONE and enjoy the wedding. As a wedding photographer, I can tell you that someone shooting pictures doesn't get to enjoy the wedding for its own sake. If you really want to get good pictures, help the photographer who has been hired to photograph the event to get everyone together. She will appreciate that and you are more likely to get the pictures you want. Relax. The girl probably knows plenty about shooting pictures. The hard part about shooting a wedding isn't as much getting the exposure correct as it is about getting all the pictures needed in a short time and at a fast pace.
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John P. Sandstedt |
Unless I'm way off base, the Maxxum is an auto-exposure, auto-focus camera. If so, you might have a Program mode and you can let the camera do its thing. As Kerry said, load up with ISO-400 [especially if you're not planning to use flash.] I've found that I get reddish skin tones when I use Fuji Superia 400 and flash [especially, in candid portraits.] That why I recommended ISO-200.
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