Re: [Leica] wedding candids...how I do it.

["M.E.Berube" <MEB@goodphotos.com>]

At 12:36 PM 10/18/00 -0400, Simon Stevens wrote:
>I'm wondering what experience people on the list might have marketing 
>candids-only wedding
>photography? I'd like to do it in black and white if possible, and
>hopefully take the marketing (and the pricing) a little upmarket to
>distinguish myself from the high street wedding crowd.

At 01:42 PM 10/18/00 -0700, Brian Reid wrote:
>These days I am very cynical about photographers at weddings and I often 
>feel as though the weddings I attend are managed by the photograhers and 
>not by the people being married.

At 05:02 PM 10/18/00 -0400, B. D. Colen wrote:
>A lot of this depends, of course, on whether you need weddings in order to
>feed yourself and your offspring. If you do, give them what they want. If
>you don't, give them what you think they should want.

Finally a thread that I can speak to directly with a little bit of 
experience....Weddings are the mainstay of my photo income. They have been 
for about 10 or the 15 years that I've shot for dollars. Marketing and 
pricing "upmarket" is one option. I tried it but found my niche at the 
other end. Folks who don't have lots of cash to piss away on photos 
appreciate being able to work with a good photographer whom they can afford 
and tend to defer to the photographer's judgement in most things. I do work 
more hours for less cash over all, but I have more fun than I did when I 
worked the business the other way round. In my short 10 years at it, the 
public's perceptions of what to expect from wedding photography has changed 
a lot. (And for the better I think.) I find that couples (for today the 
groom is most always involved in making all arrangements) are more 
interested in casual photography for their weddings and don't want the 
traditional campy crap of yore.  Most folks I work with don't want the 
kitch "peaking around the tree at one another" photos. I am also trying to 
look for clients more and more who are interested in what is being called 
Photojournalist style without a lot of posed shots, but as weddings tend to 
double as family reunions of sorts also, the group shots are almost always 
required though so I haven't been able to eliminate them from very many.

I rarely ever shoot B&W as the only time that I ever have, the shot that 
the couple were most in love with, they wished I had gotten in colour...as 
you know while it is easy to remove colour from an image shot on Portra, it 
is much more costly (and down right difficult) to add colour to an image 
shot on Neopan or Delta. (Imposible to do in fact without handcolouring and 
that isn't what they want anyhow.)

I have a "real job" now which allows me more freedom as a photographer to 
choose only the job situations and couples that I want to work with. This 
has made the work 200% easier and 1000 fold more enjoyable. I can tell up 
front whether the job will be a headache and I can avoid it. As a 
consequence, though it IS still work, I rarely have anything but fun. (If 
it isn't fun why do it?) I don't have to be bossy, but I'm always available 
to help things run more smoothly so that the couple can enjoy their day and 
not have to worry about managing their own day. I've yet to run into a 
couple who doesn't welcome assistance when it is offered in this way. I can 
pin on a corsage correctly and without drawing blood in about 30 seconds 
flat...I can hem poorly tailored trousers or broken bustle fasteners with 
safety pins, can whip out a substitute for the forgotten 'tossing bouquet' 
from stray flower arrangements at the wedding in a matter of minutes, I 
keep a pair of scissors for obvious strings, a sewing kit for lost buttons 
and a spare pair of new black dress socks -which 3:10 grooms forget- handy 
at each wedding, etc...All these things help make me an ally of the couple 
by helping their day go very smoothly,  not someone who is costing them 
$1000 to take some snapshots. Besides, I genuinely like being helpful.

I work alone and so I make arrangements with the couple to assign me a 
family member or friend who they want to include in their wedding, yet has 
nothing else to do. I set up a 'checklist' of photographs that the couple 
'must have' and that is what I'm usually actually contracted to photograph. 
They are usually the group shots and specific shots during the ceremony. My 
'assigned assistant' knows the people at the wedding better than I and is 
responsible for gathering them all together in the place that I've chosen 
for group shots. For their assistance, I usually take a nice portrait of 
them and their signifigant (if any.) I also usually buy them a drink at the 
reception (single malt scotch...on topic!). Most folks like being able to 
be in charge of something, so they are usually make my life much easier. If 
they do get out of line and pushy, it is them that everyone gets mad at not me.

 From there it is a relatively small matter to line everyone up and to 
shoot. I make a point of not 'breaking the group up' until all who want to 
photograph them, as I've posed them, have had the chance to do so. I give 
the other 'shooters' helpful hints to make their photos better (shoot the 
head & shoulders of the couple in vertical format not horizontal, move 
right in closer for a better shot, etc..) This is usually something which 
is UNIVERSALLY appreciated. Not surprisingly, most of my favourite and best 
loved images come from not over posing..they are usually done well before 
or after the ceremony when the bride and groom aren't focused on the event 
at hand...getting ready or after a drink at the reception (single malt 
scotch...on topic!) ...I almost never POSE men together...it never works 
and they know it. I simply place them next to one another near a tree, 
steps or arch and get them to laugh and relax. Once they are assured that I 
am not going to make them look stupid and stiff, I can usually get some 
genuine photos.

Women are happy to be tender toward one another so having them come in 
close arms around one another for H&S shots and almost touching heads with 
soft expressions works fine. Some Brides really get into posing all "Vogue" 
and they are fun while others just have to be photographed after they relax 
a bit. Sad as it was, a year shooting for "Glamour Shots" (tm)...(no it's 
not something I'm overly proud of, but we had to eat) helped me work on my 
close posing that actually looks natural and helped my "banter" that 
relaxes folks who are nervous at being photographed. Most women are used to 
the idea of not feeling comfortable for a short time in order to look 
sexy/beautiful. I also point out that this will be the case when we are 
previewing my work before I've been hired or taken a job. She says: "Oh 
that is beautifull!" and I say yeah but this is how you have to pose you to 
get that shot...and I pose her right there in the interview...sans 
camera....this helps them realise that is what those shots take. (And 
sometimes helps put them in the frame of mind to just let me shoot candids 
without any poses.)

Since buying the M5, I've shot almost all of the 'portraits' 'groups' and 
'candid shots' with the Lieca (usually with the 40/2 Summicron-C and with 
the 85/2 Jupiter available light) I shoot the actual ceremony with my XE7 
or SRT102 and a 35-70 2.8 zoom with and without a 285 illumination. I'm 
faster with the minolta and a zoom for the variety and unobtrusiveness that 
I need during the ceremony. Always Portra 800 or Supra 800. Backup with 
Yashica 124G if 2X2 is demanded. I will obtain a Fujifilm GA645Zi before 
next season just for this reason.

I shoot for $150/hr plus $30/roll for costs with a 3 hr minimum. (I average 
a 5 hr wedding with 5-8 rolls of film.) I give the couple all of the proofs 
and negatives that I shoot that won't give me a bad name with current or 
prospective clients. (About 3 shots every 36 are destroyed before the 
couple gets the film. They only ever see my 'standard' work.) I have the 
4X6 "proofs" processed by my local pro lab and put them into a $20 album 
with the sleeved negs in the back. (Pioneer makes a great 208 print 
'wedding' album just for this.) I show the couple a 4X6 from Rite Aid and a 
4X6 of the same neg from my local pro lab and this usually dissuades them 
from wanting to go it on the cheap with their enlargements. (They almost 
never want larger than 8X10s anyhow or I would shoot exclusively 220.) For 
the income that I sacrifice up front in giving the couple their 'standard' 
negatives, I don't have to deal with enlargements or worry about archiving 
(possibly loosing) someone's once in a life memories. I gain probably twice 
what I give up in happy clients and referrals.

This method gives me a good enough PT income for having fun with my Leicas 
and minoltas on a Saturday, keeps me busy most every weekend in the spring, 
summer and early fall and allows couples who I enjoy working with an 
affordable professional for good photos of their wedding day. The couple 
doesn't have to pay extra to print a copy of every shot for Aunt Sally as 
she took a great photo right over my shoulder and they don't have to come 
back to me for the rest of their lives to bother me for an 8X10 of the cake 
cutting or first dance. I can also sleep well knowing that if the lab eats 
my film (has never happened yet...knock on oak) they couple will still have 
professionally posed images that are passable of their wedding. It isn't 
for every photographer, but with the right attitude it can be a good 
situation for those interested.

Carpe Luminem,
Michael E. Berube
http://www.goodphotos.com