With the advent of digital technology, alot of people found so many ways of making use of digital photography. If we take a look at weddings these days, we have prenups, wedding day and even post nuptial photography! With HD Video on DSLR's it's another dimension added as well!
I was lucky enough to have "tried" pre-nup photography for a friend. Now, it is not really my cup of tea but if you have a DSLR, you would always get proposals to shoot: birthdays, weddings, prenups, parties, etc. etc. Anyway here are my thoughts of about prenups.
(1) Ask for the concept, what they want to shoot. I find it hard to create my own vision yet. It helps that the couple already have a "theme" in mind. For this first prenup that I did a "movie theater" theme since the couple are soo much into movies.
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"Popcorn" f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 400, flash (canon 580ex II |
(2) Be sure to know the exact time of the pre-nup shoot (especially for outdoor). And be there, recce/scout the location before hand. So that you will have an idea what to shoot, where to shoot, what is the quality of light during the time of the shoot. I was quite familiar with the venue so the recce was purely a way of looking at possible areas to shoot. My mistake was not bringing my cam with me which leads to...
(3) It would also help to bring a cam during the recce + a strobe if you think you will be using one. It would also help to have a stand in. So you can try some test shots. Record all your notes, create diagrams. I did diagrams and notes, without a cam and strobe in hand, I used my mobile phone to take pictures of the area. Using the pictures I did some rough sketches/diagrams of how things could be done.
(4) List down the equipment. Having done your recce is (3) you would know what lens you would be needing for a certain scene. It also helps to get people who will assist you in the shoot. Bring extra batteries! You'll never know what will go wrong. Rent/borrow equipment that you don't have in advance. I needed a 70-200
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f/4, 1/250 sec., ISO 200, flash (canon 580ex II) on manual |
(5) Making it happen. On the day itself be early, keep in mind that setup takes time. It would again be better if you have stand ins to try your final setup before placing your subjects.
It also helps to know your equipment & its limits to make things happen. I was limited to a 17-50 f/2.8
lens during this shoot (that and a 50mm 1.8
are the only lenses that I own). So I had to look for ways to compensate to do some shots.
During a photo shoot whether paid or not, it seems like a pressure cooker. Things could go awry with equipment or anything else. During this shoot it was a torture test for canon 7d
's popup flash as commander. I was triggering an off-camera 580exii
and after 20-30 or so continuous but not burst shots the popup flash sends a "busy" signal rendering the 7d
inutile. It just simply lead me to think about purchasing wireless triggers.
I am not a good director of poses, so I need the company of people who knows how to pose people. Good thing one of my friend used to model so she provided valuable poses to the couple. Which leads me to think that I should develop my "directing people" skills.
It also helps to know your equipment & its limits to make things happen. I was limited to a 17-50 f/2.8
During a photo shoot whether paid or not, it seems like a pressure cooker. Things could go awry with equipment or anything else. During this shoot it was a torture test for canon 7d
I am not a good director of poses, so I need the company of people who knows how to pose people. Good thing one of my friend used to model so she provided valuable poses to the couple. Which leads me to think that I should develop my "directing people" skills.
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"Heart" f/22, 15 sec., ISO 100, flash (canon 580ex II) on manual |
(6) Lastly, have fun! Photography is about having fun and lots of it, that's why it would be great to have a rapport with the subjects (quite easy since the couple are my friends). Make sure that the shoot wouldn't be as tight ass as you want to be! :)
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"Popcorn" f/4, 1/250 sec., ISO 100, flash (canon 580ex II) on manual |
(7) Be prepared for post processing. I really am not into alot of post processing, though I want to learn to. If you shoot prenups you'll be forced to do post, if you have a colleague who can do it for you then well and good. Basically, I have to do post processing because the pictures from the prenup will be used for the wedding as well.
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Guests Signature Sheet |
Alot of more things are left unsaid but I will be adding more or update my learnings as soon as I am in another "prenup" shoot!
Cheers!