Wedding course

[jaydi]

Hi everyone,

I am thinking of enrolling in the above course, as a friend has asked me to do her wedding.
I need to know if it is worth the money and if it really is beneficial.

I am doing the other course and wonder if this is enough....Ahh what should I do.

[dkippen]

Cathy -

I think Joseph is doing or has done the wedding course and may be able to give you some feedback on that.

[jaydi]

Thanks Debbie

[coffee]

Thanks Debbie

When is the wedding, and would you be taking this course just to do this one wedding, or are there bigger aspirations?

[jaydi]

Hi Joseph,

The wedding is at the end of June...a very casual affair and Thank God she isnt a Bridzilla.

She is giving me this opportunity to practise and am doing this as her wedding present. I do hope eventually to do this or portraits professionally.

[jerryph]

I've kicked in with another local photographer and he's mentoring me into the flow... and if I may say, I've been "studying" wedding photography for over a year as well as having been a 2nd at 4 other weddings, and though I have not taken the wedding course here and I am a strong proponent of PP's online courses, when it comes to weddings, some info is better than none... but weddings are the most challenging aspect of all photography. In no other situation are you placed indoors, outdoors, in super bright and super dark locations and always is the action moving non-stop, dynamically flowing from one event to the next.

The hardware requirements of a wedding can be very demanding and there are no second chances. If you screw up, it is a moment forever gone, never repeatable.

I am only touching on the challenges of a wedding becuase if I wrote openly of my experiences, challenges and problems that I have personally lived through in the last 5 weddings and 4 E-Sessions, people would think I am kidding them or lying.

My advice... if you can, along with the PP wedding course, do anything just so you can live through the experience of being an assistant and 2nd photographer with a KNOWLEDGEABLE wedding photographer. I will tell you that I learned MORE in the last 2 weddings about photography than the PP course and all my 2+ years of experience and study could ever teach me.

I've had the chance now to watch a pretty good pro photographer (6 years experience) do their first wedding compared to someone that has only 1 year of experience but 10 weddings as a 2nd photographer, and let me tell you that it was an embarrassingly huge difference in the quality of the wedding shots in favor of the younger photographer... so much so that the pro has simply closed shop, and decided to return to a full-time job for one full year and is now mentoring with one of the finest professional wedding photographers in the Montreal area... it was that big of a difference.

I love weddings and being mentored gives me the chance to practice under the guidance of a pro without the stress of knowing that if I screw up that the bride and groom are the ones that pay the price of my inexperience or knowledge.

The Church:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2326/3533653391_5fe9ba6ba1.jpg

A Father and Daughter's Dance:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2384/3526425701_364bfb4cb9.jpg

[reval8r]

I've taken the wedding course just to see what it was like. The wedding course is a good course and if you put it to use will find it worth the money. Now, after saying that, I would strongly suggest you take regular PP course first. The standard PP course will teach you the photography basics that are not taught in the wedding course. The wedding course is more advanced and covers a lot of information about running a business, which images to take and other tricks of the trade. If you don't have the needed photography skills to begin with, the wedding course is not going to be much help.

Jerry made very good suggestions and the information he gave shouldn't be taken lightly. Personally, I feel that wedding photography is one of the hardest aspects of photography to do well but very rewarding if you love it.

Larry

[coffee]

What everyone said above, plus if the wedding you plan on doing is in June, there wouldn't be enough time for you to finish the wedding course and take from it what you need. Like Larry mentioned, the course also focuses on the business aspect of wedding photography. It's smack dab in the middle of the course that requires you to do a lot of research on the business end that in itself, will take you a month or more if you have the time. The wedding course is great, but not if you are in a rush to finish it and get ready to put it into practice.

If you are on a fast track to come to terms with what it takes to be a wedding photographer, but don't have the experience, then be the backup to a pro that will do the wedding. I don't know if the bride is trying to save money on the occasion, but this isn't the place to save the money. This will be the only reminders of the wedding event, and you HAVE to get this right for the couples sake.

I wish you all the best, you are the only one that knows if you are ready for such an endeavor. If you are in dought, then at most be the backup to a pro that has been there before, and isn't afraid of being paid to be there now. Good luck.

[jerryph]

I did another wedding yesterday where the event started at 9:00AM and finished 2:00AM (yes a 17 hour event!!), and man, do my feet, legs and back ever hurt. I would never believe that this would be so hard, but it was an incredible experience. Lebanese/Egyptian weddings are so fast and dynamic and these people REALLY know how to party!

Again, I learned all kinds of things... like how to light a huge dance floor with only 2 light sources and where to best place myself for the better angles to get the shot, things that seem quite common sense, yet you often do not see until too late. :)

I also had lots of chances to practice my people skills as the bride and groom wanted a picture of EVERY couple that attended at this 300+ person wedding (I think it was closer to 500 people easily... that place was PACKED), and though many couples did not really want their picture taken, I got them all in a logical and effective manner and best yet, every picture has a natural smile with no blinkers. Though this was more like snapshots, I was told that it was very important for the B&G to have shots of all couples there.

I am really enjoying my time with this photographer, and what is best, is that I am permitted to use all the shots that I take for my portfolio. This is really the best way to get "on the job training". :)

So... how many pictures did I take? Only 1200... but I was the 2nd photographer and assistant. The main photographer took more than 3000 shots! I feel sorry for him, he is going to be post processing those pics for days... lol

[reval8r]

Jerry it's nice to see you getting this valuable experience. Just because modern cameras do such a good job technically, too many people think they are professionals who's sub par work makes all of us look bad. I wish more people would take your approach and work with a mentor to prepare themselves professionally. It's also great to see that you are such an advocate on doing this the right way and a shining example for others to follow. Kudos!

Larry

[jerryph]

Thanks so much for the kind words, Larry. :)

A year ago, I was all gung-ho and seriously thinking about diving in and hanging part-time wedding photographer shingle on my door... I am *so* happy I sat down and thought it through better and to wait a little while. There is an incredible amount of info and experience that I was missing, and even with a year's worth of very dedicated study on this one topic... could not come close to knowing what I know today.

I cannot emphasize how important it is to get out there and at the very least... go out just once with a good professional as a second and see how it is done... even if all you do that day is run around with a speedlight on a stand and carrying equipment and swapping lenses, do it... and watch and pay close attention to everything.

Then come home all wide-eyed and in shock of all the things that happened that are not in any book or website, but are vital to accomplishing this properly.

You kill yourself doing it, but at least for me, I come home tired and sore, but with a huge smile on my face. Matter of fact, so does the photographer that I 2nd with, and no doubt he runs around more than me! :D

I am sure the PP course has incredible info in the wedding course, is very valuable and I highly advocate it... it is a great start to the process... but like trying to drive a car, it is very hard to do it right by reading the car driving manual alone. One needs time behind the steering wheel to do their best.

[jaydi]

:DHi everyone

Thank you so much for all the useful information you all gave me especially jerry and joseph.

I am going ahead with the wedding as I have been asked to do it by a friend and as I said already she is definately not a BRIDZILLA.

Im hooking up this week with a wedding photographer for a few shoots.

Thanks again everyone

[jerryph]

Awesome, good move Cathy... soak it all in and enjoy the process!

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!