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Thanks for taking my comments in the spirit they were given … to share hard earned experiences that may help others avoid issues they will most certainly face as they move forward. I know you intend on doing this for pay, so I am sharing the same info I share with my assistants and second shooters, and that others shared with me when I first started out.Marc, your input is always very welcome.
The groom and the bride are extremely methodical and traditional, so I knew they would get upset if I started getting in the way of their very rehearsed wedding (they already had 2 photographer and 2 videographers working, so it I was not going to interfere and just enjoy the wedding as a guest with my wife). I went in knowing that I would had to shoot from where I was standing, that I wouldn't be able to take a bag full of gear and that I wouldn't be able to be firing flashes around...so I ended up with a very small bag that could only fit the A7 with the adapter, a 50mm and the 85mm....I would have loved to have an A7S with me!
Regarding shooting more than one person with the plane focus I knew that stopping down would allow me to keep the main subjects in focus, but without a flash I was really torn about boosting the ISO...which also was something that this wedding also allowed me to do (explore the boundaries of iso and check when a flash would be absolutely necessary).
Taking your gear to a friend's wedding is the best lesson there is, before actually moving in as a second photographer until I have the necessary experience to shoot my own weddings. But be sure I will be posting my evolution here
I have custom button C3 programed to bring up the WB menu. I then select Custom One which is preset to 2500K (which I believe is the lowest temp the camera will set). If I am am shooting in mixed light or using a flash for fill, while dragging the shutter, I then shoot a custom WB frame and let the camera calculate it. Usually a shot off the Bride's dress will work if it is close to white. I sometimes carry a small grey card for the purpose.Marc, you are absolutely right regarding the WB. It is such a crucial point that many think can be solved in post, when it's not the case in many situations. Do you WB manually or do you point your camera to a white surface and let it calculate it?
Regarding lights, I currently own an F20M that I don't use for pro stuff, but I've pre-ordered 2 Nissin i40 units that should arrive this year with a little bit of luck.
I've also JUST realized that I even though I can get high iso images really clean on Adobe Camera Raw, when I open them on Photoshop they are a lot more noisier (I've opened a different thread for this here http://www.getdpi.com/forum/image-processing/51790-camera-raw-shows-cleaner-images.html#post601488)
My story with photography is a peculiar one. I've actually majored in film and for a period of time I've directed music videos for MTV, won several film festivals in Spain and Portugal, but it was never what paid my bills. For a period of time I was extremely frustrated with where the industry was going so I've drifted apart and started getting into photography as a hobby...which started getting more and more serious the last few years. I've been working as Project Manager for like 10 years, trying to to manage all my creative stuff on the side...I've also published a fiction book a like 5 years ago and I'm now working on my second. Creativity is a huge part of who I am and if I was to strictly work as a Project Manager I would lose my mind really fast. Oh, btw, I'm putting together a website with my stuff if you want to check it out: Rafael Lopes - Fotografia & Vídeo - Rio de Janeiro (it's all in Portuguese at the moment, you can get the feeling of it)