Wedding Photgraphy

With the inclusion of a wedding feature in last months WDC magazine I feel compelled to find out more as its an area I would be interested in doing in the future.
Are there any wedding togs on here with some good pointers or advice on top of the wedding article to help people like myself get started.
Thanks :)

My only advice for doing weddings would be;

Don't be afraid to shout at the group if they're not getting organised quick enough

Pack as many spare cards and batteries as possible

Write up a shotlist and run it past the bride pre-wedding

Always do a reccy of the location before turning up if you can

I'm sure some full time pros have got some more tips though....

Thanks for the info Matt :)
Just been to the library to get some books on it but it had a puny photographic section so came away empty handed.
Not even any on portraiture or lighting :mad:
Oh well back to trawling the net :)

I used to do weddings every weekend a long time ago. my advice is, remember its the bride and grooms day talk to them and see what they need. there is always a special shot or two that they want. you only get the one chance at this so its has to be right if you take to long then the guests start to wander off so some of the groups will be wrong. also think of what you will do if the weather is bad and you need to shot indoors. as for equipment then you will need a spare body to add to the list from above and i would use both on the shoot to cover any fault that may occur that you cant see at the time

Then there's talkin to the vicar to find out what is and isn't allowed. Talking to the reception venue people to see if there's any restrictions there

And don't forget sourcing:
- a good print lab
- suppliers of albums
- suppliers of frames

And add the time for editing/sorting the photographs you have taken and all the hassles of getting people to order what photos they want within three/six/nine months of the wedding.

I spent a lot of time doing weddings. Don't do them any more due to the stress and hassles.

Thanks Wave and Fen some really good advise.
Any more specifics on the stress and hassles ?
Is it a good or bad thing to just offer the photos on cd?
Thanks :)

If you offer photos on a DVD you'll have to put your charges up as you won't get any extra money form prints.

but, as they say... the coice is yours :)

My advice would be to contact local wedding photographers and ask if they need any help on wedding shoots. Work with them, learn from them and work out if it's what you want to do.

Good idea thanks Fen :)

i think you need to sit back and think what you want to do from my experience you need to offer a structured package with prices from cd to an album. remember you are telling the story of there day. you will need to copy right your work.
i agree with fen if you have never done this before try and get a job as an assistant and see what is involved. its not just taking pictures of the bride and groom there are group shots which you will have to do and get the them balanced with no eyes closed. as i said before you need to think about rainy days we get a lot of them here. take a look at the net for blogs on weddings by other photographers. go to weddings fairs and look at there work see if you can do as good, it is different when its going to be your work
best of luck wave

Thanks wave, its not an over night decision its something im looking to do in the future so am getting as much feedback and info as possible.
Will make sure I know what im doing before I jump off the deep end ;)
Unless it sounds too hard and stressfull then I will just take pictures of kittens :D