OK, a first. ; I have been asked to be the second shooter at a wedding in Feb. ; The great thing is that it is going to be on a boat in Key West. ; Any advice, other than don't drop the equipment overboard, on shooting a wedding on water? ; Not sure the size of the boat but they are limiting the quests to 20 so probably not a huge boat. ; Also wanting wedding pics on the beach which would probably have to be early morning or late evening. ; Advice?
the second shooter's main responsibility is to stay out of the way of the main shooter. ; be ready to shuffle gear around and focus on capturing candids and "posed candids". ; other than that, enjoy your day. ; it can be a grueling job, but a lot of fun at the same time.
Thanks Tim. ; Did one wedding about 2 weeks ago but was sort of a shared first shooter thing with another amateur photog who was good friends with the bride. ; Wedding was very low key. ; Both bride and groom were in white, outside at high noon. ; Some pics were against a white barn and the main ceremony was under a white canopy which reflected the green grass. ; UGH!! Good experience for a first wedding though.
Do you have an ultrawide lens? ; Might be a good time to add one - if you're shooting on a small boat, such as a private yacht, you could be dealing with very tight interiors and not a lot of room to back up. ; While the main photographer worries about getting THE shots of the ceremony and such, you can concentrate on some wide shots of the whole ceremony - back of room stuff that includes the attendees - scenics, boat shots to show the place and environment, spontaneous grabs, shots of family/attendees, etc. ; As Tim mentioned, first shooter should be given full control and leeway, and you can work on pickup shots and different types of shots that he might not be getting. ; Also, I'd bring a fast prime in a standardish length, and look to take some available light detail closeups, maybe some fun shallow DOF stuff, like flowers, ribbons, decor, bells, cake, etc.
Thanks for the comments. ; Should be an interesting experience. I do plan on staying out of the primary shooters way, she is the one getting paid the big bucks to get THE shots. ; Candid shots are more my forte anyway. Just bought a 17-55 with IS and have a 50mm 1.4. The primary shooter is one of my ER nurses. ; I think she is going to have fun bossing me around!!
I can't remember if you shoot full frame or APS-C. ; On full frame, 17mm would be fine...on APS-C, you might want to consider going wider. ; Maybe it might be worth renting one, if you don't want to buy - something like the Sigma 8-16, Tamron 10-24, Sigma 10-20, Tokina 11-16, etc. ; If you're full frame, then anything in the 12-18mm should suffice. The 50mm F1.4 should be fun for the detail and candid stuff...great for available light candids.
