ROM Photography, Lens dilemma.

[the6thday]

heehee... maybe its a different style of shooting then. 70-200 is one of my favourite lenses indoors where i'm actively looking for people to block so that they can form part of the framing.

i recently got a comments during a wedding ceremony shoot where i was the backup. the guests were complaining that all they saw were the photographer. for my own wedding as well, i didn't remember seeing my photographer around much. he got great shots anyway. i guess its not always about getting the picture. might be better to have a holistic view to the whole approach.

I tried the 70-200 indoor before, trust me you don't have space to fall into the background. Like it or not, you have to be proactive and be around to capture the shot(even to guide the couple on what to do, crack some jokes to make them laugh). When I started off I also think like you, just be at the background to capture candid shots, but you end up having people standing infront of you blocking the shots that is important.

 

[drumma]

i shot a solemnisation yesterday with 35L yesterday. the signing of the ceremony, the kissing, candids are all done with a 35mm. pretty possible and i love the 35L alot. i usually bring a 85mm on a 1.6x to get some candids/closeups as well.

 

[lightning]

heehee... maybe its a different style of shooting then. 70-200 is one of my favourite lenses indoors where i'm actively looking for people to block so that they can form part of the framing.

i recently got a comments during a wedding ceremony shoot where i was the backup. the guests were complaining that all they saw were the photographer. for my own wedding as well, i didn't remember seeing my photographer around much. he got great shots anyway. i guess its not always about getting the picture. might be better to have a holistic view to the whole approach.

I really don't know how you can shoot at 70mm when you are 2 to 3 meters away from the couple. A ROM is not just about the couple, it is also about the family members You can still crop when you shoot wide, but you can't widen your shots when you shoot closeup. Well like you say it is a different shooting style, but I will shoot the style that the couple like. Shooting from a far is more suitable for a ceremony in church and etc, where there are space to move around. Can't see how you can fade into the background in a tiny room at ROM where they sign the cert.

 

[the6thday]

i see...i wasn't being clear. Not in the ROM room of course. That one confirmed no space to move.

I was referring to outside. Both before the ceremony and after the ceremony. still not a very big area, but enough corners, etc, to fade into the background. 2-3m is actually just nice for a head shot + upper chest shot but personally i would prefer standing a bit further off if possible (macam shooting wildlife...hur hur). is it described as a "bust" shot? not sure.

cropping a wide angle shot doesn't quite work for me. am on 1.6 crop already. if i crop some more, quality goes down the drain. furthermore, the perspective is different, etc. etc. i'm of the thinking that if there's a 70-200 on the body, the intention is to shoot closeup. otherwise, use the correct zoom. if there's no time to change lenses, get two bodies. shooting wide to crop later seems to be "fixing" the picture rather than shooting it right to begin with, if you know what i mean. not everyone would agree with this of course just my two cents.

by the way, care to share how you interview your clients to get a sense of what kind of style they like? i've got trememdous difficulty getting people to describe what they like. short of showing them different styles (which i can't, cos i got no style ), what are the possible questions you might ask?

35L...mmmm....i just got one recently. i'm so in love with it. my msn nick is currently bokehmonstar.

 

[miniUltraman]

wow.. 35L.. *drooling* :sweatsm:

 

[lightning]

i see...i wasn't being clear. Not in the ROM room of course. That one confirmed no space to move.

I was referring to outside. Both before the ceremony and after the ceremony. still not a very big area, but enough corners, etc, to fade into the background. 2-3m is actually just nice for a head shot + upper chest shot but personally i would prefer standing a bit further off if possible (macam shooting wildlife...hur hur). is it described as a "bust" shot? not sure.

cropping a wide angle shot doesn't quite work for me. am on 1.6 crop already. if i crop some more, quality goes down the drain. furthermore, the perspective is different, etc. etc. i'm of the thinking that if there's a 70-200 on the body, the intention is to shoot closeup. otherwise, use the correct zoom. if there's no time to change lenses, get two bodies. shooting wide to crop later seems to be "fixing" the picture rather than shooting it right to begin with, if you know what i mean. not everyone would agree with this of course just my two cents.

by the way, care to share how you interview your clients to get a sense of what kind of style they like? i've got trememdous difficulty getting people to describe what they like. short of showing them different styles (which i can't, cos i got no style ), what are the possible questions you might ask?

35L...mmmm....i just got one recently. i'm so in love with it. my msn nick is currently bokehmonstar.

Actually, I usually meet up with them to "get to know" them. Friendship has to be established ASAP. And when they are comfortable with you it is easier to shoot them. I don't shoot wedding/ROM professionally, only do it through word of mouth. As for style. Usually the couple will let me know if they like eye contact for most of their shots, or they prefer to just let me shoot as they go along. Before hand I also ask them to do some research on the kind of photos that they like and show it to me, so that I get a feel of what they prefer. Some couples also did like me to shoot more of what is around them too, example their friends and relative that comes that day, close up of their wedding rings, flowers, their name flashing on the screen and etc. Cos they say they do not have time to interact with them, and will like to remember them coming from their ROM. Like you say, very hard to define style, may be to know what they like. To know what is important to them.

 

[the6thday]

fwah, so clever, ask them to do their own research. why didn't i think of that! will try this trick out next time

 

[Belle&Sebastain]

depending on space, and what type of coverage you want to acheive, you could shoot a fast pace event, like the ROM with either a zoom lens or a combo of a zoom/prime or 2 primes or even a 1 prime combo.

There are no hard and fast rules on how its shot. 99% of photographers will advise you on the most common setup with the most predictable set of rules to shoot, if you want to be like the 99%, just follow.

I'm certain there are more than 1% of clients who want to acheive something different to what the rest of the photographic industry produces, so follow your own niche, it always helps to sell when your vision is different and impactful from the rest.

If you have your own vision on how ROM can be or how you want to document it differently, why not just set your own rules or devise your own shooting style.

As its about the lenses you choose, its also about the style you want to preceive.

 

[coldzephyr]

It's at SAM, inside the glass room.... given with good weather, prolly using the daylight will be sufficient. However, if it's rainy then, i guess a flash unit is a must. Yeah and the couple that is going to ROM, are my buddies. So, the "getta know them" issue will not be a problem. It's just the setup i m worried about... i m getting more into the 18-55+body+flash and 35mm + body... However, i m not too sure how good this will work to my advantage.