Blanked....
 

Well, it finally happened. We missed the shot.

It was a yatch wedding and the boat was stuffed - standing room only. We were stuck in back with standing guests all around us (not enough chairs). When the bride came forward for the trip up the aisle, everyone stood up and we had nothing. I was blocked in the rear from getting behind her and cam2 was blocked by guests trying to get their own pics.

We missed the aisle trip and the giving away of the bride. Audio is fine though.

This is a pretty non traditional B&G so we may get away with it if we can come up with a good cover. Any thoughts out there?? I get a pit in my stomach every time I think about this.

Blah

Mike

Get in touch with the photographer (you did get his/her card right?) and see if you can pick up some stills. Hopefully, the photog will be cool with this (assuming you got along at the wedding) and you can pan across a shot or two. Meanwhile, shorten the actual time it took the bride to walk down the aisle (so you dont have to look at still pics for 10 mins).

I've been stuck like you were before, and did the above. The B&G loved it (because the photos were good) and now I have requests from other couples to do the same thing.

Yup, did that already and she was cool with it. The walk was only 5 seconds so it just is not that big of a bit. Just pissed that we missed it.

Mike

Do a short interview with the father of the bride describing what it was like giving his daughter away. It could serve as the fill and the cutaway.

Ben Lynn

Ben I like that... why don't we normally include this like after the wedding or during some down time?

That is an interesting thought but I not sure the mood change would work and the total down time is only about 8 seconds. Good bit to add though....

Not your best shot selection but here's what I would have done.

[1] Tighten the fluid head to lock it - two quick turns
[2] turn the LCD so that it's facing the ground
[3] Fold the tripod legs inward about 2/3rds
[4] Lift the tripod so that the feet are supported near your hips

You can get a 10 foot shot with this position. Getting the camera into this position is skakey but once you've established it - it's fairly easy to look up at the LCD screen and hold your shot. I can get the camera into this position in less than 5 seconds. Not the best shot but better than nothing.

Craig, I did that exact thing at a ceremony two weeks ago.

I was in the back shooting camera 2 tight on the groom for a reaction shot as the bride entered when the photographer stood in front of the groom firing away... not a one/two then down again, but he stayed standing IN FRONT OF THE GROOM! I flipped the LCD down, lifted my tripod up and stuck two legs under my arms and supported the third leg with my hands at my waist. The shot wasn't great because it was shaky, but it was all I could get. Then, before camera 1 left to go to his tripod, I dropped it back to the floor and re-composed. It wasn't *terribly* shaky, but more than I felt was acceptable. The editor was happy, though, because camera 1 was blocked by guests for a few seconds of the processional, so it worked out really nice overall.

You can see on my footage as well that the groom was trying to look AROUND the photographer to see his bride coming!

Oh well, glad your solution worked well!

Dan

For the few weddings I have done, I used monopod. I am always swinging that around all over the place. It has saved my arse many times!

Here I must agree - a monopod during the entrance and processional will give you much more latitude for movement, and yes, the photogs DO get in the way like my last wedding. Luck I had a camera on the balcony as well so was able to cut away.

I use the monopod quite a bit before and after the ceremony, especially when the B&G are leaving the church - always a crowd and never able toget a good shot.

As Dan has said, flip the lcd down and hoist the monopod up. I've got a converted fisherman's cup hooked on my belt all the time so I can pop the monopod into that during these 'aerial' shots - adds much more stability and little to no shakiness.

Cheers