A wedding shoot with the Pentax K-5
 

I was recently asked at short notice to photograph the wedding of a couple whose limited funds had evaporated rather too quickly leaving nothing to pay a pro wedding photographer. The request came because I had photographed the bride’s parents’ wedding long long ago. After making it quite clear to this couple that I am not remotely a wedding specialist their response was that anything would be better than nothing (we’ll see).

Several excellent wedding photography guides/tips on this PhotoRadar web site gave me a good idea as to what the couple might expect and how to go about it, but I had reservations about my kit: I mostly use three Pentax ‘Limited’ prime lenses with the K-5, but also have a Pentax 18-55 WR kit lens and a Pentax 50-135 f2.8 SDM. I knew the 50-135 would be suitable but was unsure about the 18-55.

Access to photograph during the wedding service proved to be excellent and there was enough balanced natural light in the historic building to avoid the need for flash for most shots. The recently acquired D-BG4 grip proved invaluable not only for vertical format shots but also to balance the heavy 50-135 lens and Metz flashgun a lot better than the basic K-5 body does. I used the 50-135 f2.8 for close-ups with shallow depth of field and the 18-55 kit lens for wider shots. Between roughly 24mm and 45mm the 18-55 WR is a decent performer, its main drawback being the smaller maximum apertures, but the superb high-ISO performance of the K-5 (I used max 1600 ISO indoors) achieved much better images from that lens than expected. I took a monopod but it was little used thanks to the very effective K-5 shake-reduction system. The bride and groom obligingly wore mid-toned clothing so metering was not as tricky as I had feared and the K-5 coped well.

Electing to shoot RAW (PEF) + 16M premium jpeg proved fortuitous as the DJ brought along a digital projector and large screen to present a continuous slide-show of my jpegs during the reception, which went down very well with the guests. Short-listed PEFs will be pp’d and saved as tiffs, which the couple can take to a professional printer in due course.

I was pleasantly surprised at the consistent quality of images achieved inside and out with the K-5 using just the two zoom lenses, battery grip and occasional flash and, importantly, the bride and groom were delighted with the results. All-in-all a versatile and confidence-inspiring camera but, no, I won’t be touting for more weddings – they’re too much like hard work!

Very useful 'road test', Mr B, clearly proving the qualities of the K5 in testing conditions. Using quality lenses helps and thanks for the tips about the battery grip, the reliability of the high ISO and the use of PEF+Jpeg.

[QUOTE=GeoffWessex;54900]Very useful 'road test', Mr B, clearly proving the qualities of the K5 in testing conditions. Using quality lenses helps and thanks for the tips about the battery grip, the reliability of the high ISO and the use of PEF+Jpeg.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the feedback Geoff. I have to admit to being pretty nervous prior to the wedding. I had never seen the venue (I live nearly 400 miles away) and had very little opportunity to discuss anything with the bride and groom, not even knowing what they would be wearing. As I said - very short notice!

There was a certain amount of luck on my side with decent light in the wedding venue, bright diffused light outside with no harsh shadows, and the mid tones of the bride & grooms' outfits meant no extreme black and white to deal with. Other than that the K-5 has to take a lot of credit. I never could have achieved the same results with my old Nikon 35mm film kit, good though it was.

Later, at the reception, I grabbed a lot of candids with the 70mm Ltd prime lens but other than that everything was done with just the two zoom lenses.

BTW, I took along one of those short sets of steps normally used for reaching high cupboards, etc. They were great for getting group shots from a higher view point, and a few intentional wobbles on them got the guests laughing and very much focussed in my direction ;)

[I]BTW, I took along one of those short sets of steps normally used for reaching high cupboards, etc. They were great for getting group shots from a higher view point, and a few intentional wobbles on them got the guests laughing and very much focussed in my direction [/I]

What a great idea! A bit of a 'performance' from the photographer would really break the ice and get their attention. You know..... you could do a few more weddings! (Though, if they're a bit hectic and time-critical, there are many other occasions that call for a good photographer - Christenings, Anniversaries, Birthdays etc - and you seem to be capable of making them 'a nice little earner'.

[QUOTE=GeoffWessex;54929]....... You know..... you could do a few more weddings! (Though, if they're a bit hectic and time-critical, there are many other occasions that call for a good photographer - Christenings, Anniversaries, Birthdays etc - and you seem to be capable of making them 'a nice little earner'.[/QUOTE]

Oh, I don't know Geoff. So much is expected of wedding photographers these days and I do admire the good ones. When there's no second chance it puts a lot of pressure on the photographer, particularly on such an important occasion. As I said above, I had a certain amount of luck on my side and it could easily have gone the other way and become really stressful. Years ago I would have been encouraged by your suggestions but these days I like to just enjoy my photography with no pressure.

Mind you, I [I]could[/I] specialise in marriage break-ups and, in full war correspondent kit, capture the flying pots and pans. That would be something different, lol.

Bump

LOL, yes.... and each of the two spouse/lawyer teams would have their own photographer!

[QUOTE=GeoffWessex;55008]LOL, yes.... and each of the two spouse/lawyer teams would have their own photographer![/QUOTE]

So that will be one photographer for the marriage and two for the break-up. Oh yes, I'm all in favour of job creation :D