Here is the scenario:

You have a wedding shoot on an island only accessible by ferry. The ferry you were original going to take and would get you on the island at 10.30a was cancelled. The ferry company calls you at home at 7.30a and tells you that you need to be at the ferry landing at 8.15 to get a 9.00a bus to a town an hour and a half away to board another ferry that would get you to the island at 10.45.

Your bridal prep starts at 1p, ceremony at 3.30.

About 30 minutes before boarding the ferry to the island, you realize that you do not have your mics or your batteries and that they are packed in a bag you left behind at home. You have your camera, no back up, and no batteries.

What would you do?

wow, is crying an option? Or would that look unprofessional? :-)

I would be extremely disappointed if i forgot my mics, but the video would still be do-able. Without the battery though... no clue. I'm hoping that this is all '"hypothetical""

Since were on this topic. I'm always afraid that I'm going to get to a wedding and have my only cam shoot the bed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this never happens.

Prayer...

Noah

Start figuring out a plan to keep from doing the same thing ever again.

Face it: you're hosed --UNLESS-- there is somebody who can grab the missing bag and get to you before the ship sails, so to speak.

Just a question: would you really have your camera in one bag and the batteries in another? Not me. I keep enough charged batteries and blank tapes in the camera case to cover basic needs. Of course, I've done grab-and-go for years as a still photographer, and the good habits I developed there have carried over.

Martin

What would you do?

Hard to say, since I always keep the camera in the same case as the batteries and tapes and other essentials. I'd literally have to forget the whole case to have this happen. I also use 3 videocameras, so I'd have to be practically brain dead to forget all 3.

Still, in this situation I would check to see if there was a video rental place nearby. It's a long shot given that you only have 30 minutes. If that's not an option I would purchase a consumer video camera with tapes/batteries from a nearby store. If that's not an option, then I would be calling the bride to let her know I screwed up big time and see if any of her family was bringing a videocamera I could use. If that's not an option I'd be letting the bride know she was getting a full refund and that I was unbelievably sorry. It's not going to help, obviously, but what else can you say/do at that point.

After getting off the phone I'd probably spend the next couple of hours throwing up.

Have someone get your bag for you while you continue to the island. Instruct them to hire a private boat to get across with your bag. You may get your bag in time. In the meantime, once you get to the island, you'll probably be able to find someone with a video camera. Offer to rent it from them if you don't get your bag in time. As a very last resort, find someone with a digital still camera. Put it in video mode and shoot the wedding. It won't be pretty, but at least you'll have something.
Whew... I hope this scenario wasn't real.

Another nightmare: You go home and discover that during the ceremony, you had the camera on pause the entire time. You recorded everything before and after the ceremony, but there is no ceremony....

Another nightmare: You go home and discover that during the ceremony, you had the camera on pause the entire time. You recorded everything before and after the ceremony, but there is no ceremony....

Great... something else to worry about :-)

Charter a helicopter to fly you to the event after you pick up the missing equipment.

Another nightmare: You go home and discover that during the ceremony, you had the camera on pause the entire time. You recorded everything before and after the ceremony, but there is no ceremony....

I am paranoid about that one. My second shooter forgot the record button 1/4 of the way through one event (a graduation, not a wedding). Things like that happen to beginners I suppose. I've had other brain dead events like forgetting to turn on the beachtek so I have no audio (reception only though).

But the pause button screwup would be the stuff of which nightmares are made.

You have your camera, no back up, and no batteries.What would you do?

If I knew for sure my battery would only last me 1 hour or so meaning I couldn't provide them with a full coverage i'd ask if there is someone of the family that has a small camera that I could use and do the wedding for free.

I have a checklist that I use just before I leave and I do that when all stuff in IN my car so I'm sure I'm not leaving anything at home. Since I always have one backpack, one separate pack and a tripod to carry it's difficult to forget something.

Checklist is a good idea. It works well.

Also, if you have to go to this island often maybe you should invest in a cheap little canoe or row boat, just pack all your gear in a water tight container.

We found a bride on Craigslist looking for someone to work her little consumer camera at her wedding on Martha's Vineyard for $350. The couple is from NYC, so we thought we could hopefully break into some Vineyard weddings as well as NYC weddings. We sent our demo and said we'd shoot it for $350 if she picked up the roundtrip ferry, rental car, and lodging. She agreed, and off we went.

We live in Rhode Island. We had a Nor'easter blow through here over the weekend and our ferry leaving out of a town about 15 minutes south of us was cancelled. We did exactly as we described above. Thirty minutes before reaching Woods Hole, MA, we realized we were missing said items.

I think for about 5 minutes, we just felt helpless and started to just give up...but then realized we needed a plan...

We started to call a video company we work pretty closely with, but couldn't get him. I called a nearby photographer that I assist occasionally. He was at a funeral, but said if we could get gear from the local videographer, he would pick it up and put it on a ferry out of New Bedford to us.

But we couldn't reach the videographer. We called a few video companies on the Cape near Woods Hole to see if we could rent/but gear and have them put it on a cab headed to the ferry landing at Woods Hole. We get a guy who sells Canon batteries and says he'll do the cab thing.

We get to Woods Hole...no cab. We board the Ferry and head the horn and it pulls off of the shore and we're back at square one. Then we get a phone call that we have a bag below from a video company. When we get the bag, we open it up...and it's a battery for a Canon still camera...

Back at Square one.

We were able to contact a Radio Shack on the Vineyard saying that they had a $300 JVC consumer cam. So out tentative plan was to just shoot it on that. She was expecting a wedding on a handi-cam anyway...but that was before agreeing to pay nearly $400 more for lodging and travel expenses.

I'm going through the names in my phone and find our old friend Robert. We haven't spoken to Robert in about a year. I call him and he tells me he and his wife JUST got back home from driving up the coast in their Air Stream...So I have to (unfortunately) interrupt him and ask him to drive to our house (about 20 minutes from his place) and break into a window. Go up to the office. Grab our forgotten bag. Drive to New Bedford and put it on the 1:45 ferry to get it to us at 2.30.

He agrees.

We pick up the camera from Radio Shack at 12.15 or so. Head to the venue and plug it in to charge a bit. Grab some food. Come back. Change clothes and one of us goes and shoots the bridal prep on the JVC Handi Cam and the other heads to the ferry landing to pick up our bag.

I make it to the bridal prep at a little bit before 3.00...Enough time to get some good shots of the bridal prep with the pro camera and the Super 8.

The rest of the day went great...although it rained like the dickens and we didn't get our much needed drink until 10.30p!!!

Calls us at 1.30 and tells us the package made it on board.

...so, yeah....a checklist.

This is the exact reason that I'm so anal about keeping similar equipment together. For example, my camera cases *always* have a camera, mic, batteries, charger, ac adapter and tapes. My wireless mic cases *always* have everything necessary for their function, etc. I don't keep equipment spread across random multiple cases.

In that way, I would never be in a situation where I have a camera but no battery. I may have no camera and no battery - but never one without the other. :)

Anyway, in the posed hypothetical - I would find a way to record the audio from another source (the DJ, the church PA, a borrowed camcorder, etc.) Then I would find an AC adapter that had an output voltage and amperage close to the camera's requirement and McGuyver up some power. That would actually be the easy part.

That scenario would have ruined my day. I would cry, seriously.lol

The worst that had happened to us was forgetting the 16 x 10 pic with signature mat for the guest to sign. Our place is 2 hours away from the venue, lucky for us, they have a relative who lives near our area who is attending the reception, she dropped by our house, my son gave her the pic and the day was saved.

About the not hitting the record button, it has been second nature to me to check if the Rec logo is on. It takes precedence over framing, etc,etc. I also hit the quick edit search button when time permits to check if I have actually recorded something or if there are drop-outs.

About the not hitting the record button, it has been second nature to me to check if the Rec logo is on. It takes precedence over framing, etc,etc. I also hit the quick edit search button when time permits to check if I have actually recorded something or if there are drop-outs.

Yeah it was just a rookie mistake. I don't give that op any grief about it because...... it is my wife (and I like sleeping in bed instead of on the floor). But its ok. I had a second cam rolling and things worked out OK. not great.... but ok.

That is a good idea to do the search. I'm usually too buy to do that, AND my tendancy is to record too much or to forget to push stop (and face the unexpected "out of tape" warning..... which is why I always wear a fanny pack with my WD-58, fish-eye, extra battery, lens brush, lens pen, and 3-5 spare tapes).

I would do whatever it takes to get my gear at whatever price! Even if it meant paying the ferry to dock a little longer. Mind you that won't happen to me, I carry a smallish shoulder bag that contains everything I need, batteries, tapes, lights, mics, duck tape, any type of audio converter cable imaginable. Once my fiancé lost my car keys at a busy venue, luckly had my bag over my shoulder since that day I've seen the importance of carrying everything I need with me - someone eventually found the keys, was a very close call, would not have fancied breaking my windows.

I split 2 cameras, mics, batts, lights into two pelican cases as individual kits. The reason is because if someone walks away with one, I still have the other as a workable backup. In addition, I have a little HD home camcorder in my fanny pack with new tape and fully charged battery which is on me at all times as a triple backup.

Checklist, at least a mental one for all your gear. Better to have an inventory for both practical and insurance purposes, especially if you regularly change your lineup...

A backpack or case with ALL your primary gear, always ready to go. Or at least take the time to pack it for the road. If you keep your gear in order, you're less likely to accidently leave things behind.

All the REST of the miscellaneous stuff reasonably well organized either in cases or some sort of equipment closet, so you can grab as needed, or hog along one big-a** case with everything imaginable... (I have a rolling cooler... after hiking in to a shoot on a brutally hot day with heavy cases trying to saw my arms off...)

Have a backup battery/tapes/memory in every bag/case... or make sure you put one in before you leave.

Having had a camera shut off randomly during a wedding (stray IR maybe?), I want 3 cameras running just in case, one in my hands and a couple strategically on tripods.

Since events may have different configurations of gear, I think taking a half hour to an hour (or more) in advance to go through and lay everything out, double check it, and pack the configuration you will be shooting should be a standard "preflight" procedure. I'm forgetful, but I hate that sinking feeling of realizing I left ANYTHING critical behind, so unless it's an extreme situation, I'd double back on my steps as I left to see if I'd spaced out...

You might re-think your bag/case situation - I've got an assortment of them for various use (including the dreaded fanny pack which actually works pretty well for a $10 swap meet item!). I can pack for everything from a casual hike or family birthday to the attempted takeover of a small South American country...

And I agree with the dual/triple redundant theme - for a one time event, can't be too prepared IMO

We have the bag that usually has all the vitals in it, but the zipper snagged on it and stuff would absolutely have fallen out of it during the trip...that bag has NEVER been forgotten...much like the "shoulder bag" that Nicholas says he has...

I went to Best (Worst) Buy and got two big Canon gear bags. One is a back pack and one over the shoulder. We were going to load all of the audio and power gear into them until we found the same bags on B&H.com and Amazon.com for nearly $60 cheaper...

So last minute, we decided not to use the Best Buy bags so we could return them and ended up packing all the vitals into a completely different bag, that, in the rigmarole of getting out the door and to the ferry, it was overlooked and the rest is history.

We found a bride on Craigslist looking for someone to work her little consumer camera at her wedding on Martha's Vineyard for $350. The couple is from NYC, so we thought we could hopefully break into some Vineyard weddings as well as NYC weddings. We sent our demo and said we'd shoot it for $350 if she picked up the roundtrip ferry, rental car, and lodging. She agreed, and off we went.

So I'm almost starting to think that the bigger mistake was agreeing to film a bride's wedding day for only $350. Please understand that I totally feel for the situation you went through. That must have been terribly stressful and horrible.

But if I understand this right, you agreed to film a wedding for $350, and you had at least two people on the job, for around 7 hours or so, and you still also brought your own equipment .. and this includes editing? I know you took the job to try and break into a market, but in my opinion all you are doing is devaluing your own services. The bride is very likely to just talk to people about how cheap she got you, which means any future referrals will likely be looking for the same "deal".

I could be totally wrong in this case, but in my experience it's always been a bad idea to take on this kind of project. Either sell them on your own services or let them go .. that's my philosophy.

Glad to hear such a disaster situation sort of worked out in the end. Still makes my stomach turn to think about it.

So I'm almost starting to think that the bigger mistake was agreeing to film a bride's wedding day for only $350. Please understand that I totally feel for the situation you went through. That must have been terribly stressful and horrible.

But if I understand this right, you agreed to film a wedding for $350, and you had at least two people on the job, for around 7 hours or so, and you still also brought your own equipment .. and this includes editing? I know you took the job to try and break into a market, but in my opinion all you are doing is devaluing your own services. The bride is very likely to just talk to people about how cheap she got you, which means any future referrals will likely be looking for the same "deal".

I could be totally wrong in this case, but in my experience it's always been a bad idea to take on this kind of project. Either sell them on your own services or let them go .. that's my philosophy.

Glad to hear such a disaster situation sort of worked out in the end. Still makes my stomach turn to think about it.

Yeah, we discussed all of this and weighed the pros and cons, and still felt that it was worth a shot. We knew that going on Craigslist meant getting a bride looking for a deal...we wouldn't have taken on a couple from Boston paying $350, but the Vineyard has a ton of weddings and is a resource that no one has really tapped. We were able to network with other vendors and establish relationships while we were out there as well...so hopefully if we get nothing from the bride, we might get referrals from the band, photographer, planner and venue. Plus, again, she paid close to $800 after travel expenses.

We're really in the building clientele phase. We've been in the business for several years, but this is our second season on our own under our own name with our own vision!

Everything but the product itself is a learning experience!

Plus, again, she paid close to $800 after travel expenses.

Just be careful because this is dangerous logic. You should be getting paid what your services are worth, and if it costs extra to get you there then so be it.

I'm telling you this because we made this mistake early in our business. We actually didn't charge for travel at first because we thought it would appeal to brides and the idea of traveling to do a wedding felt like we were making it big time. Big mistake.

Destination weddings are invariably more work, they cost you more money, and they also cost you extra time away from the office. We started to realize that we were doing more work for less money, and the destination weddings weren't increasing our exposure/popularity any more than the local weddings.

When we finally decided to start charging for travel we made our second mistake. We didn't charge enough .. only enough for lodging. Now we charge for lodging, gas and time. To be honest, people seem to respect us more now that we are charging realistic travel fees. Not everyone can afford them, but that leaves our weekend open to do a local wedding .. so it's not a big deal.

In your case, I think it's an even bigger mistake to charge for travel but discount your service fee. All that does is devalue your product in the eyes of the customer, and I'm pretty sure it'll end up bothering you later too. Especially when you can do a local wedding and get paid what you're worth and not have the hassle of traveling.

Anyways, that's just some advice that we learned the hard way. Take it as you will. d;-)

Another nightmare: You go home and discover that during the ceremony, you had the camera on pause the entire time. You recorded everything before and after the ceremony, but there is no ceremony....

This is not so Funny I actually had a hired shooter do this one time, Thank God
For multiple camera's. funny thing is he's usually rock solid behind the camera
but thats exactaly what he did. He was telling me about all the great shot's he got during
the ceremony too. LOL, wasn't so funny at the time but IT Can happen to the best of us,
at any time. I can Say The mistake has never been repeated.

Just be careful because this is dangerous logic. You should be getting paid what your services are worth, and if it costs extra to get you there then so be it...Take it as you will. d;-)

No, we definitely will heed your advice.

This was honestly a one time thing on a whim. We don't plan on making this a habit at all! We do have a mortgage! :)