Newbie looking for advice

[Massicotte22]

Hello all. I am interested in starting my own wedding photography business and was wondering if anyone had any tips as to what kind of equipment i should look into and what my first steps should be.

alittle background on myself. I have been into photography for about 8 years now as a hobby. went to school for graphic design. all i have used up to this point is an old school, totally manual 35mm, so i'm not really sure what the norm is nowadays for the "right stuff" to use. I was thinking about going all digital but have also come across photographers that say this is not the way to go.
Thanks for any tips and/or advice people can spare. This is my first post in these forums so if this is the wrong place for this topic just let me know. there seems to be alot of talent in here and look forward to any help you can give me.

Thanks

[PhotosGuy]

all i have used up to this point is an old school, totally manual 35mmIf you can shoot on M, then that experience is a great start. There's a ton if info here on weddings. You might start with these along with the info you get here.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/search.php?searchid=471397
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/search.php?searchid=471399

[Massicotte22]

great. thanks for the point in the right direction:D

[Wilt]

I am a long time Med Format shooter of weddings. I am 'on the fence' about whether shooting weddings with digital is 'the way to go' for these reasons...

1. Color neg film latitude is super wide and highly forgiving...you don't have to be as meticulous in metering *every* shot and exposing 'just right', compared to color slide or digital (which is often stated to be 'like color slide' in having to pay careful attention to highlights)

2. The lab takes care of adjustments to exposure in the printing process...no time spend BY YOU. With digital, you have to tweak every shot on your PC before sending the files out for printing...LOTS of time spent at the PC instead of out shooting and making more money for your shooting skills.

3. If the client wants pimples and birthmarks retouched, I have to do the work at the PC, rather than simply providing instructions to the lab to 'take care of it'.

On the other hand,

A) you can shoot tons more with no increased cost (no greater film costs, no greater processing costs)
B) shots that are 'difficult' or problematic on film seem light 'duck soup' digitally
C) you can instantly verify when you have 'nailed the shot' for exposure and composition, instead of fretting until the proofs come back from the lab.

[Massicotte22]

If you guys were to recommend some basic equipment needed to get a small operation off the ground what would be your picks? be it digital, 35mm, anything you guys like to use or would like to use.

[RichardtheSane]

Not being a wedding photog I cannot advise on specifics, but here is one piece of advice

Double up on your equipment.

Make sure if you have a failure on the job (even if it is your first job) then you still have enough equipment to complete the job.

I shoot digitally, but when I am with a client I always have my EOS 33 film camera and a few rolls of film handy in case I have a body faliure.
I have my main shooting lens, but should it fail then I have some duplication there too.

I am glad to say I have not needed it yet, but one day I will.

[Wilt]

>>If you guys were to recommend some basic equipment needed<<

I strongly agree about 'double up'...once hired, your name is worse than 'mud' if any single piece fails and prevents you from getting the shots that were requested when you were hired!!!

A rotating flash bracket: one which always keeps your flash directly over the lens, regardless of whether your camera is held in landscape or portrait mode.

2 light portable studio flash: for portraits...use one as main, use one for hair light, use reflector for fill!

Fast lenses: to shoot available light, for better capturing the mood/environment (and allows you to shoot during the ceremony when the minister says "No photos" to you (but then ignores the flash from the P&S used by the guests!)

Wide angle: equivalent to 35mm lens on 35mm format, for those group shots

Short tele: equiv to 85-100mm on 35mm format for portraiture

External battery pack: to power your flash unit and permit you to shoot more rapidly than if you waited for the normal AA batteries to recycle the flash!

Incident light/flash meter: to minimize having to guess exposure compensation caused by the shots dominated by white wedding dress or black tux and to meter those studio lights for portrait shots