Wedding shoot recommendations please.

[rrpruett]

I have been asked to shoot a wedding on Nov 5th and have never shot one before. I normally shoot sports. I have informed the party that I have not done a wedding before and am a little nervous about the results. I did some work for them shooting football and they liked the results so they asked me to shoot this wedding. Plus the photographer they had hired pulled out due to scheduling conflicts.

Anyway I am wondering if the lens I have are going to get the job done. It will be inside and the church may not have good lighting. I am going to check out the church prior to the shoot. I have read some post on this board that say I may need a faster lens then the 17-85 I have. I’ve been thinking about an 85 1.8 for gym shooting so maybe now is the time to make the investment but I have come accustom to shooting with a zoom and have never shot with a prime.

I have also been contemplating a flash bucket. Does anyone think it’s needed or can the 580 do a good enough job bouncing off the ceiling or with the bounce extender on the flash? Once again I do not have any experience using this flash in this type of setting. Maybe with the flash teh 17-85 will be O.K.

Thanks for the help in advance.

[Salleke]

I have been asked to shoot a wedding on Nov 5th and have never shot one before. I normally shoot sports. I have informed the party that I have not done a wedding before and am a little nervous about the results. I did some work for them shooting football and they liked the results so they asked me to shoot this wedding. Plus the photographer they had hired pulled out due to scheduling conflicts.

Anyway I am wondering if the lens I have are going to get the job done. It will be inside and the church may not have good lighting. I am going to check out the church prior to the shoot. I have read some post on this board that say I may need a faster lens then the 17-85 I have. I’ve been thinking about an 85 1.8 for gym shooting so maybe now is the time to make the investment but I have come accustom to shooting with a zoom and have never shot with a prime.

I have also been contemplating a flash bucket. Does anyone think it’s needed or can the 580 do a good enough job bouncing off the ceiling or with the bounce extender on the flash? Once again I do not have any experience using this flash in this type of setting. Maybe with the flash teh 17-85 will be O.K. Thanks for the help in advance.

The 17-85 is not the best lens in the world but it certanly can do a nice job. If you look at this forum you will find many very good pictures made with this lens. If you're planning to use it in the curch then you have to use a flash because it's not a fast lens and without the flash you wouldn't get the job done IMHO.
The 580 flash is a very good one but have spare rechargebles batteries with you and a charger. If you have at least 3 sets of 2500 mA Energizer rechargebles and a good charger you can do the job.
The 85 1.8 is a very good lens but if you have a 1.6 "crop" camera (and you have!) it will be to long in some cases. I personal would have a 50 mm 1.4 with me for such an event and "zoom" with my feet ... ;)

Good luck and show us some pictures from that wedding.

[rrpruett]

I have a quantum 2x2 for flash power so this is not an issue. I will take a look at the 50 1.4

Thanks

[Maureen Souza]

I notice you have the 70-200/2.8. Many photographers think that is the ultimate wedding lens so I would pair it up with your wide angle lens and go for it.
Now if want to use this an excuse to by the 85mm lens....go for it! :):)

[philpereira]

sorry to piggyback on this topic, but it relates to what i was wondering about. would a 50 be good enough to do an entire indoor wedding? i have some requests to do weddings and was definitely interested in picking one up. i figure using my feet at zoom would make this one quite usable. i have my drebel kit lens and a 28-200 f4-5.6 if i need wider shots, but i guess i'd have to make sure there was plenty of light. but the 50 appeals to me as a lens that can pretty much do it all in a photojournalistic type wedding

[Titus213]

Equipment needs will be deterimined by factors such as size of the site, lighting, color, etc. Size of the wedding party, style of the wedding, and what they want. I would suggest the fastest, most versatile lens you can use. Our last wedding was with a 24-70 f2.8 and the next will be with that lens and a 16-35 f2.8. We can rent them for peanuts at the local pro shop.

I hadn't thought about it in these terms but I guess it's a lot like shooting a football game. The action is fast, continuous and always too dark...:lol: Except for the bride and her white, blow-out-every-shot gown mixed in with all those guys wearing black.

[rrpruett]

From what I have been reading the 24-70 looks like a good all around lens. I think I might pick one up and give it a go. I can always use it for indoor gyms as well, at f/2.8 it will do the job.