Wedding shoot.

[ACDCROCKS]

Hi all
My cousin has asked me shoot their wedding. 'Expeirence". But I think it's expeirence in the other way, anyway. I figured out the equipment I thought I'll needed:
Canon 20D
Canon 580EX
Canon 70-200IS
CANON 50MM1.8
Canon 28-135MM IS
Canon Grip
Tripod
8 Pack Spare Batteries for 580EX
Would anyone reccomend something I need to know or need?
thanks

[F. Stop Fitzgerald]

I am assuming that your "spare batteries" are AA alkalines. These will recycle quickly for the first few shots or so, but after you shoot one full-power shot, the recycle time will drop FAST. You will learn this as soon as you shoot the processional when the bride and her father come running down the aisle.

At the very least you should use a Quantum Bantam, but even this will slow down after awhile. Some of the larger high capacity batteries such as the Lumedyne will recycle quickly. The AAs should be your backup to your backup.

Some people work okay with nimh AAs, but they're not nearly fast enough for many parts of the wedding.

[grego]

You really should have a second body. All those lens in the world don't really mean much if you have just one body. It takes time to switch the lens. 2 Bodies at least for the photo portion that isn't formal portraits, because you can miss moments during those times that the shorter lens or longer lens might catch.

And probably 4 CF cards of at least 1GB each or a laptop(which helps in needing less cards) with a card reader(very affordable - I keep one in my bag that's usb 2.0 that cost $10)

And for flash, quantum pack is the way to go. Next to nothing recycling time and will last you the whole day.

[snibbetsj]

Don't forget spare camera batteries, get at least 2, just in case. You might want to look into a flash diffuser (e.g. Lumiquest softbox, lightsphere, etc) for the flash.

[gmen]

You really should have a second body. All those lens in the world don't really mean much if you have just one body. It takes time to switch the lens. 2 Bodies at least for the photo portion that isn't formal portraits, because you can miss moments during those times that the shorter lens or longer lens might catch.

A spare body is vital... if your camera breaks down, with no back-up, there will be no pictures.

---- Gavin

[transcend]

I gotta 3rd the "need a spare body" notion. Do not shoot a job without one, eventually it will die mid shoot, and you will be screwed. No photos can ruin a wedding for someone, don't risk it.

[ACDCROCKS]

I have a little problem though, my cousin isn't paying me, I was told to do it, "expeirence" I need a second body like you guys mentioned, but I don't want to pay the 125 Bucks, plus speedlight, plus lens for rent....the way I feel is that the only expeirence i know and getting that I'am beeing used and abused, is this what it sounds like?

[grego]

I have a little problem though, my cousin isn't paying me, I was told to do it, "expeirence" I need a second body like you guys mentioned, but I don't want to pay the 125 Bucks, plus speedlight, plus lens for rent....the way I feel is that the only expeirence i know and getting that I'am beeing used and abused, is this what it sounds like?

Oh defintely, experience is the greatest learning tool you can get. I was just stating from the POV of possibly doing it to make money. The setup you have is decent enough, but eventually you'd want to build on that, if you were going to do this in the future. :)

Good luck.

[sasa007]

Here we go from my experience...
I had a 17-85 IS that covered majority of shots
I do recommend a 24-70L 2.8 for a crisp no purple fringing shots shots.
In a church I recommend a 70-200 2.8 L IS and that 50mm 1.4
And a WIDE lens 10-22 will be perfect for some interior church shot and outdor party shots(10 at least)
Also take a RECHARGABLE 3 sets of 4 (at least) reason is that any battery from the store takes MORE time to recharge the speedlite...
3-4 one gig card will do the trick if you shoot a JPG
Shoot a RAW+JPG for a PARK pictures, all incidentals shoots do a JPG
TEST your FLASH EXPOSURE BEFORE THE CEREMONY IN A CHURCH
If there is snow slightly UNDEREXPOSURE PICS...
3 gig cards will give you a over 650 jpgs
1 gig gard will give you a around 66 raw images
Place a difuser on a speedlite so no harsh shadows
Place speedlite upright to bounce in the tight places and remove difuser...
ALSO WRITE ON YOUR CARDS NUMBERS 1,2,3,4 so ther is no confusion with cards...

[sasa007]

and 4 batteries for a battery grip...In a winter time batteries were getting drained much faster.
Have your preview on a display set on a 2 sec to preserve batteries...


Thats all good luck.

[SuzyView]

I think the lenses on the list are good. I have a 19-35 Tamron and that covers large groups. The flash diffuser is a must as most people with glasses will glare. I just got a lightsphere and with not so far away shots, it's really wonderful. And that only costs $40 with shipping. I do a lot of the "Best Friend's kid who can't afford a real photographer" events and it's really fun. There is no pressure to be perfect because you're not getting paid $5000. You just have to have a plan, extra batteries and cards. I have 2-3 bodies in case something happens. Usually I have film and digital to cover the bases. Watch the background of where you are taking pictures. Watch for unwanted shadows. Good luck on the wedding. It's a stressful time to get all the pictures you can within 2 hours.

SuzyView
When I say "A Plan" - decide early what groups you need to photograph and how many pictures you are actually willing to take - that will save you heartache later

[gmen]

I have a little problem though, my cousin isn't paying me, I was told to do it, "expeirence" I need a second body like you guys mentioned, but I don't want to pay the 125 Bucks, plus speedlight, plus lens for rent....the way I feel is that the only expeirence i know and getting that I'am beeing used and abused, is this what it sounds like?Shooting for experience is all well and good. However, I'd suggest that the best way to shoot weddings for experience is as an assistant to a pro, rather than as the sole tog.

If you're on your own with one body, what are you going to do if it goes wrong during the ceremony? Are you going to tell the bride and groom that they're not going to get any pictures there and then?... and what are the repercussions going to be after the event?

I'd be very, very careful how you approach this. It might even be worth getting them to sign a disclaimer absolving you of any responsibility if they don't get any pictures. I'm not suggesting that you won't get a whole bunch of wonderful shots - but all parties need to prepared for the 'disaster scenario'...

You are highly vulnerable to disaster:

(i) It's your first wedding
(ii) You may only be using one body
(iii) Did I say it's your first wedding?

You say you are shooting for free - but are they at least covering your hire costs, and additional expenses like purchasing more memory cards? If your cousin is covering these costs then there's even more reason to get them sign some sort of contract/disclaimer in the event of a shambles ensuing.

Your cousin may well be telling you that they are not worried about the results - however, because you shoot sports with a 'pro', you may well be perceived as a 'pro' in their eyes. Therefore their expectations may be a lot higher than they are communicating to you.

Just another thought - can't you use your Noink and lenses as a back-up? Only an idea... but that might solve one of the problems.

I sincerely hope it goes well for you. Find as many ways as possible to practice before the event, have a disaster recovery plan (make sure you have back-up kit), get a formal agreement (even though you're doing for it zilch), shoot in RAW, keep it as simple as possible by planning your shots beforehand and working to a list... just do a search here and you'll find stacks of info on the types of shots you'll be aiming for, posing groups, blah, blah, blah...

Good luck.

---- Gavin

[tim]

Get yourself at least two well rated books on wedding photography from amazon.com, or a local bookstore. They're cheap and will teach you a lot. The photojournalism book by hunter et al is good. Practice, practice, practice.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=75678
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1584281340/002-3047575-5896047?v=glance&n=283155
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1584281227/qid=1135897953/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-3047575-5896047?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

[ACDCROCKS]

Shooting for experience is all well and good. However, I'd suggest that the best way to shoot weddings for experience is as an assistant to a pro, rather than as the sole tog.

If you're on your own with one body, what are you going to do if it goes wrong during the ceremony? Are you going to tell the bride and groom that they're not going to get any pictures there and then?... and what are the repercussions going to be after the event?

I'd be very, very careful how you approach this. It might even be worth getting them to sign a disclaimer absolving you of any responsibility if they don't get any pictures. I'm not suggesting that you won't get a whole bunch of wonderful shots - but all parties need to prepared for the 'disaster scenario'...

You are highly vulnerable to disaster:

(i) It's your first wedding
(ii) You may only be using one body
(iii) Did I say it's your first wedding?

You say you are shooting for free - but are they at least covering your hire costs, and additional expenses like purchasing more memory cards? If your cousin is covering these costs then there's even more reason to get them sign some sort of contract/disclaimer in the event of a shambles ensuing.

Your cousin may well be telling you that they are not worried about the results - however, because you shoot sports with a 'pro', you may well be perceived as a 'pro' in their eyes. Therefore their expectations may be a lot higher than they are communicating to you.

Just another thought - can't you use your Noink and lenses as a back-up? Only an idea... but that might solve one of the problems.

I sincerely hope it goes well for you. Find as many ways as possible to practice before the event, have a disaster recovery plan (make sure you have back-up kit), get a formal agreement (even though you're doing for it zilch), shoot in RAW, keep it as simple as possible by planning your shots beforehand and working to a list... just do a search here and you'll find stacks of info on the types of shots you'll be aiming for, posing groups, blah, blah, blah...

Good luck.

---- Gavin

Thats how they look at it, just because i work for a pro, they think I'm pro.Yes, first wedding. And your right, they would expect better results, if not excellent shots. It's a totally different ballgame than shooting sports (litterly ;) ) I couldn't use the noink because it would be sold while I would be with Canon.What I was thinking is go to a wedding with my boss as an assitant and learn, just like you were thinking that way I wouldn't be shocked and know how to handle the situations. And after the wedding I and talk with my boss and shoot this wedding as a "Test" and he could grade it and see what I need help in. A contract/agreement would be a great idea.... Nope, she's not even backing me up on the cards show how cheap she is...damn, thats a good deal, having a decent photographer shoot your wedding for FREE:evil: Aint I nice ? The sad thing is last year I went to my friends graduation party. I left, and as I left a guy saw me with my camera and asked if I wanted to do their wedding for money..... I was shocked, I didn't know what to say... I had no expeirnce with a professional....I figured I lost Atleast $500.00 because the knew I was only 16 at the time and knew I didn't have much expeirence, anyway.:rolleyes: I read some books on wedding Photography too.

[C at Carol's Photography]

You have enough equipment ( if you know what your doing ) but you do need a back-up camera , flash and extra camera & flash batteries......things happen, you have to be prepared. Renting them is your best bet.....ask cousin to pay , its to her advantage . The lens I use the most at my weddings is the Canon 28-135 with my 5D. For groups over 12 people you'll need a wider lens.
One word of advice is shoot in a raw format ...use a 512MB card, don't put your eggs in one basket. I bring 12 -512MB cards, 8 flash, 2 camera batteries with me for each wedding. Depending on the situation , I shoot in both raw & Jpg ( the majority being in raw ). Do you know how to work with raw files, if not you'd better take a crash course. You can't rely on labs to fix your mistakes .
If you don't have access to back up equipment...........don't do it. It will be the fastest way to ruin your relationship with the family. You only have one chance with their memories and if you blow it, they'll never forgive you.
Wedding photography is not easy, there's a lot riding on your hands. Good luck , I hope it all works out for you.
Carol
www.carolsphotography.net (http://www.carolsphotography.net)

[tim]

512 cards are so small, especially with a 5D. I use a bunch of 2GB cards and a few 1GB cards, i've never had a problem. Always buy a good brand, I use Sandisk and Kingston, but not Lexar.

[C at Carol's Photography]

Hi Tim,

In your line of work you can afford to use large memory cards, I don't for the simple reason that if God forbid something ever happens with one card I don't lose that many pictures... in wedding photography you don't have the luxury of going back to re-shoot. I use Sandisk... but things can happen, I don't take any chances with my couples memories, there to precious.
Bye the way Tim, I checked your web site out...I was going to leave a message in your guest book but couldn't. I'm very impressed, your web site looks great & you pictures even better. Great work.!!!
Carol

[VanceW]

You've received some good advice from everyone so far about what to take, and get that you might not have. I agree with the batteries suggestions. I have the battery grip on my 10D and carry two more additional sets of batteries for the camera, and 5 sets of AA's for the flash.

During you shooting of the wedding, don't forget to keep checking your shots/histogram. This will save your keister in the long run.
Also keep an eye on your camera's settings. I just finished my first wedding this past weekend (images coming in a day or two) and to my surprise, I apperantly had been unknowingly hitting the dials and changing my settings.

Shoot RAW .. period .. especially for your first gig. It will also save you.

Good luck and enjoy it. :)

[tim]

Hi Tim,

In your line of work you can afford to use large memory cards, I don't for the simple reason that if God forbid something ever happens with one card I don't lose that many pictures... in wedding photography you don't have the luxury of going back to re-shoot. I use Sandisk... but things can happen, I don't take any chances with my couples memories, there to precious.
Bye the way Tim, I checked your web site out...I was going to leave a message in your guest book but couldn't. I'm very impressed, your web site looks great & you pictures even better. Great work.!!!
Carol


Commercially, I'm primarily a wedding photographer, I just prefer not to link to my commercial site directly from here. It's easy to find with a few clicks the website linked from my profile. I've done very little on my personal site in the last 6 months, I could take rather better photos than that now, if I had the time!

I shoot weddings with 2GB cards, which I format the night before a wedding, which I do at the same time as I set all my cameras to reasonable default settings (ie F4, ISO 400, Av, FEC 0, CF set to flash fires). I've never lost a single photo due to memory card failure, or anything else for that matter. 512 cards are just too small for my liking, and while i'd hesitate to go to 4GB cards, 2GB is my sweet spot. I switch memory cards randomly, so if something goes wrong I don't lose a whole section of the day. My workflow (download with DIM (http://www.alanlight.com)/rename with bridge) doesn't care about filenames, just timestamps, so filenames are irrelevant.

[ricohcam01]

Hi all
My cousin has asked me shoot their wedding. 'Expeirence". But I think it's expeirence in the other way, anyway. I figured out the equipment I thought I'll needed:
Canon 20D
Canon 580EX
Canon 70-200IS
CANON 50MM1.8
Canon 28-135MM IS
Canon Grip
Tripod
8 Pack Spare Batteries for 580EX
Would anyone reccomend something I need to know or need?
thanks

Not that my equipment has ever done it but I would suggest a second body in the case of a freez.

[CyberPet]

Yes, backup camera for sure! I was living dangerously last year until beginning of december. The only backup I had was my old Coolpix 5700 :D

Now I have two identical bodies, two identical flashes, just ordered two 2 GB Sandisk Ultra II's and have four 1 GB Sandisk Ultra II's, so I have enough memory cards to last me about 8 hours shooting RAW.

During my last wedding one of my bodies did give me an error during the ceremony. I never even had the time to be scared, I had the second body around my neck, so I just turned off the ailing camera and turned it back on again. If it hadn't worked, I would just have kept shooting with the other body, but then a bit more shaken since I really wouldn't like it to fail too. All was good, no images were broken and I check my histogram after every other shot, so I also make sure I get them. :D

[tim]

I often get a camera (both 20Ds on the latest firmware) being strange on a wedding day, I just drop it and use the other until I have time to look fix it up. Usually power cycling it works, otherwise removing the lens and battery for a few seconds does the job.

One worrying thing is the back dial on one of my cameras fails intermittently, it needs to be serviced but I can't be without it for a few months until wedding season ends.

[ACDCROCKS]

hi all thanks for the help, what would be the "best" book for wedding photography? I went to borders today aboud mostly 'picture Books" I call them ( a few words, then a large pic cpvering the whole page? WHat would be an in depth view?
thanks