Equipment

[swight]

I want to know what the basic equipment needed to do wedding photography. I'd like to know what you think about the 5D compared to any of the other higher end cameras. Is it worth it to make the switch and have to buy L lenses, will regular lens be terrible to use with it?
Also, what are the best lenses to use for weddings, all around. I'd like a wide angle, but I'm not sure which is the best. I guess depending on the camera it will differ, but lets say the best for a 1.6 conversion and the best for full image. What is your favourite zoom lens that is the most versatile. I know it's a lot of questions, but I'm really having a hard time with getting a straight answer. ( I know it's all personal preference...but there must be a standard).

Thank you!

Shannon

[symes]

I can only start to answer your questions by suggestion you use the search function on this forum. There are many excellent wedding photogs here, I can think of Tim as one and I have see many others as well. The way your question is worded and sbjectivity of the possible answers involved it is little wonder you haven't received a straight answer yet...

Cheers,

[NGrinerPhoto]

i shoot for an award winning high end studio in washington dc. we all shoot canon. most of us have the 20d and there are a few with the 5d. as for lenses we all use the 17-40 4L, 24-70 2.8L and 70-200 2.8L IS. for on camera flash we use the 580. all this gear is backed up. in addition to all of this we all carry at least one q-flash, quantum battery packs and 2-4 alien bee or white lightning monolights. don't forget pocket wizards, a light meter and an assistant.

[symes]

i shoot for an award winning high end studio in washington dc. we all shoot canon. most of us have the 20d and there are a few with the 5d. as for lenses we all use the 17-40 4L, 24-70 2.8L and 70-200 2.8L IS. for on camera flash we use the 580. all this gear is backed up. in addition to all of this we all carry at least one q-flash, quantum battery packs and 2-4 alien bee or white lightning monolights. don't forget pocket wizards, a light meter and an assistant.

I stand corrected...this is a useful answer...

Cheers,

[SuzyView]

You guys are so funny. Yes, wow, all that. People who work in stores. I wish I had money to buy stuff like that. But I don't so here's what an average person starts with. . . .

I shoot weddings, about 5 per year, mainly for friends, but I got started because I volunteered. Anyway, what NGinerPhoto has mentioned makes sense, but no one starts there from scratch. Unless you have unlimited resources or a store that upgrades on a regular basis, you are going to start slow.

Many of us shoot weddings and have posted. You can see for yourself what some really great photographers are in the forum. Some are so wonderful, I cannot imagine being so good ever. So, don't get depressed. We're all still learning.

My suggestion is to see how much money you are willing to invest in equipment: $5000, $10,000?

You are not going to get a straight answer because we all have personal preferences, as you said. A suggestion, read the "Introductions" Thread. You can find out about the members who do wedding photography or search for it.

Although I think it is safe to say, all of us have primary equipment and secondary equipment and we have backup equipment and secondary backup equipment. When you shoot a wedding, you don't get a second chance! Tell me if I'm wrong? And you have to charge customers appropriately. A professional with 20 years of experience can charge more. My suggestion is to contact a local photographer and go out on a couple of wedding shoots to see if this is for you.

Sometimes it's frustrating when people buy good equipment and think they can do this, what many of us find very difficult, getting wonderful pictures. The equipment is just part of the process. The photographer is really the artist and the brains and the salesman, etc.

Good Luck!

SuzyView
20D, 10D, EOS 3 and lots of great stuff

[tim]

I started from scratch, and I have what I consider the minimum gear if you're selling your services professionally: two 20Ds, lenses from 12mm to 200mm (some zooms, some primes), two flashes, flash bracket, two off shoe cords, 8GB memory. I also take along 2 AlienBees though i've never needed to use them. If you're doing it for a friend you can get away with half of that, so long as you tell them you'll do your best but make no promises about the outcome.

[SuzyView]

I think that's the deal, really. If you go pro, you have to be prepared to spend a lot of money and have serious equipment. And many people try to get into this business of photography because it looks easy. Two 20D's will cost around $2800. If you are going to make this a real business, you'll have to do your research. For me, it's all good and fun, but it's also work and progression.

SuzyView

[CyberPet]

Yup, people has to start somewhere, and you can't start with all L lenses and IS. But a good advice is to try to get as fast lenses as you can afford (Tamron and Sigma makes great lenses with f/2.8 throughout, even if we all want and drool over Canon's own lenses) and try to cover about 16-200 mm with about 3 lenses in total. It's never wrong to pick up the nice 50 mm f/1.8 II (it might be discontinued though) as well as some decent zoom lenses.

Once you got your feet wet and start making some money, start backing up your equipment, camera, lenses, flashes, etc... (that's when you can start buying those Canon lenses and use the "third party" ones as backup).

That's my advice... take it for what it is.

[SuzyView]

Great advice, Petra, I appreciate those words because I think we all have to be reasonable about the start of a business. I used a Sigma lens for years before being able to afford something better. I also had to do a lot of research to find out what was good. At least the FORUM helps with that and I wish I had this 10 years ago.

SuzyView - we really are twins!

[CyberPet]

SuzyView, exactly. Not everyone is born rich and can buy two 1Ds Mark II's with all L lenses and IS, so we start small and start build up something from that, when we can afford it. After all, it's the one BEHIND the viewfinder that counts.

I told you we are twins... the world might seem big, but in fact it's small and we're bound to meet our twin somehow, and Internet is a great way to do that. Plus of course you can use Internet to get great advice (and some goofy ones too) when you want to start up a small business. There's always someone that's been there before - and if they are smart, they share their knowledge so others don't have to struggle as hard.

[SuzyView]

Couldn't be better said. I'm off to Chess Club with my 2 boys. I'm going to get some filters today. I got the 20D lens kit 18-55 and it needs a filter. Don't know if I like it yet. It's so light!

SuzyView

[tim]

Couldn't be better said. I'm off to Chess Club with my 2 boys. I'm going to get some filters today. I got the 20D lens kit 18-55 and it needs a filter. Don't know if I like it yet. It's so light!

Any filter worth having costs more than that lens, I would say don't bother buying one.

[SuzyView]

I understand. I'm going to give it one try this weekend. I have a 19-35 Tamron, but I will use the 18-55 just to see if it's worth anything. It's going to be sunny, so I will put a filter on it. Maybe I won't. If they have an inexpensive one, I'll consider it. ;)

SuzyView

[tim]

An inexpensive filter will degrade image quality, mainly with flare.