The official shooter has no clue...

[Ephemeral]

I've literally just come back from a friend's wedding. He asked me to take my kit to be a "second shooter" for some candids of guests and of our group of friends. I duly obliged and took my kit.

Now, I know one shouldn't be elitist but, I saw the official shooter take out his 350D and use his pop-up flash as the main flash. I think he was also using his kit lens for his WA lens too.

*shudder*

I know they say its the person behind the camera and not the kit that makes a photograph...

Has anyone else experienced a similar situation where the "official" shooter didn't seem to have a clue.

[MagicallyDelicious]

Yeh!
I mean I was just shooting a wedding for family n just had a 300D but had bought a flash n lens for indoor shots ect but when we were shooting in a dark hall this other wedding group came in for pictures and the photograpgher was using the exact same set up. kit lens with pop up flash....I was struggling with lighting in the hall with faster lens and flash gun so god knows what her pictures were going to turn out like!
They had rented the place for an hour at 300euro so you would have thought they would have wanted some good shots!

Im saying this now and her's prob turned out better than mine but after all this rambling im just agreeing to thinking 'what is she doing'

LOL

[Box Brownie]

Can not comment on the "pro" in professional here but the 350D is a nice capable body. However I would expect the "pro" being paid to have decent glass and suitable flash perhaps off body on a stroboframe.

Did you ask your friend where he got the guy and what he was paying for the privilege ~ but perhaps that would be bad form? At least at this time!

FWIW I am just a keen amateur with 40 plus years of taking pictures and would not dream of being the official at such an event - but I do like reading the stories on this forum.

:)

PS I sell B2B to at least one album maker and I know the wedding photographers are having a weird time business wise especially this year.

[TooManyHobbies]

Shocking, but at my Dad's wedding the guy had an old manual focus Nikon FA with a $45 Vivitar flash and most of the pictures where out of focus. He charged $2300!

I had my Nikon FE and my Canon 20D and G5 with lots of accesoories, but my Dad said NO TAKING PICTURES YOU ARE IN THE WEDDING. I did get to take a few and my wife had the G5.

The videographer charged $3500, but he was worth more. He had awesome gear and did great editing.

[kawter2]

a lot of times you get what you pay for..

[MrTED]

Yeh!
I mean I was just shooting a wedding for family n just had a 300D but had bought a flash n lens for indoor shots ect but when we were shooting in a dark hall this other wedding group came in for pictures and the photograpgher was using the exact same set up. kit lens with pop up flash....I was struggling with lighting in the hall with faster lens and flash gun so god knows what her pictures were going to turn out like!
They had rented the place for an hour at 300euro so you would have thought they would have wanted some good shots!

Im saying this now and her's prob turned out better than mine but after all this rambling im just agreeing to thinking 'what is she doing'

LOL

I have a 30 and a 350 and to be honest I love shooting with the 350. I can't answer why, but I feel more confortable with it and in the slightest way it shows in the photos (or maybe only I can see it). But by the same token, I have a 580EX with a stroboframe, and the 30 sits in the bag as a backup.

Also, I apologise ahead of time for this very quick topic change, but... MagicallyDelicious... you've changed your avatar...!!! :( I loved the old one...!!!

[verty]

rocking up to a wedding with a 350d is ok..
but you should at least have a speedlight flash..
using the inbuilt flash is abit sus..

but until you see the pictures dont make any judgement
and i would suggest you see how much this photographer charged..

[kobus2]

I am of course biased towards the 350 - using one myself for paid weddings - however a 430 or 580 flash should be expected. L lenses does not guarentee good pictures though

[TooManyHobbies]

I'd be ok shooting a wedding with a G5, but you must be using something other than the on camera flash for the G5 or any camera.

[JMHPhotography]

I've literally just come back from a friend's wedding. He asked me to take my kit to be a "second shooter" for some candids of guests and of our group of friends. I duly obliged and took my kit.

Now, I know one shouldn't be elitist but, I saw the official shooter take out his 350D and use his pop-up flash as the main flash. I think he was also using his kit lens for his WA lens too.

*shudder*

I know they say its the person behind the camera and not the kit that makes a photograph...

Has anyone else experienced a similar situation where the "official" shooter didn't seem to have a clue.

:rolleyes: Well, the last two weddings I worked I used my kit lens for my W/A shots...(tables with guests mainly). Was I also clueless? I guess those photos should look like crap then... but somehow they managed to look just fine. Maybe I got lucky. Good thing I've upgraded to the 17-40L, huh?

Ok, I'll give you the flash... nobody should ever use the pop flash for main lighting. I think that this is more of a no no than using the kit lens.

[mven74]

... L lenses does not guarentee good pictures though
i agree

[Ephemeral]

I couldn't agree more with the L lens comment...quite why that point was raised I don't know as I never once said that the official shooter needed an L to be a good shooter. :rolleyes:

Like most of you have realised, the element of not having a bounce-able flash stuck me as the most...challenging aspect to shooting indoors.

[ssim]

"The official photographer didn't have a clue". This is a matter of perspective and in this case it was your opinion. He was clueless because he was using the onboard flash?

It's in the results, have you seen the final work he did.

I attended a wedding as a guest earlier this year and the couple there were using available light and one of them was using the onboard flash. I went over to my friends place when they had their daughters pictures and I was amazed at how good they looked. Could they have been better, sure, but they were happy with them and in the end that is all that mattered. They asked me for my opinion and I replied in such a fashion that it kind of fell in line with what they felt about them. There is no value in dissing someone's work when there is nothing that can be done after the fact. Given that they were happy it made no sense to do that either. Now, if they had told me they were unhappy with them, a different approach might have been valid.

[Ephemeral]

Well, you make a valid point there, in that if at the end of the day my friends are happy with the pictures then all is good.

The flash is not the only reason for me to say that he didn't have a clue, but other guests comments, some what said away from the guy. How he posed the group shots. Now I may be wrong, but I always though that the B&G should be in the middle of group shots, and not having more ppl on one side than the other. He posed the first few family shots under a tree that had many hanging dead leaves, which he later ripped down from the tree when he noticed them (There was a wonderful weeping willow 30 yards further back). How he posed a few group shots getting initially to stand in a line on a narrow path through the grass, then telling one end of the line of ppl to "come round a little", thus half the line of ppl from the G's side were in a line while the ppl on the B's side were sort of huddled.

I dunno, maybe I'm being over critical and he saw the "shots" that I couldn't comprehend. Maybe he came across nervous and didn't know what shots the B&G wanted to take (Apparently there was a list "somewhere" that he been given at the start of the day.)

I think I've learn't a lesson in this thread that I have initially started in criticism. So long as the B&G are happy with the results, it doesn't matter if the photographer isn't a seasoned professional or shares my sense of symmetry.

I still think he should have at least have a proper flash though. :p

[RobKirkwood]

Off-topic for 'having a clue' ...but there is one thing about the 350D that might be a significant advantage in some situations - it has a pretty quiet shutter compared to other Canon DSLRs. Our 20D goes 'CLACK', our 30D goes 'CLUMP', and our 350D goes 'snick' :lol:

Rob

[GertS]

Off-topic for 'having a clue' ...but there is one thing about the 350D that might be a significant advantage in some situations - it has a pretty quiet shutter compared to other Canon DSLRs. Our 20D goes 'CLACK', our 30D goes 'CLUMP', and our 350D goes 'snick' :lol:

Rob



You should hear my 1D Mark II. :lol: Often I ask myself whether the shutter is not disturbing. But most people don't notice it. OK, I don't use 8 fps at weddings.

I think that the result is the only thing which counts. If the customer is happy with the result, it doesn't matter how it was made.

[Wilt]

Off-topic for 'having a clue' ...but there is one thing about the 350D that might be a significant advantage in some situations - it has a pretty quiet shutter compared to other Canon DSLRs. Our 20D goes 'CLACK', our 30D goes 'CLUMP', and our 350D goes 'snick' :lol:


Rob


Decades of weddings have been covered with medium format SLRs that really have large mirrors going up and down and motor drives whirring to advance the film and cock the shutter! Every time I hear Canon dSLR users cringing at the noise of their cameras, I have to chuckle to myself at how much racket I made only 10 years ago. No one ever comment then about the noise!

[DocFrankenstein]

No one ever comment then about the noise!
Maybe you were just temporarily stunned from the loud clap to be able to hear complaints. :lol: ;)

As to the "no clue" comments - have you ever heard of natural light shooters? Sometimes an on-board flash is just enough for fill.

[S230]

This day in age, many call themselves “professional photographer”. As to how well the photographer really is, that depends on perspective. Everyone’s taste is different.

Most often I find that people judge your equipment before looking at your work which is sad.

It’s all about how well someone markets themselves. Above all, the best thing is to do some research and use referrals.

[picturecrazy]

I've been a groomsman in many weddings and I always observe the photographer. The last one I was at, she used Program mode and wasn't very creative in her angles. Well, I figured I'd wait to see the actual pictures before forming an opinion.
Well, I saw them, and they were... well... average. Better than a regular joe, but not what I'd expect from a pro.

But you know what? Non-photographers don't see the same things we do. They didn't seem to care about crappy lighting and stuff like that. They were happy with their pictures and blown highlights and overly dark tuxes weren't even noticed by them. It looked better than their uncle Joe would have done and that was enough to make them happy they paid someone to do it. I just agreed with them and said, "your pictures are awesome".

Hey, if it makes them happy, then the photographer fulfilled her purpose. End of story.

[MrTED]

Hey, if it makes them happy, then the photographer fulfilled her purpose. End of story.

Case closed... it does not matter what we all think (even though we're right :lol: ), if the B&G are happy, then a good job was done, even if the job was not technically sound or artistically correct.

[mizuno]

Has anyone else experienced a similar situation where the "official" shooter didn't seem to have a clue.

I generally reserve my judgement until I have seen his finished product.

You probably should too.

[SuzyView]

I've been to a lot of weddings where the pros use Nikon equipment, usually with a bracket. I have rarely seen a pro with an on-board flash, but hey, it can be done. I also reserve judgment until the final product because some people really know how to get good shots with what they have. Now, instead of feeling the pro's gear was lacking, maybe next time, ask if he/she wants to borrow your 580EX with softbox attachment. :) What I'd like to see is what that pro would have done with your equipment. :)

[DocFrankenstein]

ask if he/she wants to borrow your 580EX with softbox attachment.
Over my dead body...

I mean... would you be so kind to let me play with your 580 and a softbox attachment. I'll send the pictures for you to see! :lol: