Wedding Photography Start Up

[Heffo]

Hi this is my first post...I'm totally new to the world of photograhpy, after buying a powershot G5 in january, I'm hooked...I have noticed that wedding photography can be very lucrative and I'm looking to do it on a part time basis...I know the G5 is not versatile enough for the job,I'm looking for advice on what equipment would be essential to starting out. I would have a budget up too 5000 dollars. Any advice or direction would be welcome.

[G3]

IMHO, $5,000.00 won't get you there, at least not to do weddings on any sort of professional level. If you plan on shooting only one format, digital for instance, it may get you the minimum you need. I can't see shooting a wedding all digital, but some people do. Here's a list of some of what I use:

Mamiya M645 Pro 6x4.5 film camera (for the formal portraits)
Mamiya M645 Super (as a backup to the M645 Pro)
6 Mamiya Prime lenses
The above plus all of the other accessories for these cameras is well over $5,000.00 alone

Canon 10D digital ( for certain candids, etc. depending on situation)
Canon EOS3 35mm film camera (for candids, some ceremony, exit, preparation, and reception shots)
Canon ElanIIe 35mm film camera (backup body)
Lenses from 17mm up to 300mm (with lots of overlap so they can back each other up) The best lenses IMHO for weddings are prime lenses, but I back those up with zooms.
This equipment is well over $5,000.00 alone.

Lighting equipment, lightstands, umbrellas, multi-flash setups, tripods, etc. Probably over $3,000.00 for this.

Gateway laptop and Adobe Photoshop CS for post processing digital images ($2,200.00)

I would never dream of contracting to shoot a wedding without having every piece of critical equipment duplicated for backup. This stuff does fail, and there is never a good time for that to happen in a wedding shoot, especially if you don't have a backup. I also do an equipment check on everything before the start of a shoot to make sure that everything is functioning correctly to begin with.

If you do plan on shooting all digital, you might get away with a 10D for a main camera, a Drebel for backup, a couple of 550EX flashes or Metz flashes, a couple of 420EX flashes for slaves, 3 or 4 zooms that can serve as backups for each other, some tripods (one good one for the camera and a couple to mount slave flashes on), an off camera flash bracket and the associated off-camera cord (an absolute necessity), 2 gig of CF card capacity (you will shoot an average of 300 images for a wedding and you will want to shoot RAW).

The above does not include things like business licenses, insurance, etc.

Then there's the training you are going to need....either working for someone else of going to school to learn how to shoot weddings. It's not as easy as it sounds. You can't just buy a camera and start shooting weddings professionally. There's a lot to consider. There are techniques to posing, lighting background control, etc. that you need to know and be practiced with BEFORE you shoot your first wedding, plus you have to learn to relate to and deal with the people at a wedding. It's entirely different from any other situation you may have encountered in the past.

[Heffo]

Thanks G3, looks like it ain't as easy or as cheap to get into as I thought, thanks for your guidance on the equipment. To be honest the money is not a problem, to make money you have to invest money. I can't find any courses specific to wedding photography in Ireland, I have enrolled in a 10 week digital photography course, I have considered going back to college for 4 years in doing a degree in photography...but I think a degree would be over the top for learning the practices of shooting weddings or does it require a Degree??? or is alot of it not just from experience???
I do live in ireland so I won't have to worry about a liable case if I mess up. I'm the type of person who likes a challenge or I could be classed as a chancer, but I plan to do my brothers wedding actually on sep 11th, they don't expect too much, since I ain't a professional. Its something I want to setup as a side line in the year or two and maybe expand into a business in the future.

[Vegas Poboy]

I would first suggest doing some reading, taking a course in wedding photography and feel out the area you plan on marketing. It's not only about taking pictures but how to sell them & make an profit. Search websites & see how wedding photographers set up their prices also. No sense putting money into without looking for a return.