so excited to be here & shooting my 1st wedding

[photosforlife]

Hey guys, I just wanted to say that i'm so excited to learn from everyone here on POTN. You all have some pretty amazing stuff and I've been reading like crazy since last night. I'm a little new to photography and going to shoot my 1st wedding in November and I'm a little terrified and excited at the same time. I've done some headshots and band photoshoots, but weddings are an entirely different deal.

I just have a simple XTi with 3 simple lenses and hope I can get the job right. I need to get out an buy an external flash and a zillion other items.

Okay, I gotta go and keep reading all of your posts so I can learn like a sponge and fill up my brain with all of your knowledge.

Just wanted to say THANK YOU!!!

Mil

[zacker]

Good luck!!!

[picturecrazy]

Read tims' faq stickied at the top of this forum. It'll help a lot.

You're gonna need a lot more equipment to be prepared for the wedding though. Is this a family/friend wedding or is this a true client who is paying for your services? If it's the latter, then you really gotta show up prepared for anything, no matter how much (or little) they payed.

Are weddings something you plan to continue to offer, or is this a one time kind of deal? If you are wanting to pursue weddings on a more regular basis, you will likely need some faster lenses. I would sell that Pro1 and get a used 20D or something as a backup.

[canotographer]

Good luck! ..if you have time, read this thread( http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=323267) which I started earlier last quarter. I found those readings are extremely helpful. :)

[cosworth]

Take a couple days more, and read read read. Wear out your search button and get some thick wax on the backside.

People here will be helpful, but will let you know for your benefit - if your choices or decisions are hurting you long term. There will be great AND bad advice given here. Heavy on the GREAT though.

Welcome to POTN and let's see what we can learn from you. :)

[galahad]

There are great links and tutorials on the stickies which are worth reading also. :)

[canonpink]

You will work hard and love every minute. People will think you are crazy, but you won't notice since you cannot put the camera down. Shots around every corner....

Enjoy and welcome.

[notapro]

I'm not a pro, so the only advice I offer is get your flash as soon as ou can and practice with it. It's harder than you might think to figure out proper exposure with a flash. Well, either that, or I'm just not good at it. :D Welcome to the forum, and good luck! I'm looking forward to seeing your results.

[photosforlife]

Hey Everyone!!

Wow you all are so welcoming. I just posted my thread this morning and already so many great replies. Okay here are some more facts.

This is sort a friend's wedding thing that I got into, but I am getting paid for it as well. It's going to be inside a restaurant, both the rehearsal and the wedding. No ceremony---which is one thing off my shoulders. I will definitely be interested in doing more weddings and that's why I don't mind getting more equipment, just don't have funds to go "too crazy" quite yet. This is already going to be too much, but I know I definitely need better equipment to shoot a great wedding. Hope the following will be sufficient.

I have a Canon XTi with the following lenses:

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens
Canon EF 35-80mm f/4-5.6 zoom lens
Quantaray 70-300mm F4-5.6 telefoto

Here's what I'm thinking of buying:
Canon EF 28-135 mm f/3.5-5.6
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens
Canon 430EX Speedlite Flash
Bounce Flash Reflector OR OmniBounce Flash Diffuser
Flash Bracket w/cable

What do ya'll think??? Should this get me to a pretty good place? I have such a passion for photography and a thirst for learning. I've been reading like there's no tomorrow and I've been practicing all night with my camera and I will keep on practicing. Good thing is that I have about 2 more months till the wedding, so that should give me plenty of time to buy all of my new equipment and learn how to use everything. I've been reading all of the stickies and old posts and the manual..they are all great stuff!

Oh I'm also going to buy a few books that were suggested: The Best of Digital Wedding Photography AND Digital Wedding Photography.

Thank you all again for your help!!

PhotosForLife--a.k.a.Kookie

[tim]

Hi Kookie, have a read of my wedding FAQ (minor updates last night) to decide on lenses. I don't recommend the 28-135 or the 50 1.8, i'd suggest getting the 17-55 even if it means just buying one lens - I could shoot an entire wedding with that lens. Borrow/rent a backup camera/backup lens for the wedding too, the kit lens is ok as an emergency backup. More info on the FAQ.

[th3r0m]

I would ditch the 28-135 IS and pick up a 17-50 f/2.8 Tamron or 18-50 f/2.8 sigma. The IS on the 28-135 is nice, but faster glass, especially if you are planning to continue doing weddings full time, is a better investment in my opinion. The 50 1.8 is nice enough for the price, but the AF is slow and its focus is inconsistent. 430ex is a good flash. I would not buy a flash reflector, instead check out this site http://www.abetterbouncecard.com. As for the flash bracket, if you are bouncing, you probably will not really need it, as it is extra weight, but many people swear by them. Also, the cable runs $50 for 2 ft, which while allowing you to keep ettl is pretty much useless outside of flash bracket use (unless you are decent at soldering :) ) Instead of the 50 1.8, bounce flash reflector and flash bracket w/cable, you might think about picking up an 85 1.8, which most agree is leaps and bounds better than the 50. It will cost you more, but is a good investment for the long run. oh, and Welcome to the forum.

[bigjon0107]

I would ditch the 28-135 IS and pick up a 17-50 f/2.8 Tamron or 18-50 f/2.8 sigma. The IS on the 28-135 is nice, but faster glass, especially if you are planning to continue doing weddings full time, is a better investment in my opinion. The 50 1.8 is nice enough for the price, but the AF is slow and its focus is inconsistent. 430ex is a good flash. I would not buy a flash reflector, instead check out this site http://www.abetterbouncecard.com. As for the flash bracket, if you are bouncing, you probably will not really need it, as it is extra weight, but many people swear by them. Also, the cable runs $50 for 2 ft, which while allowing you to keep ettl is pretty much useless outside of flash bracket use (unless you are decent at soldering :) ) Instead of the 50 1.8, bounce flash reflector and flash bracket w/cable, you might think about picking up an 85 1.8, which most agree is leaps and bounds better than the 50. It will cost you more, but is a good investment for the long run. oh, and Welcome to the forum.

I agree completely with this. Fast glass is going to be your friend with weddings. And personally, i have used my flash bracket maybe one time. The money would be better invested into the 85 1.8 (as mentioned) and you could also drop the 50 to help fund this lens.

[photosforlife]

Wow, you guys are great! Thanks for not letting me make a mistake with the 28-135mm, I really thought that it was the one. When I was at a local photography store, I was asking about the sigmas and the tamron's, but the guy told me to really try to stay with canon lenses for my xti b/c they're A LOT better. But I see that you all are using different lenses than Canon and are loving them..so I'm going to give them a try. I need to decide b/w the 17-50 or the 17-35 or possibly 18-50. I really want 1 lens for the meantime that can do most of the job for me and I don't want to be switching lenses in between. After I get some funds from this wedding, I can go buy some more! yeay!

By the way, I just wanted to thank you all once again for being so inviting and so helpful. It's going to take me years to get to where you guys are right now, which is all right...I'm going to try my best to learn as quickly as possible and get to your status! I'm going to go do some more reasearch on lenses, read on the FAQ's and get those books ordered ASAP.

Thanks again!!
Kookie :)

[SuzyView]

Whatever you choose to buy, make sure you practice with the gear you have. Scout out the wedding place and get a feel for the lighting. You won't regret the preparation work because weddings tend to be very stressful and fast moving. Good luck & Welcome.

[picturecrazy]

. I really want 1 lens for the meantime that can do most of the job for me and I don't want to be switching lenses in between.

I'm gonna type in blue to add some testosterone to balance out your pink text...

I really second Tim's suggestion to get the canon 17-55. Yes, it's probably quite expensive but it's an amazing lens, has excellent focus, an image stabilizer, very flexible in that you can easily shoot an entire wedding with only that one lens. It works in bright light, or even low light no flash shots with IS... I've taken handheld 1/10 shots @ 55mm that were wonderfully sharp... which you just cannot do on a non-is lens. So it really can take the place of a low light prime in more or less still situations. (aka portraits and ceremonies)

[photosforlife]

thanks Lloyd, sorry for showing too much feminism, lol, i guess the pink was a lil' "much." I just finished reading Tim's FAQ and it's really good! I am going to consider the 17-55 even though it's pretty pricey. And thanks for your suggestions too Suzy. I'm going to meet with the bride within a week or 2 and scout out the location and also take photos while I'm there to see what I have to work with the day of the wedding. And thanks to Mark, Jason, Amanda, CP, "zacker," "galahad," "th3r0m" and "bigjon0107" for all of their input!!!!

[picturecrazy]

thanks Lloyd, sorry for showing too much feminism, lol, i guess the pink was a lil' "much." ...


hahaha, I was just teasing. I don't have a problem with cute pink text. you'll soon find most of us here are a bunch of goofs.

[SuzyView]

Since you are new and want some advice, there are some very successful photographers here. I would look at their work. Jeff (Toogy) we tease him mercilessly, but has a flare for group shots, Jenni (Song) does the sepia shots so well, and many more. You don't have to reinvent the wheel.

[photosforlife]

i know u were kidding lloyd, thanks for the advise. And thanks Suzie, I will check their photos out.

I've been narrowing down my lens choices and it has been sooo difficult. Some prices are just outrageous for me at the moment. Here are a few I've narrowed down to that are apprx $400-$500

Tamron 17-50 f/2.8
Sigma 18-50 f/2.8
Tamron 28-75 f.28
Tamron/Sigma 17-35 f/2.8-4

And even though they were some bad reviews on this lens, I think I would like to try the 50mm f1.4 as well. Even though it's incosistent, it's cheap & can get great shots (once in awhile)

I know you all have suggested other great lenses, but they're just too expensive right now. I definitely can't get the 16-35 2.8, 17-40, 17-55, 70-200, so I'm trying to compromise.

I just need 1 good fast lens right now for 1 wedding that won't cause too much motion blur...hopefully one of the lenses I listed above will do the job. What do ya'll think?

"Kookie"

[picturecrazy]

If you were forced to choose from the above, I would suggest the tamron 17-50. One of my assistants shot with that lens and it seemed to do pretty good... though his was a nikon version. Don't know if that makes a difference or not.

[Kai]

Welcome... Enjoy reading! There is a lot of great stuff on here. If you plan on getting into weddings I suggest buying the best stuff from start.

[mizuno]

Make sure you post up your results.

If they suck, we'll tell you they're great anyway. :)

[crackaonrice]

Get the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8

The Tamron 28-75 f.28 hunts like crazy for focus in mid/low light and always misses it and the Tamron/Sigma 17-35 f/2.8-4, well...it's a variable aperture and you lose the range (this one's a no brainer).

[photosforlife]

i guess it's going to be the 17-50! especially if it's a no-brainer :) thanks for your help crackaonrice and lloyd. hopefully that lens will give me the stability i'm looking for (for the meantime) and along with the 430ex lens i'll def be in a better place than i am now. also thanks Kai, i'm trying to get the best stuff, but it's hard being on a budget. once i do a few weddings...i will bring on the good stuff! and thanks for the encouragement dan, i will def post the pics up, no matter how scared i will be of criticism, lol. i will definitely need everyone's opinions.

Have a great day guys!
"Kookie"