New Equip

[D Boone]

Ok... so I am going to shoot my first wedding this weekend. You can see what I have now in my signature. I am thinking about adding a few things to this. I am on a budget, and I am just doing this as a favor for friend/ experience. I have heard lots of good things on the 50mm f1.8, so I am thinking about picking up one of those. Especially for the controlled/family photo times. Also on my list, spare 512 card, I have a 1 gb. Just going to shoot in jpeg/auto modes so I don't have to worry about manual mistakes I might make. Also wondering if I need to worry about having a better flash. I am also planning on using the new lens for macro photography in the spring. Any recomendations on what else to pick up? What kind of flash if any? Thanks for any help!

[cc10d]

On tight budget, flash, yes, 420EX. The 50 is a great idea, Have fun

[DaveG]

Ok... so I am going to shoot my first wedding this weekend. You can see what I have now in my signature. I am thinking about adding a few things to this. I am on a budget, and I am just doing this as a favor for friend/ experience. I have heard lots of good things on the 50mm f1.8, so I am thinking about picking up one of those. Especially for the controlled/family photo times. Also on my list, spare 512 card, I have a 1 gb. Just going to shoot in jpeg/auto modes so I don't have to worry about manual mistakes I might make. Also wondering if I need to worry about having a better flash. I am also planning on using the new lens for macro photography in the spring. Any recomendations on what else to pick up? What kind of flash if any? Thanks for any help!

Along with a new flash, and the 420 should be OK, I'd suggest getting a flip bracket and the Off Camera Cord 2. What a bracket will do is that it gets the flash higher than if it was on a hotshoe. This reduces the chances of red-eye but its real function is that it stays directly over the lens when you flip the camera to shoot vertically.

The flash will throw a shadow, but if it's aways directly over the lens then the lens can't SEE that shadow if it falls directly behind the subject - and your subject isn't too close to a wall. If you don't have a bracket and leave the flash in the hotshoe, you'll get side shadow in every vertical shot that you take, and this side shadow is unacceptable for professional level photography.

I've been using the Stroboframe Pro-T bracket for about two years and it works very well. It's light, (and the camera rotating, rather than camera flipping brackets are HEAVY) strong and does the job. There is a slightly smaller and cheaper Press-T version but if you ever get a larger flash and camera (a 20D + vertical grip, and a 550EX flash) the bracket will be too small to hold the flash directly over the lens. For the small difference in price buy the Pro-T.

If you do get the bracket you will need the antitwist plate that's for the Drebel. The bracket comes with a cork stick-on anti-twist "plate", that just doesn't work. I use different cameras so I can't tell you which one you'll need but others on this site should be able to help.

Buy a backup battery for your camera and bring a film camera as well, just in case. Even if you are doing this as a favour, more or less, the bride will still be pisssed if you mess up.

[donlavange]

Even if you are doing this as a favour, more or less, the bride will still be pisssed if you mess up.

Oh yeah!! Hell hath no fury like a bride with bad wedding photos!

[donlavange]

Oh yeah!! Hell hath no fury like a bride with bad wedding photos!

Opps, I should have said "Mother in Law"

[FlyingPete]

Buy a backup battery for your camera and bring a film camera as well, just in case. Even if you are doing this as a favour, more or less, the bride will still be pisssed if you mess up.

I 'third' that comment, you only get one shot at a wedding, there are no second chances.

I was shooting on the weekend, a portrait sessionfor an extended family, and had an unexpected gear failure, luckily there was wine and food, so they were able to take a break for 45 minutes whilst I sorted things out. If that had happened at a wedding, I would have been in deep brown!

I have known a couple of brides to be so p*ssed off with the photos that they demanded that they get back into their gears and shoot the whole thing over a few months later :eek:

I personally dont think that weddings are a good start for a budding photographer, good to shadow (with their permission) the official photographer, then there is no stress if you screw up, I have done this from time to time and actually taken better shots than the paid photographer!

[D Boone]

Thanks for all the comments... I am nervous about doing it, but know that its a special situation. If I wasn't there, there would be no photos at all taken except with grandmas point and shoot. I wasn't even asked, My wife volunteered me. Up until last weekend, they weren't even sure the wedding was going to be a go. So, I am not to worried about the Mother, or Father, or Bride for that matter. Even with that in mind, I still wanted to do, offer my best, and take some valuable experience away. I just hope the spare batteries show up in time... Thanks, D Boone

[FlyingPete]

Thanks for all the comments... I am nervous about doing it, but know that its a special situation. If I wasn't there, there would be no photos at all taken except with grandmas point and shoot. I wasn't even asked, My wife volunteered me. Up until last weekend, they weren't even sure the wedding was going to be a go. So, I am not to worried about the Mother, or Father, or Bride for that matter. Even with that in mind, I still wanted to do, offer my best, and take some valuable experience away. I just hope the spare batteries show up in time... Thanks, D Boone

Take heaps of shots, statistically you are bound to get some good shots, take a laptop along if you don't have enough EF card space.

My experience is though that most people have lower standards than our own, however this is no excuse to take dodgy shots!

[tim]

The 50mm 1.8's a good lens, and it's unobtrusive. Don't use it at F1.8 unless you know what you're doing, the DOF at 1.8 is way too narrow for most shots.

[Dante King]

If I was doing this, I would definately ge the above mentioned equipment and extra CF cards. That way "I could shoot everyhting in RAW format. There is much more manipulation of data availible in this format over jpeg. This might allow you to have a excellent result thru manips rather than a average jpeg result. I would shoot it in "P" mode so you can function at fully auto mode wit raw format, as the full auto green box mode on the rebel does not allow raw capture.

[robertwgross]

What in hell is a EOS Rebel 9.5?

There is no such Canon nomenclature that I am aware of.

There is the EOS Digital Rebel, and a film EOS Rebel.

---Bob Gross---

[FlyingPete]

What in hell is a EOS Rebel 9.5?

There is no such Canon nomenclature that I am aware of.

There is the EOS Digital Rebel, and a film EOS Rebel.

---Bob Gross---

My guess would be a hacked Drebel, almost a EOS10D (9.5)?

[D Boone]

Yes, its a hacked rebel... What the Hell Bob! Good Lord! Freak Out! I didn't come up with that, thats what the hack threads were calling it! Again, thanks for all the helpfull replies...

[robertwgross]

Canon Hacked Digital Rebel.

Clear as a bell. Thanks.

I think I'll stick a big piece of red tape across my camera that says "souped up."

---Bob Gross---

[FlyingPete]

I think I'll stick a big piece of red tape across my camera that says "souped up."


Aren't you supposed to put the red tape on your lens ;)

[robertwgross]

Aren't you supposed to put the red tape on your lens ;)

I don't think there is any way to hack a lens, except if you had one of the EF-S jobs and hacksawed the rear off.

---Bob Gross---