First wedding !! help

[sneakerskilledme]

well in about 2 months i have a wedding to shoot, im the secondary photographer since im not at that level of being the primary yet,

as of right now i just have a XTi and Kit lens


i know i will need a 430ex, batteries, memory, and a nifty fifty.

what else should i purchase ?
my budget is pretty low for this about 600 dollars.

all ideas are welcome:D

[MarineManiac]

practice makes perfect. start shooting portraits, and get yourself some books.

[rral22]

Get the biggest flash you can. The 430 is adequate, the 580 is better. You will never regret having a very good flash.

Learn to use your flash. Bounce it, diffuse it, bend it, but learn how to use it so you KNOW what will happen. No matter how much you want to do available light, weddings will need flash at some point. Sometimes it is all the light you have. Read this:
http://planetneil.com/tangents/flash-photography-techniques/

Memorize everything here:
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/02/welcome-to-strobist.html

The 50 mm 1.8 is a cheap route to a faster prime for some shots, but test it to be sure it is working well. You may find it hard to use in any sort of confined portrait space, but it is cheap and pretty good. I actually seldom use mine any more. I prefer 85 1.8 or else wider and the 50 just doesn't come out of the bag much. I know lots of people suggest it, but I'm not so positive you need it.

You would actually be better off to get one of the 17-50ish 2.8 zooms. Canon's with IS is a great wedding lens, but expensive. Tamron's is good but no IS and much cheaper. Have a look.

Learn to use Av and exposure compensation, and Manual modes, and learn to use Center Weighted Average and Spot (Partial if the XTi doesn't have spot. I can't remember) metering so you know how to get what you want.

Learn to use flash (did I already say that?)

If you do all that and really learn to use your flash well, you will make some good shots.

[tim]

FAQ here (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=255604). It links to books.

[mikepiero]

Here are a few articles I wrote for beginner photographers shooting their first wedding:

http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/photography/articles/9541.aspx

This is the first article in a 5 part series - just follow the links at the bottom of the screen - they go through most of the aspects of shooting your first wedding, including what to rent, what to shoot, tips and advice, and post-production.

Hope this helps!

[Mike]

Have a look at the links here (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=5999915&postcount=2)

[form]

Buy a flash (580EX preferred), buy 1/2 CTO and 1/2 anti-fluorescent (pink) gels, Shoot in RAW and use MANUAL on your camera, set the flash around +1/3 to +1EV exposure compensation depending on environment, learn to bounce the flash off walls, floors, etc.

Then, get an 85 f/1.8 or 50 f/1.4 or 50 f/1.8 if you're broke. And, buy a white shoot thru umbrella around 40", a swivel bracket, a hot shoe adapter and a pc sync cord. When using off-camera flash, set the flash to manual power and adjust your distance from subject or otherwise.

Buy a faster standard zoom.

Use rule of thirds a lot and don't put your subject in the middle of the frame except to focus unless it's a very specific situation that calls for a central subject.