Yikes. Hired to shoot at wedding. Please help!

[olz]

Hi everyone :D

To make it short:

My friend is getting married.
It’s a low budget student wedding so they cant afford a professional to do the shooting.
I am the only one they can think of, so now I’m hired.
I will receive my new 20D kit today. I also bought a 50m f/1.4 prime. I have been doing SLR photographing on and off for about 3-4 years, and have a EOS 33 and a Sigma 28-135mm ASP.

I guess the shooting will be inside the church if allowed, outside the church, and some in the nature surrounding the place they rented for the party. These surroundings are best described as heath bordering dunes and a lovely white beach (It is in Skagen, Denmark).

I have 2 months to get used to the camera. Im going to Indonesia for one month in august, so i will have the opportunity to use it alot there. I have never used external flash. Will this be necessary?

Actual I just need any advice you could give me. Partly because I don’t want to screw things up, but also because this could be a great opportunity to go a little further with photographing.

Great forum, :!:

Cheers
Kristian
Denmark

[martook]

I can't really help you out (since I don't know anything about shooting at weddings), but what I can say that my sister was really unhappy about their photographs and the fact that the guy didn't use a fill flash, so it's probably a good idea to have one.

Also, attach that 50mm and bring your friend with you to a few places that would simulate the places for the wedding and shoot a few hundred shots to learn how to use the camera and lens :)

[WestFalcon]

you definitely need something wider like a 24-28 mm for groups and a flash is a must.

[tim]

I just posted something that could be helpful a couple of days ago, after my first wedding. Have a look at this (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=75678). You might also like this thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=74991).

The kit lens should do for wide angle, get a lens hood for it if you can, and stop it down to F8 if possible.

You NEED an external flash, and I high recommend a diffuser like the LightSphere II from garyfong.com (follow the links). I'd recommend a flash bracket too, I really like my Pro-T - it's light, strong, and works well. You'll need an off shoe cord to mount the flash onto.

HTH, good luck! :)

PS buy 2-3 wedding photography books and read them. This is NOT optional, it's absolutely necessary IMO. I have one called something like "best of wedding photojournalism", if you only buy one book this one's great. It covers group and posed shots too.

[roanjohn]

An external flash is a MUST!!! Buy it and learn it...........don't forget to check out the lighting forum.

IN terms of optics, the 50 f1.4 is very good!!! The kit lens is decent.........however, stopped down its good.

Just practice...........

Ro1

[robertwgross]

A few things will help a lot:
(1) external -EX flash unit (e.g. 580EX, 550EX, or 420EX)
(2) flash bracket with off-shoe cable
(3) tripod

In my opinion, 28mm is a wide enough lens to cover normal family groups. I only go wider if it is a very large group (like a dozen people or more).

---Bob Gross---

[olz]

Thank you so much for the replyes!!! Its very helpfull. Looks like i will have to put some money in that external flash. I also bookmarked your links Tim, and noted the book title. I already have a cheap hama tripod - that will have to do for now.

Ahh, can't wait to get startet.

The 20D, btw. is everything, and a little more than i dreamed of. :)