Wedding Suggestion

[InnerSong]

Hey guys, very new to the forum... posted in the wrong section initially if you can believe that. Anyway I've been living on this forum the past couple weeks researching and absorbing... Tons of info on gear and techniques as well as examples, I'm getting a real education.

My wife and I have our first wedding (freebie) this weekend. Its a portfolio builder as we are new on the whole PRO side of things. We have been shooting for fun and from the hip for a number of years. Ready to take this all on. We think.

a few days till showtime and we are going over the schedule and trying to come up with a plan on just how we are going to make this happen most effectively and get all the shots while staying out of the others way and such. Just in need of a little help and a few suggestions, I wanted to ask you seasoned vets what recommendations you may have given the lens / gear variety we have. What lenses would you be using most in a 2 cam setup like ours. From what I am understanding sticking solid with 17-55 and 70-200 is what is going to serve us best, right?

OUR GEAR:
2x 40d's / 2x 580ex II + one ray flash (if needed)
all Canon glass - 10-22mm / 17-55mm IS / 28-135mm / 70-200mm f4 IS
Alien Bees 2x 800w / beauty dish / vagabond II / wireless for both cams.


Wondering in order to be most efficient with the shooting and compliment eachother what you all would do with the above. What do you guys favor? and when? Details and accents with the 10-22. Ceremony long with the 70-200 and some w/a shots w/ 17-55? Am I warm? I feel like I got it... its just that its our first wedding and we want it to run smoothly.

Feels like the 17-55 might be a little shy on range during the ceremony, like I'd have to be up close, in the way... there will be a videographer too. Last thing I wanna do is ruin/ get in his shots? what do you think? best to stay back and leave it all up to the 70-200 during the ceremony? or is getting up front ok to some degree?

thanks and apologies for the novel... overanalyzing it probably.

[RobKirkwood]

A lot of the answer depends on how you prefer/want to shoot (close up, or far away), and how the two of you intend to work together.

However, (picking from your list - and basing my comments on how we tend to shoot weddings in the UK) I'd be quite happy to shoot a whole wedding with just a 40D and 17-55 IS and 580ex (ignoring the question of backup kit).

For the ceremony, the problem is that you're probably going to want to cover two different angles (sensible, given there are two of you), so what to put on the other 40D? The 10-20 may be a little too short for general use; the 70-200 may be a little too long for a lot of stuff on a 40D; and the 28-135 lens is a good range but goes soft at the long end, and gets to f5.6 quite early in its range.

First ever wedding I shot (as a second) was with 20D and 28-135 IS ...if you keep to the wide end, you should be able to get good results - so I'd recommend you put this on the other 40D, and swap out to the 10-20 or 70-200 as required.

Longer term, for two of you shooting, you need to look at more duplication in your kit - most 2 person wedding shooters tend to have at least 4 or 5 camera bodies available, plus overlapping or duplicated lenses.

Always good to be aware of being out of videographers shots - but hope they're going to do the same for you? ...and where you can go or stand during the ceremony may be out of your control - all things that are better resolved before the day.

Weddings tend not to go to plan - timings slip, people stand in different places - so overplanning can be a bad thing. More important is the ability to adapt on the fly and still get great results.

Good luck!

Rob

[InnerSong]

thanks for all the input. great points there, so you think rolling into it with the 17-55 and 28-135 on our cams is the best start then.

Im sure all our plans are going to fall apart and we are gonna be going with the flow when it does. Its only our first wedding so ultimately I think we are trying to be prepared for things you cant prepare for.

[RobKirkwood]

Originally Posted by InnerSong

thanks for all the input. great points there, so you think rolling into it with the 17-55 and 28-135 on our cams is the best start then.

If you are shooting a wedding in the UK and have to choose from the list of kit you already have, then I'd say yes - that's what Ann and I would pick to cover most of the day, from what you have available.

However, the UK generally has indoors weddings in small, and sometimes dark, places. You haven't stated whereabouts you live in your profile - so you may get much more appropriate advice about lens choice if you did so.

Rob

[jerrybsmith]

For the ceremony, I suggest the 17-55 on one camera and the 70-200 on the other and if no flash is allowed which is typical, shoot a f4 with the ISO dialed in to allow you no less than a 60th on the shutter. The 17-55 is equivalent to the 24-70 on a full frame camera which I use for the vast majority of my shots. The 70-200 is long for a 40D but great for candid shots without being noticed and close ups of the ceremony. For the reception, the 10-22 comes in real handy when people are dancing and you get close to the action. Forget the alien bees for weddings. Too much effort for two little use. The main thing you want to achieve is proper exposure, everything else comes easy after that. Good luck.

[InnerSong]

Thanks for the suggestions, both of you.

Rob Im in southern california, San Diego area... sunshine is plenty this time of year and this wedding in particular takes place outdoors. So the F4 70-200 should have plenty of light during the ceremony.

@Jerry - I was thinking I might set up the Alien bees near the dance floor to get some well lit action dance shots. The wedding is outside and the estate has malibu and tiki lighting but thats about it. No chance of a bounce flash since outside so I figured AB was my best bet for making something happen, that and my rayflash. I like the idea of 70-200 long shots during the ceremony to stay out of the way but still grab key shots.

[tim]

Personally when shooting a ceremony I need two cameras on me with a 17-55 on one and a 70-200 on the other. This means I can get wide enough shots and still get a closeup of the kiss and ring exchange. Given what you have have the main photo with a 17-55, and the 2nd with a 70-200, and just be aware where they need to be to get the angles you want on the ring exchange and first kiss - for me that's front and center.

I think you need another camera, and a backup to the fantastic but not very reliable 17-55. A Sigma 30 F1.4 is a good choice.