Sports shooter asked to do a wedding - aaaagh!

I'll be the only wedding photog who stands across the road from the church, with a 300mm f/2.8 on a monopod, shouting, "No, closer. No, closer still. More. A little more....."

Seriously, maybe the 15-85mm will have some use, though it's a bit slow, and the 70-200mm will be good for some candids, but I'm thinking I should hire a fast wide zoom. I'll be using a 7D, so maybe the EF-S17-55 f/2.8?

I've just bought a Nissin Di866 MKII (not delivered yet) which I'll have to practice with, coz I'm clueless with flash, except for rally cars in welsh forests at 2am - not the same thing really.

Boy, have I got some learning to do

Why not use the 135?

PeaceFire wrote in post #12728510
Why not use the 135?

I might, in fact I have that lens to 'thank' for getting me the wedding request. I took it to a christening and the parents liked the pics so much they asked me to do their wedding (as a favour).

My only concern is that I have only one body and don't want to take more than two lenses, hence I was thinking the 70-200mm plus a wide fast zoom such as the 17-55mm. I already have a 15-85mm but I took that to the christening and found it too slow, though this time I will have a better flash.

Steve of Cornubia wrote in post #12728436
I've just bought a Nissin Di866 MKII (not delivered yet) which I'll have to practice with, coz I'm clueless with flash, except for rally cars in welsh forests at 2am - not the same thing really.

I've generally found that a white rally car at 2am in the forest is a considerably harder subject to focus on and get the exposure right than a bride in a white dress.
The cars move faster, are less predictable, have a more reflective surface and the shooting environment is considerably more limited.


If you can get great focus, exposure and composition on a rally car, then a wedding will be no challenge at all.

Where weddings are different is your subjects are able to talk back and require considerably more direction.

Though I'm cash-poor at the moment, I was freaking out at the idea of doing my friend's wedding with just the one body, so I've bought a 550D as a backup. It seemed like the only half-decent body available for the cash I had (AUD600). I could've bought something used for the same money, but I didn't fancy having a used body as my backup. The most important aspect of the backup body, IMO, is that it is reliable. It will probably be replaced by a 5D MKII at some point anyway.

At this stage, I don't plan on using the 550D unless the 7D lets me down, but if the results from it are OK, I might use both. I'm going to hire a 17-55mm f/2.8 and maybe put that on one body and the 70-200mm f/2.8 on the other.

I'll also take the 135mm f/2.0 simply because I love the candids I got from it at the christening. I will of course take my one and only flash, though I'm going to experiment with using it off-camera. Spare batteries and cards, a cleaning kit - and I think that's it.

Or is it?

Sounds good. You may be strapped for wide-angle candids without a fast wide. Depends what percentage of your shots are journalistic candids, environmental portraits, and venue shots.

How are you going to do details?

Sp1207 wrote in post #12770967
Sounds good. You may be strapped for wide-angle candids without a fast wide. Depends what percentage of your shots are journalistic candids, environmental portraits, and venue shots.

How are you going to do details?

You mean the 17-55mm isn't wide? I suppose an effective focal length of 27mm isn't very wide, but hopefully wide enough.

What do you mean by details? Do you mean stuff like close-ups of the wedding rings? Again, I'm assuming the 17-55mm will be OK for that, though I haven't used one yet. I'd be happy to use my EF-S 15-85mm, which produces lovely pics, but it just isn't fast enough.

It's not all that wide. It's certainly OK, but it's only F2.8 and you're only going to have the ISO performance of Canon's 18MP crop and one (on camera?) flash.

Details are like the macros of the ring, the table setup, the decoration on the cake, the ceremony program, the cliche letters my brides/grooms always write and exchange. They help set the stage for the story you're trying to tell.

For details, I would say use a 50, 35 or even 85. ALl are good and fast. Again, depends on your shooting style. My 35 never leaves my camera during weddings, aside from the ceremony, usually use the 70-200 2.8 II.

Lol, this describes exactly what happened with me at the end of June. I spent all day shooting my 16 year old son's Lacrosse tournament and went to the wedding that evening. I'm not sure if my photos were technically correct, I also shoot with the 7D, but everyone who has seen them loves them. I've created and ordered a book from Blurb so the final verdict from the bride is pending.

I shot the whole event using the 7D with a 24-105 f/4L and 430 MKII flash. The camera is quite capable so it is up to the photographer to use his/her creative juices. I searched and reviewed any info I could get for wedding photography including various pictures to get some ideas. One last thing, don't be afraid to take suggestions from the women in the group for pose's and locations, they should have some good ideas for you. Good Luck and enjoy it!