Lenses for first wedding

1Tanker wrote in post #14638177
True enough, but odds are that in a few..5/10 years, she will cherish the pics(we all know it's a woman's perogative to change her mind), and if they suck..she'll be regretful.

Or... if she truly doesn't care about these pictures, then odds are in 5/10 years she will be divorced.

Look brotha, I shot my sisters wedding when I was 21, and I had been shooting for 9 years by that point, and it was the most stressful thing I had ever done. I vowed to never shoot my sisters wedding again, cross my fingers, hopefully she only has one in her lifetime haha. This is why people are "not being supportive" though... it's not that they have a grudge, it's that this is a harsh reality we all (or some) know too well.

Good luck, you will need it my friend. Spare batteries, tons of memory cards, and a colt .45 for after you realize the terrible mistake you've made. haha

This thread was amusing; best of luck

EnsitMike wrote in post #14638227
Good luck, you will need it my friend. Spare batteries, tons of memory cards, and a colt .45 for after you realize the terrible mistake you've made. haha

now is a colt .45 going to be big enough? or should I go with a... lol

antti-hannes wrote in post #14634685
Clients want a journalist type shooting from me. Can i be more journalistic than without a flash and with only 50mm. Thats the way i have been shooting for years.

ah well, they ask for that specific style.

Ive been to churches where ambient light is good enough, but not enough for lighting up the subjects.
Not to mention weddings late night in the dark.

I too try and use only ambient light for most though

I am still really interested to see some of the images and to hear what sis and her new husband think of the images. I'm also interested in hearing what hallfrisch has to say about the experience.

Just you having to ask the question on "lenses for first wedding" pretty much tells me that you're not ready to shoot a wedding. Then on top of all of this you reject all of the advice here with an attitude. Good Luck.

casaaviocar wrote in post #14641763
Just you having to ask the question on "lenses for first wedding" pretty much tells me that you're not ready to shoot a wedding. Then on top of all of this you reject all of the advice here with an attitude. Good Luck.

Amen to that

"Doooon't do iiiiit"

I just shot my sister's wedding 3 weeks ago. I had even lined up an experienced pro to "help me" shoot it on the cheap because I wanted to relax and enjoy the wedding but she (my sister) refused the $800 it would cost. She probably spent $25K+ on it all ... what's up with that?

I've done a dozen weddings so, no pro but I should have known better. She begged, I caved.

Here's the thing; unless you're exceptionally expert and confident, you'll either screw something up or be very stressed that you might (either during or after or before, or all of these).

In my case; I happily (read "stupidly", wine glass in hand) shot all the group shots at f2.8; half in a dim alcove and the other half lined them up elsewhere (for backlighting) with messy trees and an ugly wire fence in the background. It turned out good enough to satisfy all involved (link here), but this mistake caused me to bolt awake at 4:30AM and work on them in the lobby until relatives started drifting downstairs at 7:30 - my mind fixated on my screw-up (this after 2AM party time).

So; drinking and responsible shooting don't mix. Responsible shooting to fill an album and relaxed family time don't mix unless you're very seasoned.

Use your POTN photo connections to find a "helper" for some $$$, bring your camera and enjoy a few drinks and shoot as you wish ... staying out of the way of the hired photographer.

Just my .02.

hallfrisch wrote in post #14637914
...The difference between you "pros" and me is that my sister would never hire you guys. ...

1. "Pro" can be a pretty loose term. You'd be surprised with $300 can buy in the way of help.

2. If you publish what city you're in, maybe someone would volunteer to lend a hand.

3. Lens - A 17-50 can be fine for the whole thing if they'll allow you to get close but inside a church that may be disruptive to the ceremony. A 70-200mm is ideal for the ceremony but change to the shorter lens about 5 minutes before it's over to catch them coming down the aisle, all the congratulations, and just about everything that follows.

Take note; inexperienced use of 17 - 24mm range will make them look fat (because you'll be tempted to stand too close).

4. No flash? Big mistake. Flash lifts the shadows in daylight and essential for most night and indoor shooting. Pop-up flash makes flash-burn (deer in headlights) look + burns out your battery.


Again; get a helper!!! You'll both mess up more shots than you make but between you maybe you'll get some framers. Maybe you'll luck out. I once had a perfect stranger with 600+ weddings under his belt 2nd shoot for free just because I asked for some help on the forum. Never figured out why but his results were amazing. He said he enjoyed watching the family dynamics and was bored that day - and probably nice for him to not have to deal with all the pics afterwards.

Sounds like nobody really cares about the photos. You're probably right. Just consider this ... you're now on the hook (for life) if someone misjudged what it would mean to them. If she really didn't care, she wouldn't have asked you. Please ... put out a call for help. Someone will surely pitch in.

NBeast - you make too much sense to be native on this planet.

palaima wrote in post #14642951
NBeast - you make too much sense to be native on this planet.

Cheers (where is that cyber-beer smiley icon anyway)

... sounds like the OP has bailed. Oh well. He'll learn. Probably will get some nice photos but look back to realize it was a lot of stress ... that will never fully go away. 50 excuses later (to his sister / family) about whatever issues the photos had, he'll think "maybe those guys on POTN had a point".

He hasn't bailed, he posted yesterday.

I admire him for his tenacity in sticking to his guns in the face of a constant barrage of advice from pros to get help or not to do it. I am really keen to see how he goes, how his sister and brother in-law feel about the pics. I am keen to see lots of the pics. Everyone is predicting an epic fail but what if he pulls it off, what if the B&G love the results and print them 24 x 36 and hang them all over their house. Wouldn't that be something. I am really interested to see how this works out. Hallfisch has heard all the advice, has considered it and taken a decision, I say good on him, from here on...go for it Hallfisch, give it your best shot.

RAW RAW RAW wrote in post #14645292
He hasn't bailed, he posted yesterday.

I admire him for his tenacity in sticking to his guns in the face of a constant barrage of advice from pros to get help or not to do it. I am really keen to see how he goes, how his sister and brother in-law feel about the pics. I am keen to see lots of the pics. Everyone is predicting an epic fail but what if he pulls it off, what if the B&G love the results and print them 24 x 36 and hang them all over their house. Wouldn't that be something. I am really interested to see how this works out. Hallfisch has heard all the advice, has considered it and taken a decision, I say good on him, from here on...go for it Hallfisch, give it your best shot.

It's not that I want to see him fail, it's his attitude. He came for help, yet rejects all of the help. I really have no idea why he posted here at all. He wants to hear: take your rebel and your consumer super slow glass and shoot like mad, your gonna do great.

Truth is, it may come out OK, but it's more likely he'll end up with a lot of snap shots. If that's all the bride wants then it will OK. I have 10x the equipment and probably 100x the experience behind a camera than the OP, yet I have no delusions that I could shoot a wedding and do it justice. At the same time if I was asked or begged to shoot one, I wouldn't be here asking what lenses to use, my experience tells me what to use:

• fast glass
  
• wide to mid tele
  
• flash for fill
  
• enlist some floor help
  

Casa...I agree with you 100%. On here there is a lot of experience and knowledge and thousands of very high quality images. What if the OP and his family are operating in a different paradigm to this forum. Who knows, they might not see OOF, and (to us) crap backgrounds and crooked horizons and WB all over the place...they might be happy to turn up to the wedding in sandals and socks. I am interested to see and learn about other perspectives. I have a friend who pretty much fits the above description. To her, the technical merits of an image are meaningless, she is tickled pink with really really crap images because they show her riding her horse that she loves to bits. It doesn't matter one bit to her that I'd delete the images in an instant...to her they are simply wonderful pictures. My GF is another case in point. I took a heap of portraits of her son and of her with her son....guess which image she forced me to process and PRINT...yep the one with his eyes shut and facing down away from the camera. I really wanted to hit the delete button but she loves it and it is possibly the crappest image in Australia.

So I say lets see what transpires, I'm interested.

Hopefully the OP comes back to prove us wrong....hopefully.