gear & tips for a 1st time wedding togger

Hi all,

I'm after a few pointers from people who have "been there & done it" when it comes to doing your first wedding.

I feel I'm reasonably kitted out & am not looking to change any of my gear prior to the wedding. I have made a bit of money selling images via getty & other stock sites but this is the first time I've had someone come to me to ask me to take images for payment. He's also a close friend who I work with - I'm therefore looking to eliminate any silly mistakes.

Shooting people has never been my strong point but since being asked to do this wedding, I have made a concious effort to get out my comfort zone & most of the images on the following gallery have been shot in the last six months http://www.jasonwells.​co.uk/Photography/Peop​le

Ok, so what have I got & what do I know?

Gear wise, I've got a 6d body & a backup 550d. 24-105mm with IS (good range of focal lengths but not the quickest), 70-300mm with IS, 50mm f1.8 & 85mm f1.8. I've got a Nissin DI 622 Mk2 flash gun with both a bracket to mount the flash slightly off camera, a cable to link the two, plus a remote transmitter/receiver. I've also got a shoot through umbrella, a small diffuser that "caps" on over the flash & a diffuser which I guess is the size of an A4 sheet of paper to soften light.

I'm confident in getting good exposures & generally shoot in aperture mode with a max ISO of 800-1200 in good light & up to 3200 indoors (to avoid noise) on my 6d. The 6d will be my main camera but I don't have a problem using the 550d with another lens on it.

I know my way round the exposure triangle in a sense your large aperture will nicely blur the background to make your subject stand out & a slower shutter speed can blur movement & bring in camera shake too.

My flash does not have TTL & with this in mind, I've had to practice placing the flash at certain distances from the subject and/or bumping the flashes power up/down. This has taken some getting used to, but the shots I've been getting have either been willing models who have kindly helped me or candids. Ie, I've never been in the situation where I've been under pressure to nail the exposure straight away before moving onto another shot.

My friend wants shots of people enjoying themselves but I am pushing him for a proper list because in years to come, he'll regret not getting "special" shots - I also know the posed shots is an expectation of me. The wedding is in two months, it'll be mainly be indoors due to the british weather, I'm yet to visit the venue but intend to within the next few weeks (my understanding is the walls are white, bright & modern which will give me scope to bounce flash to soften light).

So that's a quick summary of my gear & what I've done before - my questions & pointers I need are:-

* whats the best mode to work in? I don't have high sync flash & having a 3rd party flash I think the max sync speed is 1/180 (1/200 on the 550d). I thought of using shutter mode with the speed set to the max sync speed of the flash? Or should I stick to aperture priority mode with f4-5.6 for the couple & f8-11 for group shots to retain control over the DoF?

* what would my best lens be for the 6d? my 24-105mm probably gives me the best quality, followed by my 85mm. If I had my 85mm on my 550d it would end up as 100mm ish with the crop factor. Ideally, I'm looking to use two lenses for the day.

* are there any general tips for using a manual flash? this really is my weak spot

Sorry for the long post & I'm grateful for any assistance.

Jason

I would suggest rent a second body equipped with a 24-70mm. You'll miss a lot of great shots switching between lenses....like I did -_-

Second body with a second lens on it is somewhere between useful and essential. I always shoot with two bodies. You need two flashes as well, because flashes are easy to break - drop them, burn them out, etc. Your flashes need to be TTL if you plan to use them on camera. Rent some, with battery packs.

Forget the bracket, you're thinking 80s style photos. Just don't shoot direct flash in portrait mode. Just don't shoot direct flash, unless it's fill and you're outside. Forget the on camera diffuser, it's a waste of time, throws away too much power, increases cycle time, and doesn't provide any useful level of diffusion.

You're right to try to keep your ISO down, but if you have to shoot 6400 do it. I 120+ weddings one customer mentioned high ISO noise, and I just explained it, they were fine. Photographers worry about technical stuff, customers want nice photos. Printed 6x4" you can shoot ISO12K no worries.

Insist on a list of family photos. Keep it to 20 max, ideally 10.

Shoot any aperture you want with the couple. Group photos it depends on the lens length, but F5.6 is fine if you're using a wide lens, F8 is better, F11 is often overkill. I prefer Av mode when things are going quickly, but I mostly work in manual. Manual is essential using off camera or manual flash.

Bit old, but valuable info in this thread.

Retsaid wrote in post #16563043
I would suggest rent a second body equipped with a 24-70mm. You'll miss a lot of great shots switching between lenses....like I did -_-

good tip but looking to take my 2nd body so might end up swapping

i found out yesterday the ceremony is literally ten minutes long, followed by the formal shots, then it'll be down to the candids - i doubt there'll be much time to actually swap much. depending on light levels im thinking 24-105mm on the 6d & 85mm on the 550d

tim wrote in post #16564352
Second body with a second lens on it is somewhere between useful and essential. I always shoot with two bodies. You need two flashes as well, because flashes are easy to break - drop them, burn them out, etc. Your flashes need to be TTL if you plan to use them on camera. Rent some, with battery packs.

Forget the bracket, you're thinking 80s style photos. Just don't shoot direct flash in portrait mode. Just don't shoot direct flash, unless it's fill and you're outside. Forget the on camera diffuser, it's a waste of time, throws away too much power, increases cycle time, and doesn't provide any useful level of diffusion.

Perhaps I wasn't clear in the OP but this event is a one-off event so I don't want the expense of hiring/buying additional gear. This is my first wedding so just want tips really on how to get the best from the gear I already have.

You make a good point with the bracket, was just thinking it would negate the need for the transmitter/receiver set-up.

Would you just use the flash on it's own then with nothing at all to difuse it?

tim wrote in post #16564352
You're right to try to keep your ISO down, but if you have to shoot 6400 do it. I 120+ weddings one customer mentioned high ISO noise, and I just explained it, they were fine. Photographers worry about technical stuff, customers want nice photos. Printed 6x4" you can shoot ISO12K no worries.

Insist on a list of family photos. Keep it to 20 max, ideally 10.

That's fair comment with the ISO. I am my own worst enemy for pixel peeping & probably through away lots of images when they're not what I expect at 1:1 in LR but it does help to improve me as a tog. Having a limit of the number of formal shots is a big tip - thanks.

tim wrote in post #16564352
Shoot any aperture you want with the couple. Group photos it depends on the lens length, but F5.6 is fine if you're using a wide lens, F8 is better, F11 is often overkill. I prefer Av mode when things are going quickly, but I mostly work in manual. Manual is essential using off camera or manual flash.

Bit old, but valuable info in this thread.

It sounds like you're quite hot in this area & have built up a lot of experience in knowing where your starting point is on the settings. If I had more time I'd like to be in the same position but I'm concious that on the day I'll be under pressure to do things right the first time :-/

I'll check out that link - thank you.

Do the first job badly you won't have the problem of having to do another. Though photography these days is a race to the bottom price wise, so no real risk.

No point using on camera flash diffusers. They do nothing useful.

dofmaster.com can help you with apertures. Sometimes I shoot group photos at F4/20mm by mistake, no one's ever noticed or at least commented. Photographers are FAR fussier than most people.

Wedding planning seems to be the photographers job, at least time line. It helps you do your job well.

I may come off like a grumpy old man, but I have a fair bit of experience in this field, with a good number of happy customers. I photographed a baby today for a couple who's wedding I did a few years back. Always nice to see people again, and that they came back says you did a good job.

tim wrote in post #16566089
Do the first job badly you won't have the problem of having to do another. Though photography these days is a race to the bottom price wise, so no real risk.

yes this is what worries me, it's a balancing act between doing it right to give myself a platform to go onto other things & not spending too much incase this is the only wedding i'll ever do

tim wrote in post #16566089
No point using on camera flash diffusers. They do nothing useful.

dofmaster.com can help you with apertures. Sometimes I shoot group photos at F4/20mm by mistake, no one's ever noticed or at least commented. Photographers are FAR fussier than most people.

thanks for the advice here & yes, we are fussy buggers - hopefully i'll look back after the event, look at this thread & wonder why i ever began it

tim wrote in post #16566089
I may come off like a grumpy old man, but I have a fair bit of experience in this field, with a good number of happy customers. I photographed a baby today for a couple who's wedding I did a few years back. Always nice to see people again, and that they came back says you did a good job.

no far from it, your posts are clearly from someone who has been there & done it, exactly what i was looking for - thanks

btw, https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=75678 - outstanding advice there - thanks tim

sorry, another quick question. having spent some time testing today, ive noticed that in AV mode, my 6d provides three options for my flash speed, auto, max (1/180) & another between range of 1/60-180).

assuming auto is not recommended since you'd lose control. using max of 1/180 shutter speed all of the time would give consistent results, but my gut instinct is to use the option which would enable the shutter to remain between 1/60 & 1/180 - would this seem the correct choice?

I guess the only way that can happen is if you use auto ISO. I don't like auto ISO, it makes processing more difficult as the exposures vary heaps.

Suggest you use manual ISO, Av mode, and let the flash do whatever it wants but try to keep the shutter speed below 1/200th if possible. If it goes into high speed sync so be it, it shouldn't be your main light anyway.

tim wrote in post #16569711
I guess the only way that can happen is if you use auto ISO. I don't like auto ISO, it makes processing more difficult as the exposures vary heaps.

Suggest you use manual ISO, Av mode, and let the flash do whatever it wants but try to keep the shutter speed below 1/200th if possible. If it goes into high speed sync so be it, it shouldn't be your main light anyway.

thanks tim, i've got some further testing to do in this area that's for sure

i have two indoor (night) parties coming over shortly as well as a chance of being a 2nd shooter at another wedding the week before this one so i'll aim to nail as much of this as possible before those so i can have a dry-run

another thought is to use shutter priority with the iso set to something "sensible" so that the aperture can be enough to allow a DoF. as you said, the ambient light will be my main lighting anyway

If flash is your main light you should be in manual. I've almost never needed shutter priority, as a wedding and events photographer, Av or M is it for me.

tim wrote in post #16572688
If flash is your main light you should be in manual. I've almost never needed shutter priority, as a wedding and events photographer, Av or M is it for me.

If DoF is your primary concern, why would shutter priority be on your options list?

Like Tim said, AV or M, until flash is your main light, then it's M.

Auto ISO is a strange tactic, that some people have success with, but it's so easy to change ISO as I move from indoors to outside I struggle to see the benefit.

This doodad may be handy for you - it's a bit simplistic but might help with the actual photo taking side once you get the gear and camera operation sorted

http://galleries.clart​ephoto.com …hotography_anal​ysis_1.pdf

^ all shots taken with ambient lighting - Flashless Wedding

Phil V wrote in post #16573554
If DoF is your primary concern, why would shutter priority be on your options list?

Like Tim said, AV or M, until flash is your main light, then it's M.

Auto ISO is a strange tactic, that some people have success with, but it's so easy to change ISO as I move from indoors to outside I struggle to see the benefit.

its weighing them both up rather than having the DoF as my primary concern - ordinarily id be shooting portraits in AV to ensure you've got a nice background without distractions, however indoors at a wedding it's bringing this in with the ambient light

speaking of iso, ive found that with most canon's (especially my 6d & 550d) there is a max iso of 400 when in shutter or aperture priority modes. this might mean switching to manual in some shots so ive got additional practice/testing to do with this in mind