First paid gig coming up

Hi guys,

My first wedding (paid) is coming up in a couple of weeks. It is not too complicated, there is no ceremony, as they got married at home. It is just going to be a reception only kind of shoot with standing guests eating finger food and then drinking. The venue is not too big, ceilings are not too high and they are white, so perfect for bouncing. I am planning to bring my 5D3 with my 70D as second body. For lenses I am definitely bringing my 24-105, 50 STM, 85 1.8. and 100 2.8 macro. I am considering bringing my 70-200, but I don't know if I will get much use for it. I suppose I will have my 24-105 on my 5D and switching primes on the 70D.

Would the 24-105 be my best option for the first dance? I really want a bit of flexibility , but having said that, I could always have a 50mm on the FF and 85 on the 70D for close up shots. Both would be faster than my 24-105 by a couple of stops. What do you recon?

I have shot a couple of weddings before (as presents to family members) and the photos were good, so at least I have a bit of experience there (not too much though).

Why bring the 85 AND the 105? Just curious.

It depends on how dark it is at the reception hall. the 24-105 F4 might be too 'slow' (narrow aperture) to focus well.

Silver-Halide wrote in post #18153748
It depends on how dark it is at the reception hall. the 24-105 F4 might be too 'slow' (narrow aperture) to focus well.

It shouldn't be too dark, and I will be bouncing a yn 685 off walls/ceiling

elrey2375 wrote in post #18153722
Why bring the 85 AND the 105? Just curious.

85mm and 50mm for formal photos of the couple or close ups with narrow FOV. 24-105 for general fast paced moments, 100mm for macro ring shots and other details

cubatahavana wrote in post #18153935
It shouldn't be too dark, and I will be bouncing a yn 685 off walls/ceiling

Sounds good, but remember that those are separate issues: bouncing flash off the walls is fine and dandy to achieve the exposure and directional lighting you want, but comes AFTER you've achieved sharp focus.

But that's what the auto focus assist light is for, right? I didn't have an issue with focus in other weddings that I've done (family members)

That depends on the lens. Some are better than others at quickly autofocusing. Try a few test shots in the venue under similar lighting. And DJ lights flashing can be a problem too. Better safe than sorry.

I ask the DJ NOT use use lights at the first dance or other special dances. If you shoot on the opposite side of the DJ you would not get the nasty DJ lights. I use the 17 to 40 and the 70 to 200 for the first dance. Of course I use off camera flash. So shooting at F 4 or F 5.6 is not an issue.