Gear tips for a first wedding

Hi All,

I realise that many of you here do this professionally, and I'm only recently becoming fully conscious of just how challenging wedding photography can be however I have been asked to shoot a friend's wedding next year (Feb 2017). They are on a super-low budget and cannot afford a professional and so long as they get "a few really nice ones" they are pretty happy (although obviously I want to exceed their expectations substantially!!). I plan on doing many test shoots for local couples in similar conditions in the coming months to ensure I have my workflow nailed and technicalities ironed out.

The event is a super-casual beach wedding (I'm in Australia, so clear skies, hot temperatures and some wind are almost guaranteed), small bridal party, and small number of guests (Estimated 20-30).

I will be bringing with me the following:

Cameras: 1x D800, 1x D300S, 1x Fuji XT-1
lenses: 24-70 f2.8 VR (nikon), 70-200 f2.8 VR (nikon), 85mm f1.8 (nikon),18-35 f3.5-4.6 (nikon), 35mm f1.4 (fuji)
Flashes: 2x Flashpoint TTL, 2X Yongnuo 560 (no modifiers currently), wireless triggers & stands.
Holdfast Gear Camera Swagg (money maker) dual harness
Tripod

My question is, am I missing anything? Should I consider hiring a second D800 as a backup? Will my speedlights be enough to combat the bright summer sun?

I have noticed during recent portrait shoots that my D800's buffer seems to be taking a while to write, sometimes 15-20 seconds which is unacceptable on the day (currently using 60mb/s. SD/CF cards). What cards does everyone else shoot with, and how do you arrange them? (i.e SD primary, CF backup? other way around? JPEG to one, RAW to the other?)

Bring as many memory cards possible

98kellrs wrote in post #18195514
My question is, am I missing anything? Should I consider hiring a second D800 as a backup? Will my speedlights be enough to combat the bright summer sun?

What cards does everyone else shoot with, and how do you arrange them? (i.e SD primary, CF backup? other way around? JPEG to one, RAW to the other?)

You have some very good kit, certainly good enough to shoot a wedding. The 18-35 isn't a great lens but as it's your widest you might need it for a few shots. Stick to the 35 & 85 on the D800 for most of the day and you'll be fine.

As for your cards, on my 5D3 the camera writes to the CF card a lot faster than to the SD card so I always have the CF card set as my primary. I don't know if it works the same on nikon.

BlackBull wrote in post #18195750
You have some very good kit, certainly good enough to shoot a wedding. The 18-35 isn't a great lens but as it's your widest you might need it for a few shots. Stick to the 35 & 85 on the D800 for most of the day and you'll be fine.

As for your cards, on my 5D3 the camera writes to the CF card a lot faster than to the SD card so I always have the CF card set as my primary. I don't know if it works the same on nikon.

Thanks, I wasn't sure which was best. I mostly use SD as primary at the moment because my CF reader is broken and the CF cards I have are quite old and slow. I'm hoping for a post-christmas shopping spree to get a good swathe of cards and a few spare batteries.

I am lucky indeed with my lenses and my bodies are slightly old but solid performers. Flash is my weakness at this stage, I have limited experience using it on people (primarily an automotive photographer) so learning to fill outside and then illuminate the reception venue is going to be my biggest challenge I think.

I've only done a couple weddings. I know more gear can be put to use, but I'm realizing that less gear works too.

I have similar lights and after starting with them for a high school senior shoot last weekend, switched to someone holding a reflector for me and felt things improved on that particular session.

Odds are you could use one camera, one lens, one reflector and maybe one speedlite and get lovely shots if you did it right.

A video by one "Joe Buissink" confirmed for me one step further, not to put too much emphasis on lighting and modifiers.

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=NFD6t4Q5bpk

There is much about his style I enjoy.

I'm definitely no pro, but I have found that less is often more in regards to gear for weddings. Yes, there are uses for all types of lenses, lighting sources and modifiers, but unless you are well versed in how to use them in any given situation then more time will be spent tinkering than clicking photos.

It looks like you have ample gear for a low-budget, for friends, type of wedding. I am always bring extra batteries and cards. I like to switch out the cards every so often in case something were to happen to a card, I am guaranteed not to lose ALL of their photos.

Good luck.

You have plenty of gear, and have already figured out faster cards are needed. As long as you have batteries a plenty, I think you will do fine.. experience is what you lack, and getting out there and shooting is the only way to solve that one.

Be sure to pay attention to the write speed of the card.. there are some very fast read speeds, with turtle slow write speeds.. you will want in the 90-95 mbps or faster for the write speed.

Here is a link to a resouce for you D800 Test of Cards

HSS flash is your best friend. You'll need to have spare batteries for your flash if you need to fill in the bright sun. Shoot what is in your comfort zone. If you are an available light shooter stick with your style. If you comfortable with run/gun shooting HSS for fill ...do so.....

Use your X-T1 for some quick panorama shots. In well lit areas you can potentially use your fuji. My concern is you'll be burning through those tiny batteries if you dont have a body grip with additional batteries.

One thing to note is capture the moments and not constantly think about your camera gear.


I'd stick with remote flash for the reception only......

Lots of things to document so maybe have a note pad in your pocket for quick notes of certain shots you want.

If your shooting photo journalistic style you'll be stealth. If your posing shots or in a group be assertive and pleasant

Try to capture non posed candid shots. Those are often the ones that people adore.

Most importantly keep hydrated and bring snacks/powerbars. Tell yourself to be "calm"

Your 24-70 and 70-200 are all the lenses you need to complete a wedding.

Shooting wide open is nice and all with fast glass, but it decreases your in-focus (keeper) shots.

Regarding the outdoor stuff, you're gonna have to find shade to shoot the groups - otherwise you're going to have shadows in the eyes as the sun peaks in the sky. Your speedlights won't cut it at sunny f/16 outdoors at a distance of over 1 meter at full power.

I agree with the above. As a first time wedding shooter, you don't want to take so much gear that you will be overwhelmed. Simple is best.

Make a list of the 'must have' shots of the ceremony. As for the rest of it just let your creativity take over. Sounds like they aren't putting you under pressure so don't do it to yourself. You'll probably enjoy the technical challenge of the shoot. The light changes constantly!

You'll do fine. Post a few pics post shoot!

Since it's your first wedding, I would suggest to keep it simple. Walk with all of your gear if you want because you never know, but the 24-70 and 70-200 is enough. Put one lens on each camera, strap up and go shoot.

It's a beach wedding, so unless you have an assistant, I'd stick with available light and on camera fill. Off camera flash is great, but I wouldn't chance it on my first wedding. There are already so many things to think about and you may be nervous etc.

The less gear you have to deal with, the more brain power can go towards getting creative. I find that fiddling with too much gear, unless you have a lot of time on your hands (which doesn't happen for me at a wedding), or are versed with the gear, usually leads to less productivity, fumbling, and a less than ideal experience for everyone. Try to have fun! It's more important than you think. It helps alleviate stress and makes it more enjoyable for everyone.

At the reception, I'd have a go at off camera flash but I like to keep one flash on the camera (usually as a master) with the 24-70 for those random, but frequent, requests for a group photo.

Edit: you need faster cards. The D800 files are big for those cards. Use CF as primary since it's usually faster. On my 5d3, I shoot JPEG to the SD, probably because the SD slot is slow and shooting raw will slow things down. I am not sure if that's also the case with the Nikon system.

I also do a same day edit sometimes if it is paid for, so shooting JPEG helps. I would suggest if you consider this in future to only do this if you can nail your exposures, but that's another conversation.

Excellent responses, thank you all so much for taking the time to jot down some thoughts for me.

I definitely agree with the 'keep it simple' philosophy, I'm always trying to make things more complicated than they need to be.

I will add that I would recommend you find yourself a 2nd Nikon DSLR, even an old crop sensor would be fine.
You really need backups.
What happens if your DSLR stops working?
It has happened to me when my 5D mkiii stoped working. Thankfully, I had backup.

I agree that backups are necessary and they are also a luxury because you can slap a second lens on a designated camera, which can really help you work at different focal lengths once you have your flow.

I agree, I will take my D800, D300S and Fuji XT-1 regardless, so I have three bodies to shoot from. I was also thinking about hiring another D800 just as a backup in case anything goes wrong with mine at the beach.