Gear question

What are your thoughts on the gear in my sig for a wedding? A friend of mine is getting married in August and asked me if I want to be the photographer. I haven't gave him an answer yet. The wedding is going to be outdoors, not sure what time yet. The reception will be indoors at a local VFW. I have done two small family weddings in the past with gear that I no longer have. I do not plan on buying anything else, just wanted to know some of your thoughts on using what I have.

I hope you get some constructive answers. The truth is, if you don't portray yourself as a pro, and your friend knows what you have done and don't want to pay a pro, then do it at your own risk. Just remember, though, this is a friend. If I were you, I would ask him/her some questions like "Are you nuts?" A good pro photographer is worth the money they charge. If pictures are really important, don't mess around. Just hire a pro.

Honestly? I think you're pushing it. Even f/2.8 is barely enough at most indoor weddings. Your 17-70 is only 2.8 at the wide end, too. You usually don't use a flash during the actual wedding, but you should be ok for the reception.

Thanks for the input so far. I hope to get more honest replies. He know's I'm no pro and likes the pics of mine that he's seen. He is trying to save some money. I would like to do it however I know he would not get the same results as with a experienced pro. I do have to talk to him more in depth about it this weekend. Also I would like to see the exact area of the wedding.

I like your reply because you are not thinking like you can perform a miracle. The truth is, those of us who shoot weddings often feel cheated because we have spent a lot of time and money on our equipment and know what to do in really awful and good conditions. Ronald's comment about the f2.8 lenses is true. For outdoor shots you might be fine, but indoors, you're going to have to use flash because you will get bad exposure and blur like crazy. Those are technical issues, now for the skill issue of how to take the B&G pictures, where to stand, how to compose, that comes only through experience. Look at the wedding forum and read through Tim's stuff and all the other stickies about poses, etc. That will at least help.

In addition to the lenses, I don't see a backup body in your sig. You GOTTA have one. You must assume something will go wrong with it, or with one of your lenses, or with one of your flashes.

I agree that you really should have a lens with at least f/2.8.

Bob

Eagle wrote in post #3256163
I hope to get more honest replies.

There are a number of good sources of info for anyone beginning wedding photography:

Antony Hands has a great step-by-step wedding walk-through here:
http://www.xanga.com/A​ntonyHandsPhotographer

Here is another good online resource which takes you from the beginning to the end of a wedding:
http://www.all-things-photography.co...otogr​aphy.html

And another:
http://tips.romanzolin​.com/articles/article0​06.php

These tutorials discuss the equipment required but also give you an idea of what is expected of you and what you can expect to encounter during the day.

Having the right equipment is at most a quarter of your challenge .. the other three quarters is understanding the flow of the wedding and what your role is in that flow.
Mike

Tim discusses about the necessary gear for wedding photography here.

While I understand how the B&G may want to save a few bucks right now, but have they considered this?

I would run it by them. Make sure that they realize that there won't be a second chance for these pictures.

Get a second body. Rent or borrow one. I'd suggest renting a 17-55 IS. It's a killer lens and you can easily shoot an entire wedding with only that lens.

If you don't want to rent or buy anything else, then when the reception comes and it's dark, pull off your lens hoods and flash the crap out of everything. Use something really safe and consistent like 1/50 ISO800 F/4.5 and let ettl-2 take care of the rest. It can be done. It's not optimal but it can be done with reasonable success.