Help me prepare for wedding shoot!

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice from you guys.
I've agreed to shoot a friend's wedding. It's 14 months away so I have plenty of time to prepare. I've read the great FAQ on here, the Al Jacobs 'Bridezilla' book, and countless threads in this forum section.
When asked to be their main tog I went through the usual deliberation, pointing out that I've never done that before, they're taking a risk, but they've seen my work at other friends' weddings and other social stuff and were still very keen for me to do it... so I said yes.

At the moment I've got the following gear:-
30D
24-70 2.8 L
50mm 1.4
70-200 L IS
580EX

I have already decided to get another body in the next 6 months, a 5D (or its replacement), and another 580EX, and a light stand with umbrella.

First questions I have are around the lighting:-
Are two 580's sufficient on their own in a master-slave config - one on-camera (or bracket) and 2nd on a tripod, possibly with an umbrella?
Can they be set off by other people's flash?
Is this reliable enough as a system on its own?
Should I think about pocket wizards? I'd rather avoid this extra cost if possible.

Next question around lens/body pairing. Asumming I get the 5D, I'm thinking that good pairings for the day might be:-
30D + 24-70mm (swap to 50mm if necessary for indoor)
5D + 70-200mm
Does this sound like a good combo or are there any handicaps or other considerations?


I'll probably come up with more questions but that's all I can think of for now!

Next thing for me is to arrange a sit down chat with the couple to work out exactly what they want and what I'll be delivering, so as to agree it all well in advance.

Any help from you guys would be much appreciated!

Cheers
Dave

I'd go 5d + 24-70 and 30d + 70-200

Otherwise you have no real wide angle. And the extra reach from the crop sensor is no bad thing.

If you are going to obtain a 5D put the 24-70 on it, since it won't be wide enough on the 30D.

Jon Rouston wrote in post #4122172
I'd go 5d + 24-70 and 30d + 70-200

Otherwise you have no real wide angle. And the extra reach from the crop sensor is no bad thing.

arch1tect wrote in post #4122177
If you are going to obtain a 5D put the 24-70 on it, since it won't be wide enough on the 30D.

Thanks guys, I hadn't thought of that... I did a group shot on the 30D at 24mm which was OK, but thinking back, I did have to get back some distance which could have been trickier in other situations.

That is very useful advice. Taken on board!

Still hoping for any opinions/suggestions on the lighting question.....

dsc_1972 wrote in post #4122211
Thanks guys, I hadn't thought of that... I did a group shot on the 30D at 24mm which was OK, but thinking back, I did have to get back some distance which could have been trickier in other situations.

That is very useful advice. Taken on board!

At weddings you need wide angle lenses, the 24 on a 1.6 crop camera like the 30D is not wide enough, as there is often not the space to step back.

The 5D is very good for low light conditions, the others are good too, but all have to be properly exposed. I shoot a lot with the 5D and the 50 1.4 USM mostly at f2.0 & 1600 ISO and there is really not much noise.

Shooting weddings, you must know RAW files and how to process them. RAW is memory demanding, but gives you some extra security as it's easier to adjust as Jpeg.

Myself, I'm using the 24-70L a lot, but on 1D Mark II, which is 1.3 crop body. I love this combo no matter of size or weight, as it's reliable and the results are great ( Raw only ).

Regarding your mentioned light stand with umbrella. Well, only useful if you have radio triggers or control the second flash at the umbrella with the flash on your camera. Needn't work if the umbrella is behind you. A second thing is, you need to carry it too, or have someone helping you. It's useful for posed images, but not if you do PJ style, as you can't move quickly with it.

What you need is a good diffuser for avoiding hard shades. Then experience regarding fill light, as you can kill memories with to much light. It's annoying too if a flash is blinding people due to much power.

GertS wrote in post #4122343
At weddings you need wide angle lenses, the 24 on a 1.6 crop camera like the 30D is not wide enough, as there is often not the space to step back.

The 5D is very good for low light conditions, the others are good too, but all have to be properly exposed. I shoot a lot with the 5D and the 50 1.4 USM mostly at f2.0 & 1600 ISO and there is really not much noise.

Shooting weddings, you must know RAW files and how to process them. RAW is memory demanding, but gives you some extra security as it's easier to adjust as Jpeg.

Myself, I'm using the 24-70L a lot, but on 1D Mark II, which is 1.3 crop body. I love this combo no matter of size or weight, as it's reliable and the results are great ( Raw only ).

Regarding your mentioned light stand with umbrella. Well, only useful if you have radio triggers or control the second flash at the umbrella with the flash on your camera. Needn't work if the umbrella is behind you. A second thing is, you need to carry it too, or have someone helping you. It's useful for posed images, but not if you do PJ style, as you can't move quickly with it.

What you need is a good diffuser for avoiding hard shades. Then experience regarding fill light, as you can kill memories with to much light. It's annoying too if a flash is blinding people due to much power.

Thankyou GertS, appreciate the reply.

I definitely agree the 5D and 24-70 are going to be much better matched, especially with its improved noise performance over the 30D - so I can afford to bump up the ISO and not worry about it. That's another very good point I hadn't thought of - mental note: keep the IS lens on the poorer 30D sensor.

I'm OK with RAW - it's a definite for this subject. Got plenty of memory too.

The wedding I'm planning for will have lots of my friends (and the g/f) at it, who would help me out with moving a stand if I need them to.

My main concerns with the lighting are:

Will I be able to get line of site in a master/slave setup to benefit from an umbrella (both as a reflector and shooting through it)? ... Or is radio trigger the only way to go?

More importantly... if I go the master/slave route.
Are other peoples flashes going to interfere and trigger my slave?

dsc_1972 wrote in post #4122421
Thankyou GertS, appreciate the reply.

I definitely agree the 5D and 24-70 are going to be much better matched, especially with its improved noise performance over the 30D - so I can afford to bump up the ISO and not worry about it. That's another very good point I hadn't thought of - mental note: keep the IS lens on the poorer 30D sensor.

I'm OK with RAW - it's a definite for this subject. Got plenty of memory too.

The wedding I'm planning for will have lots of my friends (and the g/f) at it, who would help me out with moving a stand if I need them to.

My main concerns with the lighting are:

Will I be able to get line of site in a master/slave setup to benefit from an umbrella (both as a reflector and shooting through it)? ... Or is radio trigger the only way to go?

More importantly... if I go the master/slave route.
Are other peoples flashes going to interfere and trigger my slave?

If master / slave route, they must have direct visible contact between the sensors and this can be a problem if the second flash is behind an umbrella or behind you. That's the reason I wrote that it doesn't have to work.

Other flashes can interfere with your light system if triggered by a light cell.
Most secure way, most expensive too, are radio controlled ones. Ask Lloyd (Picturecrazy) as he uses them quite a lot and can give you better info regarding this.

Thanks again GertS.

I wonder... would I need 3 Pocket Wizards or will 2 do the job.

I.e. can I use one 580EX on camera (30D/5D) and at the same time connect it to a PW, and use that to trigger a 2nd remote 580EX attached to a PW.

Anyone know if that's possible?