Wedding lens and flash.. please help!

As well as a good flash (more power is better since you are NOT going to want to point it straight at the subject too often, I hope) you need good flash technique. This is a learning curve, even for many experienced photographers, and you need to start learning right away. This link is a very good place to get started:

http://planetneil.com …/1-natural-looking-flash/

and this one:

http://photonotes.org/​articles/eos-flash/

Andrew

awesome, thanks for all the flash links! i have a lot of reading to do on my hands, very helpful, thanks.

There's only one stop of power between the 430EX and 580EX, if you really need that much power you're probably doing something wrong - except outside it can be handy in bright sunlight. Typically I shoot receptions at ISO800 or ISO1600, to capture more ambient light, so the background isn't black, and this has the side effect of using less batteries. Shooting at full power a 580EX needs 6-7 seconds to recharge, which is too long to wait. A CP-E3/CP-E4 battery pack cuts the full charge time down to 2 seconds or less.

I would say get a 50 1.4 or a 85 1.8 for the close up's the others you have will do fine for wide group shots or from a distance.

Gurry wrote in post #5128522
well my sister knows that im not the best, and she does not really care, she just wants some nice pictures, she doesn't care if they are like amazing or anything, just some nice shots. That is why i agreed to doing it, i dont have the money to go buy anything expensive so i have to work with what i have, or what i can afford. now i know i need a flash. its just getting a lens thats decent enough to take group pictures, maybe some close ups with faces? and something for outdoor indoor?

Don't take this offensively ... but with on-camera flash pointed at your subject, the photos you are going to present to her are going to be no better than the photos that come out of a point-and-shoot camera. To differentiate yourself you need either speed (think 1.4, especially if dark church) or you need ways of getting the flash off the camera which will start costing you a lot of money and you will need a lot of experience to use correctly.

Seriously, pass up this opportunity. Neither you nor your sister will be happy with the results. Tell your sister that her day will fly by. Before she knows it, it will be over and all she'll be left with is the credit card bills. If she wants to spend money wisely, she should beg, borrow and steal all the funds she can and hire a pro. The only real memories of that day in 20 years will be the pictures, and good ones are priceless.

Again, I don't mean this offensively, its just that it doesn't sound like you have the experience or know-how to get her anything better than what an average point and shoot can get. Don't bother with the flash, especially if you're idea of flash is pointing it straight at people. Give your sister $300 towards a pro. If you truly insist, then I suggest you pick up a used Canon 50mm 1.4 and shoot natural light photos in the church. You could probably do the entire wedding with that one lens. How much memory do you have? You're probably going to need quite a bit. Don't forget spare batteries either.

Bill

I agree with Bill, but there's a couple of points I disagree with. Outside I often use direct on-camera flash at full power to light group photos, but inside I bounce or use studio lighting. Also I never shoot wider than F2.8 in a church, mainly because that's as fast as my IS lenses go, but also because unless all the subjects are parallel the DOF isn't wide enough. A fairly typical exposure in a church here is ISO1600 F2.8 1/30th - 1/80th. Off camera flash is great, and I use it a lot, but it's not always necessary.

I would like to 2nd what Bill said about hiring a pro. They'll spend huge amounts of money on their wedding day and all they'll have to show for it (apart from being married) is the photos. The difference between a family member taking wedding photos for the first time and an experienced pro is huge. I think photography is one of the most valuable and worthwhile things to invest a wedding budget in, and it really is an investment, because they'll have the photos for the rest of their lives. You owe it to her to explain all this, show her your photos, and show her photos from professionals, and let her make an informed choice.

to tell you the truth i dont think she really cares as much as other people would, she just wants some photos, weather it be by a $5000 camera or a $500 camera. wether be a pro a me, she just wants some normal pictures, nothing to oww and ahh about, i can tell her this, but i can tell you guys that she wont really care as much as you guys put it, not being a dick , but she knows what i can and cant do. just looking for some advice on flash/lens's here, not to get talked out of doing it. sorry

I disagree with others, I think you should definately do it, no question. BUT...you need to understand that you are there as a photographer, not a guest, that's very important. No matter what she says now, at some point she's going to want some really nice pictures of her wedding, so you need to make sure you get them. A zoom is VERY helpful for the reception, good quality primes are GREAT portrait lenses and I think you need both to do a wedding.

See THIS thread for more info on the Sigma 24-70. My opintion is that the 24-60 and the 28-70 are better and much less expensive. You can easily pick up either a 24-60 or 28-70 for under $300, then you can rent a nice prime for under $100 for a week. Make sure you rent the lens for a week. Set up time to take portraits the week before the wedding, maybe the fitting or parties. Take your gear to the rehearsal and take some formal portraits with the lenses there.

Good luck!

Gurry wrote in post #5135777
to tell you the truth i dont think she really cares as much as other people would, she just wants some photos, weather it be by a $5000 camera or a $500 camera. wether be a pro a me, she just wants some normal pictures, nothing to oww and ahh about, i can tell her this, but i can tell you guys that she wont really care as much as you guys put it, not being a dick , but she knows what i can and cant do. just looking for some advice on flash/lens's here, not to get talked out of doing it. sorry

This shows the main issue with people taking wedding photos - they think it's about the equipment. Like I suggested earlier you should rent good equipment and invest your money in books or training. Also make sure you have a shot list of "must haves". Do the group photos right after the ceremony, that's the only time of the day you can usually find everyone. A basic "must have" shot list might be.

All guests
B&G with each sets of parents, and with both sets of parents
B&G with extended families
B&G with siblings (with and without the bride/groom as applicable)

These ones I usually do in a nicer location than at the church
Full length of bride in dress from front
Full length of bride in dress from rear - though it works best if she's at an angle and turns her head a bit so it's side/rear
Full length of bride and groom together
Individual shots of each member of the wedding party

Other times of the day
Rings (on hands and off hands, a macro lens comes in handy)
Flowers
Cake (before being cut, different angles)
Cake being cut (from front and from side)
First dance (range of shots from head shots to full length to half length showing surroundings)

That's off the top of my head, I have a list I usually check at the end of the wedding day to make sure I don't miss anything, I still check it sometimes even after photographing somewhere between 50 and 100 weddings.

tim thanks a lot for the list, i actually forgot about making one, its a good starter list, thanks!!

Gurry wrote in post #5128208
ok well i have a cannon rebel xt dlsr, kit lens, and a 70-300 f4 sigma lens, now my sisters wedding is coming up, and as a gift she wanted me to take the pictures, now im not that amazing at photos, but i know some what mostly on how to use my camera. but i need to know what lens i should get for the wedding, i would like to spend as little as possible, maybe 200-300 dollars. and for the flash im getting a 430ex speed light, what do you guys think? i need help picking something out. and tips are always welcome to help! thanks

My vote is definitely for the 24-70 f/2.8. The first wedding I shot was with a Rebel Digital (6 megapixel) and the on-camera flash with nothing greater than 70mm and nothing lower than 24mm. It's a lot easier to get in closer and let your flash help with the light rather than back up too far away where your flash doesn't have the throw to help you. Plus, at f/2.8 you'll be able to shoot in most indoor light situations without flash. Also, make sure, sure, sure you have a couple of charged-up extra batteries!

I still think you may get into trouble on the wide end at 24mm if you encounter large groups and can't back up.

Regarding not using flash, that's true to a degree, just so long as you're not trying to get good group shots of more than 3 or so people. If you try to get groups of 6+ people, your depth of field at f/2.8 is going to be pretty poor and your sharp focus will fall apart on the end people. This is where a more powerful external flash shows it's abilities.

rsmedley wrote in post #5137287
My vote is definitely for the 24-70 f/2.8. The first wedding I shot was with a Rebel Digital (6 megapixel) and the on-camera flash with nothing greater than 70mm and nothing lower than 24mm. It's a lot easier to get in closer and let your flash help with the light rather than back up too far away where your flash doesn't have the throw to help you. Plus, at f/2.8 you'll be able to shoot in most indoor light situations without flash. Also, make sure, sure, sure you have a couple of charged-up extra batteries!

I'll be shooting a wedding in June myself. I've got time to think about what lens I should get for my XTi. Hopefully I'll be experienced with it somewhat by then.It'll be an outdoor wedding,and most of my camera shots are outside shots(auto racing & trains). Might be curious about what lens one would recommend.

I was talking with one chap in his 90s. He shot weddings since 1945 in canada and his work is... amazing.

He said: "If you can't shoot a wedding with a 50, you can't shoot a wedding"

So get yourself a 35mm f/2, a flash and just shoot.

sapearl wrote in post #5137398
I still think you may get into trouble on the wide end at 24mm if you encounter large groups and can't back up.

Regarding not using flash, that's true to a degree, just so long as you're not trying to get good group shots of more than 3 or so people. If you try to get groups of 6+ people, your depth of field at f/2.8 is going to be pretty poor and your sharp focus will fall apart on the end people. This is where a more powerful external flash shows it's abilities.

Here's one shot with the 6 megapixel Digital Rebel at 21mm. The most glaring problem here is the on-camera flash which just didn't have the GN to do the group justice. This is a pretty big group shot so I'm thinking 24mm might work. Then again, I could certainly be wrong

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