New to Weddings can I get by with the following equipment?

Most of my experiance is in Landscapes, however, I have dabbled in all areas of photography. I am fairly new to the digital word. I want to start shooting more engagements, weddings.... to offset the cost of equipment.

My gear is as follows: Canon 40D w/ Rebel Xti for a backup. Lens include: Canon EFS 10-22, Tamron 28-75 f =2.8, EF50 f=1.8 II, EF 28-135 IS USM, EF 70-200L F/4 USM w/EF 1.4 tele converter. Lighting: 420EX and 580EX II. Support: Manfrotto 3001, 3221, and mono pod w/486 ball head.

Do you think I can do a reasonable job - get by - with the above equipment, or is it a must to add fast L glass to my lens inventory?

Simple answer, yes you can.

The only thing I'd suggest is the 70-200 F2.8 IS.

I think you will find the F4L too slow indoors, especially inside dark churches. But everything else you have is pretty decent.

Thanks Toogy, are there any other lens, i.e. Tamron, Sigma... that are near the quality of the L glass for less $ that anyone has used with good results? I just bought the 40D and $1600 is a little much + I have shot with this lens and it ways a ton.

This may sound silly, but how do I post my photo in my membership profile. Also how do I post images in my comments?

randydannheim wrote in post #5551289
Do you think I can do a reasonable job - get by - with the above equipment, or is it a must to add fast L glass to my lens inventory?

My only concern would be that somebody who looks to shoot weddings on a "reasonable - get by" basis will not last long.

It is important to respect the occasion you are shooting and if you do, "get by" will not cut it.

Landscapes are there for you to have another go tomorrow but the wedding is a one off, you get no second chances.

Suggest the question should be "Do I have sufficient gear to shoot a wedding to a high standard" ...... and I don't know the answer to that one !

yes you do. people shoot well with such gear as you.
you will need a faster zoom though... sell the f4 and get the 2.8 at least and best is the IS version

I agree with paul, you have to respect the event you're shooting... To almost every bride and their family, this is the single most important day of their lives... There will be a lot of pressure to perform, and capture the moments (no second chances for the kiss, the bouquet toss, etc.).

I shot my first wedding as the prime photographer, luckily for me, it was a small wedding for a friend who didn't intend on having a photographer in the first place. She said no pressure and that she didn't expect much, but it didn't mean there wasn't pressure to perform.

anyways, to answer your question, with the gear you have, you can shoot a wedding. however as mentioned in the previous post, you may want to step up to a 70-200 2.8 or you'll have to bump up your iso to compensate or use flash.

I shot my first wedding with my 40d, 70-200 2.8 IS, 10-22mm and 580EX with a friend as a second shooter using my XT with 28-135 IS and 70-300mm IS no flash. So I think you should do just fine. Just plan your shots out (make a list of must have shots), take a lot of extra batteries and CF cards, shoot raw if possible, it saved my butt several times, and practice practice practice!

have fun too!

even iso 3200 with f4 wont be enoug in some places...

The tamron lens you have has been compared to L series quality glass. Just the build isnt quite as good.

Your gear is fine. I know photographers getting some good stuff at weddings with less than you already have.

The next questions you might ask are: am I able to work under presure, do I know basics of portrait posing, can I get and hold attention of 20+ people,...

randydannheim wrote in post #5551668
Also how do I post images in my comments?

For image posting, see here: Image Posting Rules

Also, I would advise getting an account with Imageshack or someone similar. They make posting images very easy indeed.

As to your original question, yes, you have more than enough decent kit for shooting weddings. Make sure you have loads of spare batteries and at least 12 gig of memory too. I don't bother with tripods but you mmay chooose to do so and for my last wedding I didn't go above 70mm! The tele-con you prob won't need and you may like to up your 50mm 1.8 to a 1.4 or look at the Sigma 30mm f1.4 which is superb.

Make sure you are totally familiar with your kit and don't be afraid to use the high iso range to get the shutter speed you need.


And don't forget to enjoy yourself, otherwise there's no point!

(and welcome to POTN)

First of all thanks for all the helpful suggestions. 2nd, I never pose as a proffessional photographer nor do I charge like one. I am involved in a recovery ministry at church and often do events for free or a very nominal charge ($300-500). I have gained some good experiance doing this and I do have very good instincts and timing. I have never had anyone look at my images and complain. The worst thing that has happened so far is I have had to shoot ISO 1600 more than I would have liked. I also always shoot Raw + jpeg when I do these events. I give a set of 4x6s to the customer as part of the deal and offer them up to a dozen 8X12s or smaller from these, worked up in PS3 for printing. I also give the customer a sm file CD so they can print all the 4x6's they want. There has been a few times when shooting in RAW saved my bacon, however, expectations haven't been exstreamly high from the customers because there has been no contract and little if anything in the way of charges. I maily have been covering cost.

So far results have been pretty good. I would like to start learning more about the business end of wedding photography and find a mentor to shoot with to really learn to do things right.

I will sell my F/4 and get the 2.8 IS, but it is going to be a while.

you definitely have the gear for it

I love the pressure and stress of the wedding situation it rocks, I love being under tonnes of pressure tho

I have a particularly hard wedding coming up and it was really bugging me, so I took my girlfriend out to the location and did a portrait shoot with her. I found out all these little things I would have done wrong.

Practice is the key, really practice, you have the gear to do it

thanks, going to location and taking some practice shots is a great idea.

+1 to the 2.8 thing...the first and only wedding i shot was almost all with a 17-55 2.8 and 80-200 2.8 (nikon lenses on nikon camera) and i still had to push the ISO to about 800 sometimes...fast glass and zooms are definitely the way to go for wedding photography, as well as a very good flash setup, as far as my brief bit of experience can tell. I had some nice primes with me (50 f/1.4, 85 f/1.4, 105 f/2) but every time I put one on, it quickly came off again because I was missing moments in the time it took me to back up or get closer--the ability to zoom was very helpful.