what equipment do I need for wedding photography

Hi gents and ladies.

 

myself and my friend have just come out of college and are committed in starting up our business in wedding

photography. we have both completed courses and are mature people, i.e 30 years of age

 

we have decided to diversify our careers from elsewhere and require help in deciding what equiment we need as we

have our first wedding booked in a couple of months.

 

we have heard the nikon d90 is a good investment but can you help us and advise us on exactly what equipment we

need to get started.

 

we do no want to turn up to the wedding not knowing what we are doing and hence are giving ourselves time for

preparation.

 

thanks

Your question suggests that there is much about this topic you haven't considered. There's some good advice <a href="http://www.photo.net/learn/wedding/equipment"><b>right here on this site</b></a>, and of course the larger view, <a href="http://www.photo.net/learn/wedding/"><b>here</b></a>. Good places to start.

It takes so much more than just acquiring the requisite equipment to become competent in any subject matter. You [should not] accept payment for anything before you are confident in providing a level of service at least to the customers level of expectation. At this stage you most certainly would disappoint your customer, no doubt. Maybe do a few weddings for free in a year or so when you think you have a grasp of the requirements and how to handle all the scenarios that get thrown at you. Of course if you do a wedding for free, inform the couple that you have no experience and they shouldn't expect much. This is suitable for couples on very low budgets who wouldn't have hired a photographer anyway, so something is better than nothing. In this economic climate there should be more of these low budget couples around.

 

Read the forums on this website to familiarize yourself with all aspects of wedding photography. It contains an enormous amount of information.

Hi Dal - I am assuming that both you and your friend have studied photography at college and have likely covered

assignments including weddings (this is what I read into your opening statement).

 

If this is the case, no doubt you will have tried different cameras from the college pool and have your own. No doubt

you will have covered lighting techniques and will have tried various studio lighting and flashgun set-ups. Into the

bargain you should have explored presentation and mounting for prints; and no doubt spent time with professionals

who have a relationship with your college.

 

I hope you also spent time doing some aspect of business as part of your course - one of the first questions is

usually making sure your justification for working with a friend is a good business decision. Clearly I cannot presume

to judge on this, but hope you have been through the process.

 

If I were you, I would therefore ask yourself whether the equipment you currently have will be good enough to get you

started; if yes, then get hold of something similar as a back up; if no, then use what you have as a back up kit and

decide what you need as a step up from what you have. Different photographers have different requirements so it is

unlikely that anyone will give you a definitive answer here. There are many good camera models out there that will be

good enough depending on what your budget is and what you have guaranteed to deliver to the bride & groom. Read

the many reviews available in specialist magazines and online, and visit your local retailers.

 

But in a nutshell, you will need two kits, both comprising: camera, quality lenses (zoom or several primes); flashgun,

tripod, cards, batteries, bag. It's also useful to have a selection of umbrellas, reflectors, stands and studio lighting.

 

To be frank though, your last comment "we do no want to turn up to the wedding not knowing what we are doing and

hence are giving ourselves time for preparation" suggests to me that if you are having to ask, perhaps you are not

ready. In fact, I would say that if you are still at the stage of discussing the camera model to use, you are certainly

not ready. You should really give yourselves time to get used to the equipment, and should be thinking at this stage

before the wedding far more about how you will get the shots your couple have requested, and how you will be

presenting your images to the bride & groom and their guests.

 

Good luck.

My fathter, a wedding photographer for forty years, maintains that actual photography is about 10% of a wedding

photography business.

How did you manage to get a client already?

I would start with whatever equipment you have, or what you are familiar with. What kind of equipment did you use for your photography courses?

 

As other people have pointed out, there is a lot you need to learn about wedding photography. BUT, that doesn't mean you can't be successful with the skills you have right now.

 

In my opinion there are 3 types of people starting out in wedding photography -

 

1 - Naturally great photographers. They take great pictures in any situation and need very little experience/practice to modify their style to really 'fit' their clients expectations. If they don't try to meet their clients by sticking to their 'art' they can end up with disappointed clients.

 

2 - Learned photographers. They are decent photographers, but they need to learn 'wedding' photography in the same way they learned how to be photographers. They like systems, rules, and clear steps to great photos. Once they are comfortable they usually 'bend' the rules and end up as great wedding photographers.

 

3 - Bad photographers. They want to get into wedding photography for the money (as a business venture) or the emotional investment in the wedding experience and photos. They aren't very good photographers, but they love their own work - this stems from being too emotionally attached to their images and recalling their memories at the time the image was taken rather than looking at the image as an isolated thing.

 

Be honest, and ask yourself which one of the 3 you think you are most like. If it is 1 or 2, then you are in good shape. If it is 3 then you might want to look elsewhere for a career.

Hi Dal...I have to say you were very brave to post that query on here. I am learning the wedding photography business and can echo all the comments on here. I have no formal photography qualifications but I am learning from a pro. I would highly suggest you do the same. You could both get jobs as an assistant and learn the business that way - you will learn more from doing that than any college course I promise. I fall into Category 2 above I guess!

 

As for kit.....what ever you decide to buy you will need 2 of everything as a back-up. The D90 is a great camera (I will soon be the proud owner myself) but I think pros generally shoot with the D300 or Canon 40D or better.

 

Be prepared not to earn much money in the first couple of years while to build up your portfolio.

You got your degrees:

GREAT! But what field of study?

 

You ask about the D90:

But will you really understand how to use it properly to obtain results that will please your client?

 

You don't want to show up to the wedding not knowing what to do:

Then don't! Mentor with a local pro and start out small doing portraits and engagement sessions for FREE or charge for cost of prints. Reading a book about photography (shutter speed, lighting, aperture, etc.) is great....if you understand how to perfect it in actual shooting situations. This will come from your mentoring and your FREE sessions. Nothing beats hands on practice but NOT at the clients expense!

 

Good luck and I am sure you will develop into a great photographer but remember it takes time and practice. Not a College Degree and a new DSLR.

Dal,

 

The main draw back of posting on an internet forum is that all we can respond to is what you've posted. We

aren't able to get immediate clarification as we might were this a live conversation. Thus we are forced to take

your post at face value.

 

"myself and my friend have just come out of college and are committed in starting up our business in wedding

photography. we have both completed courses and are mature people, i.e 30 years of age"

 

That's exciting that you and your friend have decided to start a business, but as William asked, what's your

degree in? You have no PN portfolio or a website listing to indicate how good a photographer you are. For all

we know, you have no business behind a camera. If maturity is related to age, I know about 20,000,000 women who

would like you to explain why their husbands are still so immature.

 

"we have decided to diversify our careers from elsewhere and require help in deciding what equiment (sic) we need

as we have our first wedding booked in a couple of months." Certainly sounds like your current career is not

directly photography related, but maybe it is. Maybe you're doing product images or astrophotography. Tell us.

This all begs the question how you "booked" a wedding without knowing what equipment you needed. Would you book

with a surgeon who didn't know what equipment she needed to remove your gall bladder?

 

"we have heard the nikon (sic) d90 is a good investment" How can this be said of a consumer camera that hasn't

even been released on the market yet? No DSLR is a good investment. Invest in some top notch workshops to learn

how to shoot weddings if you want to invest in your business.

 

"we do no (sic) want to turn up to the wedding not knowing what we are doing and hence are giving ourselves time

for preparation."

 

A "couple of months" is not enough time, if you're having to ask such a basic question.

 

I believe Singh means lion (please correct me if I'm wrong). How do you think a lion cub would do in the wild

without the nurturing and training it receives from it's mother? Reading your post at face value, you need lots

of training before you take on a wedding. If my literal view of your post is indeed correct, do the couple a

favor and suggest they hire a real professional.

At least two of everything. Except batteries; those you want 200 of.

A good lawyer, real shooting experience BEFORE going out on your own, a business model, marketing, and so on...

 

Photography of any genre isn't just equipment and a decent eye as many people think. Take photojournalism (the newspaper and magazine shooters), it takes the ability to tell a story, the ability to capture emotion, the ability to write a good caption and do it correctly, and it takes a lot of time and very loooooong hours. I know this, because I am the staff photographer for a newspaper. It's hard work, but I love it.

 

God knows I don't do it for the money...

I recommend a brain that already knows exactly what it's doing in every situation that may come up on the wedding day and that can manipulate the camera, light, people etc. without having to think too long.

 

If you do not have access to such a brain the next best thing would be a brain that works fast enough to figure out what to do in every situation before the moment is gone forever...

> can you help us and advise us on exactly what equipment we need to get started <

 

Matt Laur has already linked you to quite detailed information.

 

There are many nuances to consider regarding equipment: I would like to stress the need for redundancy, which is often overlooked.

 

 

***

 

My slant on a DSLR system to consider, as a starting point, (buying today), but which can be built into a good and useful system, would look something like this (Canon):

 

Working Bodies: 40D + 5D

 

Back Up Body: 20D or 30D or 40D

 

Flash 580MkII + 580MkII

 

Back Up Flash: Something

 

Lenses Zoom: 16 to 35MkII and 70 to 200F2.8L IS

 

Prime Lenses: 24F1.4L and 50F1.4 and 135F2L

 

The 16mm to 35mm, 24mm, 50mm and 135mm all have equal value: the 70mm to 200mm can be done without, initially, as part of this kit, IMO.

 

If you have a preference for Nikon that system the above could be easily mimicked.

 

WW