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Kit Advice for my first wedding shoot


laurence_nyein

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<p>Hi all ,,,<br>

I have been an amature photographer for few years as my hobby but now i have an appointment for my FIRST wedding shoot. Here is my current gear I already have - and i would spend some quids if it is neccessary to have nice photos in the wedding. I found lots of post similar to this but i still want personal advice to me so i made this post. thankssss.<br>

My gear ---<br>

D700<br>

24-70 mm f2.8<br>

105 mm micro<br>

50mm f1.8D<br>

1 x sb600 with diffisur dome, and bounce card<br>

mb-d10 with extra battery<br>

4 gb slow speed memory card<br>

got a tripot but bargain quality<br>

I got 1 shoot through umbrella with hot shoe stand<br>

got 1 lowepro bag to fit most of my gear<br>

I got Interfit 150 studio kit at home but it's not portable.<br>

And i got no filters except from UV protecting filters.<br>

She said the wedding should be small size up to 50 people (just few friends and family) at their home. Their home is worth like 1/2 million house that is big with lots of glass for day light(which i can't trust all the time) and they got a big garden at the side.<br>

So, is my current gear is enough to have some nice pictures at the wedding?<br>

What shall i prepare before the wedding? looking wedding pictures on the internet or playing around with my camera?<br>

shall i upgrade to sb900 or my sb600 should be enough? or do i need both?<br>

i am considering a softbox ,ezybox hot shoe kit, do i need that?<br>

any filter advice or it can be achievable in photoshop ?<br>

:P so many questions .... pls give me advice as this is my first wedding ... i am worried that i will spoil their enjoyment ... i got one assistant to help me at the wedding.. with little photography knowledge .. thankss again.</p>

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<p>You gear is mostly fine, but you need a backup body, any other Nikon DSLR is fine (with enough battery power to do the whole wedding with it) and a backup flash. Depending on where you are allowed to be during the ceremony, a longer lens might be a big help. The 70-200 2.8 is the standard. If you know you can be close during the ceremony you don't need it. Whether you can do a nice job at their wedding doesn't have much to do with the gear, though.</p>
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<p>I would not go to crazy with your lighting. a 70-200 is almost a must for any out door shots. It will help to isolate your subjects and create nice backgrounds in the garden. Fill flash is a must to. keep it simple and get a list of all the must have shots. good luck and shoot a ton</p>
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<p>I agree you need a back up camera body and back up flash. You need a lot more memory cards. You probably need more AAs for the flash(es) and camera batteries. Whether you need an umbrella or softbox depends on the situation. The studio set should stay at home. No need for filters unless you need ND for cutting bright sun or want true, in camera soft focus.</p>

<p>Since you haven't told us the circumstances of the ceremony and reception, hard to answer your questions. Is the ceremony indoors or outside? Is the reception indoors or outside? Are there good bouncing surfaces inside? Where are the formals going to be? What time of day?</p>

<p>You also haven't said whether the bride and groom are your friends, acquaintances, or strangers. For the latter two, you need a contract for sure, and possibly for the former.</p>

<p>The best way to prepare is to talk to the bride/groom and ask them what kind of images they want. Go to the home and garden at the time the ceremony will be and do whatever tests you need to do. Of course, look at wedding images, but if you have never shot one before, I guarantee you that you will not have a lot of time to be thinking in between the times you will have to be shooting. If you are a 'list' person, makes lists.</p>

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<p>thanks to all ,, nobody recommand me to have the softbox ,, right!... i will defo have some spare memory cards, and few spare battery,,, i don't have enough budget to get 70-200 atm but that is the one i been thinking to get once i got enough budget for a new lens as i need to do few outdoor portriate shoots during the summer as well. And i will get one SB900 soon as i will need it anyhow. Extra body?? woooooohhhh... maybe i will borrow from me friend who got a D90 with 85mm f.1.8 and 24-70 on my D700? how's that? 85mm will go over 100mm as the crop sersor on D90 .. ohh god.. laurence ,, u need to clam down,, u will be fine :P thanks guy!!</p>
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<p>Also, little trick I realized that is SUPER helpful. Make a table/spreadsheet with 3 columns. One with the names of all the items in your kit you intend to bring. Then the day before check off in the column next to it that you have each of those items. Then as you are leaving the event, as you are packing everything up, check off each of the items you are putting back. It seems like no-duh, put back everything you came with. But when you are bringing tons of things with you, many of which cost in the range of thousands of dollars and you've just gone through hours of shooting, you'll find your brain isn't functioning nearly as well as it was BEFORE the event. On that printed out sheet, have the address of the location, number for the place, number for the bride, number for groom, and preferably a parent or someone else in the wedding party. Good Luck!</p>
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<p>Very good advice here. Remember its your first wedding so keep it simple.The 24 to 70 zoom will cover 90% of your shots,100% if you had to( I can and have).I would not go to the expense of a 70/210 zoom in the begining.Play with and pratice with your <strong>FLASH A LOT!. </strong>To help you relax and test your gear why don,t you invite the couple to the local park for an engagment shoot.Pack a picnic lunch and some wine.No pressure and a whole afternoon to play.This is a great ice breaker for both you and the B/G.</p>
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<p><strong><em>“Extra body?? woooooohhhh... maybe i will borrow from me friend who got a D90 with 85mm f.1.8 and 24-70 on my D700? how's that? 85mm will go over 100mm as the crop sersor on D90 .. ohh god.. laurence ,, u need to clam down,, u will be fine :P”</em></strong><br>

<strong><em> </em></strong><br>

An extra Camera body is mandatory. No Whooahhs about it. A second Camera is more important than a second Flash <em>which is also Mandatory</em>.</p>

<p>I don’t know the entire Nikon lens / camera “what fits with what” scenarios – but you’d be better with your 50mm on the D90 and the 24 – 70 on the D700 and a Flash on each. Assuming both lenses work fully with both bodies, that gives you (equivalent FoV): 24 to 70 or 36 to 105 @ F/2.8 and A 50mm and 80mm F/1.8 Prime, with good System Redundancy.</p>

<p>That equivalent FoV range, is about the range of 90% of most Wedding Shots by 90% of Wedding Photographers.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p><strong><em>"i don't have enough budget to get 70-200 atm but that is the one i been thinking to get once i got enough budget for a new lens as i need to do few outdoor portriate shoots during the summer as wel"</em></strong></p>

<p>Well, when you get enough budget together you NEED a second camera - even for Portraits. It is very easy to kill the whole Portrait Gig stone dead: "opps, sorry my camera has a fault, best we reconvene tomorrow"</p>

<p>Your 105 is a Magnificent Portrait lens on a D700 (if it is the Nikon 105 Macro I have used) - it is simply stunning and a FL to die for on "Full Frame" . . .</p>

<p>Also, apropos outdoors AND using On Camera Flash Fill - beyond FL= 100mm (on your D700) or beyond FL = 70mm with a Nikon DX camera, the Shooting Distance will be about 12ft<em> and beyond </em>for the <strong><em>Half Shot or anything longer</em></strong> (shooting Vertical Format) and that is about <strong><em>the distance limit of Flash Fill in Sunlight,</em></strong> even for the most powerful On Camera Flash Units . . . another reason why I don’t rush for the 70 to 200 as "a must have lens" . . . even for use with “Full Frame format” cameras – for Weddings.</p>

<p>Just on the lenses: with the two lenses you own and assuming you can borrow a D90, you are short of WIDE and FAST – not a longer telephoto. A fast 35 , 28 or 24 would be more useful: especially if it rains (it is thus darker); you are inside; and there is a "No Flash Rule" during the Ceremony . . . just as one example.</p>

<p>WW</p>

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