Canon digital rebel xt - tips needed for newcomer to Wedding photography

I am a newbie to wedding photography with my slr. I have all canon lenses a 17-

40mm 1:4 usm,70-300mm and the kit lens 18-55mm. I am looking at adding one lens

maybe a 28-200 or 55-200 to get the range i want at the ceremony. I am taking

the pictures as gift to her if they turn out(non-professional). I have never

shot a wedding with this camera so what type of setting do you put the camera

on? I saw on the website alot of people use raw mode. Any other tips or ideas

would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks

Becky

I don't think you need another lens. All of the lenses you have are considered kinda slow for weddings, which often involve dim lighting in churches. The lenses you are considering aren't much faster, if at all. However, if you aren't going to make wedding photography a career, the lenses you have will work, but if this wedding ceremony is in a church, you will need a tripod. If you want to buy something, buy an external flash--a 430EX would be good.

 

You don't say what level of photography you command. But I would suggest what I always suggest to new wedding photographers at almost any level except advanced. Use Program. Do not use aperture priority inside with flash or even outside in lower light levels. Use One Shot for focusing, not AI Focus or AI Servo. Get an external flash and know how to compensate the flash. If you aren't used to processing RAW files, don't shoot RAW files unless you have time to practice.

 

Bring lots of extra camera and flash batteries, extra memory cards, and most important--bring a back up camera and lens.

May I suggest a reading of the <a href="http://www.photo.net/learn/wedding/equipment">Photo.net Guide to Wedding Photography Equipment</a>? (Hey, I wrote it, of course I'm going to suggest it.)

Becky - if you aren't a pro, then your lenses are fine, IMHO.

 

first, if you have the 17-40, don't waste your time with the kit lens.

 

second, the 70-300 will be good enough for non professional use. at least, the 28-200 or 55-200 will just leave you with WAY too many zoom lens options in overlapping ranges. not really useful.

 

if you have enough time, learn how to use the camera in manual mode. yes, shoot raw. go out there and practice getting good exposures, learn how to read a histogram, get comfortable with ISO 800 and 1600.

 

hopefully that helps. if you aren't doing this professionally or pretending or promising to be a pro, try your best and don't stress out too much. after all, it is a gift, yes?

Ditto the above. Do not buy another lens.

 

Take your 17 to 40 and your 70 to 300.

 

If buying anything buy:

 

1. a flash

 

2. a (good tripod or monopod) for the church / ceremony available light shots

 

The first purchase is more important than the second: learn to lean against a pillar or pew if necessary.

 

3. Borrow a back up camera, even if is a good quality point and shoot.

 

As to tips, practice shooting groups of family and friends everywhere with the 17 to 40 and with a flash and practice bouncing the flash.

 

It seems to me you are a complete novice: if this is so then I agree with Nadine (and there will be differences of opinion on this point):

 

Shoot program, and the settings Nadine suggested.

 

I am not arguing with Conrad`s theory, I just believe, from the outline you have given, it is better to play the percentages, and you will most likely gloss over the very important words Conrad wrote:

 

 

`if you have enough time`

 

 

You do not mention when the Wedding date is; and this bears on a more precise answer.

 

IMO it will take at least a couple of months of regular practice to get Manual Mode, Histograms et al under your belt and keep up with all the shots necessary.

 

WW

The strength of raw is in the processing. You need to learn raw processing to take advantage of that. It's not difficult, but it requires some learning. If you want to try it out you can probably set your camera to create both a raw and jpeg file for each exposure.

 

If I were shooting available light in the churches I'm used to with the gear you mentioned I'd probably be at ISO 1600 (if it's brighter you may be able to go with a lower ISO), and in AV with the aperture set to one click wider than all the way open. I shoot in raw, so I wouldn't have to worry so much about white balance. If you are shooting jpegs you might want to try a few test shots in the church to see if you need to set WB to tungsten or a custom balance (read your instruction manual, it's easy to do).

 

If you think you'll be doing low light photography in the future you might look into purchasing a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens. They are a great bargain at $70 to $80 new, and make a great portrait lens for a Rebel XT.

Has this friend of yours already hired a phototographer? I realise you want to give these as a gift, but please...if the couple has already hired a photographer, be respectful of that fact and don't set up a tripod in the center aisle...don't go setting off your flash during the ceremony...Simply set your ISO on the XT to 1600, shoot as wide open as possible (that 50mm 1.8 lens that Matt mentioned would be excellent) and use your exposure compensation in the viewfinder to get the shot. Try to get a spot in the pews as close to the action as possible.

 

Photos are a great and thoughtful gift, Good luck to you!

It sounds like you are not the Wedding photographer, but just somebody at the wedding taking photos. The Wedding photographer should be the only person moving around during the ceremony. Find a good vantage point and stay there. It doesn't need to be sitting in a pew. I like to be off to one side leaning against the wall in old churches. I used an 85-200mm on my AE-1 but you could use you 70-300mm.

 

Some clergy will allow flash photography, some won't. Find out before you go using a flash. I prefer to not use a flash but in some churches it is just not possible.

 

At the reception you will definitely need a flash. Get an external flash the built in one is useless. I prefer to bounce off the celling if it is low enough. I would use your 17-40 here.

>>> Do not buy another lens. <<< (WW)

 

I wish to amend this emphatic statement:

 

The EF50mmF1.8MkII, as mentioned above by MN & HC, is inexpensive lens and would be useful at the ceremony and during other parts of the Wedding Day.

 

If the budget can bear, it would be useful purchase, far more so than the more costly and less useful lenses you first mentioned, and later it will serve as a good portrait lens, if you are into that type of gig.

 

In this regard I totally agree with MN`s last two sentences.

 

50mm on an APS-C format camera, has a short telephoto FoV: equivalent to about 80mm on 135format (`Full Frame`) .

 

Thanks MN and HC for the check.

 

WW

Yes get the 50 1.8 for $70 it's a no brainer and will allow you to get some shots in low light and have very nice blurred background for portraits and formals.

 

At least learn to use Av and Tv modes if not M. The best method for you I think would be to take a few test shots in each situation with Av or Tv mode. Determine which exposure is right, and then transver that sutter speed and aperture combo into M mode. That way when changing background and zoom won't effect your correct exposure. A white gown or black tux can really screw up your exposure meter if it fills most of the scene. This is why ameture photos are often inconsistent. They use P modes.

<p> I agree with using the 50mm 1.8 lense. This lense is the best I have owned, and it costed the least at $79.00. The 50mm 1.8 is does an amazing job of color retention and low-light photography. Perfect for a vibrant wedding in a soft-lit church. I recommend being quite, the shutter makes enough noise by it self.<br>

Experiment with shooting guests in and outside the church with (M) mode, record the settings in your mind for both environments. Make sure you are shooting both RAW and JPG images, no need to worry about WB then. Your gonna want to use (M) mode as to insure dark or bright clothing does not interfere with your metering.<br>

Wedding couples and family usually prefer the "boka" effect in photos. This is when the foreground is ultra clear, and the background is blury. In a wedding maybe not too blury in the backdrop, so that family members in the distance are reconizable.</p>