First Wedding- Equipment Recommendations

[nicole_wagner]

After years of debating whether I should get into wedding photography I finally decided to persue this as a career. I

am going to be shooting my first wedding in Feb. (unpaid so I could build a portfolio) and I am overwhelmed with the

amount of equipment out there and what would be best for me. I have a Rebel XTi and a EF-S 17-85mm f 4-5.6 lens.

I need a tripod and an external flash unit and possibly another lens? Is this a sufficient lens for wedding

photography? I am not going to worry about having backup equipment yet. So my price range for the tripod and the

flash would be around $500. I am nervous about lighting. Would an external flash unit allow for proper lighting in a

dark reception hall or do I need additional lighting as well. Thanks in advance for your help. I really appreciate it!

[sherijohnson]

Even though you may not be worried about back up equipment, I think you should reconsider having another system. It doesn't matter if you are doing it for free or not. The couple will be depending on you and there is no reason to not have backup equipment with you. That may be my opinion, but I think any other wedding professional will feel the same way. What would you do if your one and only camera, flash or media card failed for some reason?

[jesseb]

<p>It's good you're doing this first one(s) for free to build up your portfolio, but as Sheri mentioned, if

you're the designated photographer (no matter if you're free, cheap or expensive), the couple is depending on you

and you shouldn't be doing this without backup equipment.</p>

 

<p>If you're nervous about lighting, that should ring some alarms as well that most likely, as the designated

photographer, you're not ready to do this first wedding in February yet. By all means, if you're able to go pick

up a flash and whatever other equipment this weekend and do a daily couple of hours or research and take

pictures, then you should hopefully be *more ready* to shoot that wedding in 3 months from now. But you don't

know that yet and so it's not truly reasonable to commit to it and ultimately, it's a

gamble I don't believe is fair to the couple... unless of course they weren't going to get a photographer at all to

being with

and so don't mind having a friend/yourself to do some casual shooting and simply hope for the best.</p>

 

<p>The point is, it sounds like you need to learn the basics and to do that in 3 months is I guess somewhat

possible (and

it irks me to say that so please understand that I emphasize *basics*) - in order to accomplish basic results -

but nevertheless a gamble. Be honest with yourself AND be honest with the client and if you both feel

comfortable, then fine, go ahead and I wish you the best.</p>

 

<p>That being said, you're going to need to do a whole lot of reading and research (and most importantly,

practicing) then just reading a bunch of responses in this thread. I suggest you start with the photo.net learn

section <A

href="http://www.photo.net/learn/wedding"> by clicking here.</A>

 

<p>All the best.

[cliff_henry]

Nicole,

 

I double what Sheri said! You need a back-up system!!

 

Additionally, you can't have to much light. You could get by with two flashes for your hot shoe, but having three would be better.

 

Do you have a business plan? Do you have a contract that protects you and explains everything to your clients?

 

This would be a good place to start:

 

http://www.photo.net/learn/wedding/

 

Good Luck,

 

Cliff

[mdoyle]

Nicole

 

I wouldnt even think about shooting a wedding without having a backup. If you are asisting then this is OK. But to shoot the whole wedding, even for free is risky. Get at least 2 4 gig cards and a good flash

 

if you plan on doing this professionally, get a second camera, lens and flash

[nicole_wagner]

Thank you for your responses. I do have several cf cards and I think I will make arrangengements to borrow a friend's Rebel XTi to use as backup for the day. I am going to hold off on buying a new camera until after the first wedding to make sure this is something I want to persue professionally. Either way, another lens would be beneficial for personal use anyway, so I will look into that. I am planning on doing enormous research before Feb. of course and practicing a lot. I know it would have been more ideal to have done some second shooting at least, but I have not found any local photographers that need this service.

[picturesque]

Your lens is an OK lens for wedding photography, but not ideal. If you are going to use it for the wedding, buy a 50mm f1.8 (about $100-150) for use in low light. If you can afford more, get a Tamron 17-50mm f2.8. Get the tripod and flash. You can do OK with one on camera flash, depending upon the actual venues you are going to photograph in and your skill with flash.

 

You have bitten off quite a big mouthful here. Make sure you have a contract with your clients that covers you re liability, even if you are doing it for free. And yes, bring back up camera (with flash) and lens at the very least, and a back-up flash if the camera doesn't have one.

[ben_cox1]

I'm in a similar boat to you in that I'm just starting out, so here's my advice on equipment. Firstly, you simply cannot do a wedding without a flash and for me the 430EX does the job just fine. A second flash, umbrellas and whatnot would be nice but not really a viable option at that budget.

 

As far as lenses go I've found that I spend most of my time with my lens wide open so as to give a nice background blur. Your lens, at f/4-5.6, doesn't really do this so I'd have to also recommend that you get the Canon 50 f/1.8. I've also got this lens and found myself using it for the formal portraits.

 

I've also got the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 which is a nice lens. But if you've only got $500 then I think that your money should go to a flash, then the 50 f/1.8.

 

Also, as everyone else mentioned, a backup body is critical but I also found that having two cameras around my neck (one with a 70-200 f/4 and the other with my tamron) improved my photography considerably because you've always got the 'right' lens on for the shot that appears in front of you.

 

Oh, and buy lots of memory cards. Shooting RAW (which is a must) on my two xti's I tend to use a bit more than 10gb per wedding.

 

Good luck!

[buffdr_rasouliyan]

Since you decided to pursue this as a career, you need better equipment. Free or not, here's your chance to help a friend and build your portfolio. Why not do it right? To make sure your friendship stays in tact, I would rent a 17-55 2.8IS and buy a flash. Good luck. v/r Raz

[scott_b.4]

Nicole;

 

Good luck. No matter, what always have a back up camera. Borrow, rent, or steal the back up camera. You never know what will happen. Even on portraits I carry a back up camera. It does not have to be anything fancy. Carry a lot of memory cards. Here some of my advices.

 

Flash:

 

As for external flash, I am going to assume you are using on camera flash. There are a lot of great deals on the 580 EX and 430 EX out there. Another thing you might want to consider is an external battery pack. The CP-E3/ E4 is a cheap and they work great. Buy a Gary Fong Diffuser if you are going to do on camera. It will make the light less harsh.

 

Lens:

 

First off, you will need a fast lens, at least an F4. The XTi low light quality is not all that great. You want at least two lenes. One lens with focal lenth 24-105 and a zoom 70-200. Get an IS lens. Most churches do allow you to use flash. You will need a 2.8 or faster.

 

Batteries

 

Carry extra battery for your camera and bring your charger.

 

Tripod:

 

I say forget about it! You have to be mobile and a tripod to me is a waste of money. I bought one and never used it.

 

See if you can find a camera store to rent from.

 

Find a photographer you can work as an assistant. You will gain experience and earn funds to finance your equiptment.

 

When I first started three years ago, I rented everything. I would cost me about $100.00 per shoot. If Today, I don't rent at all. Friends actually borrow my equiptment now. It takes time.

[amol]

Definitely borrow your friends Rebel Xti. Not sure you need a tripod. You need a flash, the Canon 430EX should be

good. Get a diffuser (Gary Fong or Demb Flip-it).

 

Also, as mentioned the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, is a nicely priced lens, works well for weddings.

 

In theory, you should also have a back-up lens and flash unit. IIf budget is tight, maybe a Canon 50mm f/1.8

would be a relative cheap back-up. Actually, it is a pretty nice portrait lens too.

 

For $500, get a Canon 430EX Flash, and Canon 50mm f/1.8, throw in a diffuser. You should have money left over.

 

or buy a Tamron 17-50, spend extra money for 430EX, and use the 17-85 as back-up. Of course, borrow the back-up

Rebel XTi.

[stephen_kinosh]

The lens you have is NOT good enough for a wedding. WAY too slow for the church shots. Nothing slower than a 2.8, and a 50 1.8 or 1.4 is a good prime to have. And if you don;t have backups, you are just asking for trouble,. THe old addage that when something goes wrong, it's at the most inopportune time is very true...

[cardens]

I agree with the backup. I sometimes have nightmares where my camera malfunctions and I dont have a backup. In reality I do have a backup and am thankful I do. You can say my camera has not failed yet! So why would it at a wedding? Well you shouldnt even asked yourself this. Because the truth is no one ever knows what could happen. You can get bumped into by a wild guest, drop your camera and kaput. Your done with no backup.

 

You def need a 1.8 lens. External flash of course.If you know the venue perhaps look at pictures and see if you will need a zoom, wide angle etc.

[lou korell]

Hi Nicole,

 

My only questions to you are how long have you been a photographer? Have you done any other professional work

outside of weddings? Have you ever shot a wedding as an assistant or second shooter? My years in the business

have shown me that there is no such thing as dabbling in wedding photography. If you want to start a wedding

business you need to be well prepared with equipment, insurance, training, and at least a small amount of

experience in order to dive in on your own.

 

Having seen a lot of "newbie" wedding photographers fall on their face...including myself when I started on my own.

And I had almost two years of assisting under my belt when I went out on my own!

 

Realizing that everyone has to start somewhere, even med school graduates start as interns.

It is a very exciting thing to jump into, but you do need to be well prepared to handle any situation which may arise.

Being a guest at weddings is not the same as being a vendor.

 

Again, not knowing your experience level I can only assume by your question, "I am nervous about lighting. Would

an external flash unit allow for proper lighting in a dark reception hall or do I need additional lighting as well" , that

you are not well trained and experienced with lighting. This is almost the number one required skill for a wedding!

Composition, exposure, personality, etc. are all important but without lighting skills your images may not work out.

 

I hope you are considering practicing like crazy and maybe taking some courses or doing a lot of homework between

now and the wedding. Also, make a long list of excuses to tell the bride in case your camera, lens, flash, card fails

and you don't have any backup gear to finish the job. Just kidding on the list. Don't make excuses...get backup! If

you don't have that available you shouldn't be doing a wedding. It may be your first day as a wedding photographer.

It

is the only wedding day for the bride. She will not get to try the wedding again so that she'll have great pictures.

 

I've had gear malfunction right before the ceremony. Fortunately I had three more cameras in my case.

I've had a flash blow up during a ceremony processional! Fortunately I had three more in my case. If I didn't have

another one, the reception would not have been photographed. It was dark!

 

I've had a card failure, battery failures, lens failure to focus, etc. You may say "wow he's unlucky" :) but I know

people who have actually had three cameras fail during a wedding. No lie. The technology today is somewhat more

volatile than the sturdy all metal, manual, beasts of the past. You are basically holding a computer that captures

with an optical sensor. And, you are carrying it around swinging and weaving in and out of different conditions. Stuff

happens.

 

The argument may be made, "but a lot of folks started out with just the basics". Yes, that is correct. I consider a

backup for each piece of technical gear, the basics of starting up a wedding business. From there you will be able to

determine what you must add to your equipment that accomodates your style of shooting and what will give you a

pleasurable shooting experience.

 

Study and practice your lighting so you can adjust on the fly. That will give you a lot more confidence about getting

the shot. I hope my comments were useful. I'm not slamming you for starting out, just trying to make sure you are

well informed so you have a good experience your first time.

 

Best of luck,

 

Lou

[markonestudios]

First, allow me to make some polite rebuttals here:

<p>>>Shooting RAW (which is a must)...<< - Ben Cox

<br>Really Ben? I shoot only jpeg and I make prints up to 20x30 from my XTi. But this isn't about RAW vs JPG,

there are numerous posts (and flame wars to boot) about this :) Nicole, in a nutshell, RAW gives you more

latitude to play with in post-processing than jpg. However, if you prefer to nail the exposure at capture, jpeg

may reduce your post-processing time. It requires some practice to get confident enough, but I know a number of

pros who swear by jpeg (and other who swear by raw). Horses for courses ;-)

<p>>>First off, you will need a fast lens, at least an F4. The XTi low light quality is not all that great. You

want at least two lenes. One lens with focal lenth 24-105 and a zoom 70-200. Get an IS lens. Most churches do

allow you to use flash. You will need a 2.8 or faster. << - Scott B.

<br>Scott, f/4 is certainly not considered a 'fast lens.' In addition, the 24-105 and 70-200 might not

necessarily suit her

requirements because of the focal length multiplication on the XTi. I find the 24-105, great a lens as

it is, not quite wide enough on my XTi. In an enclosed space, or for large group shots, I certainly wouldn't use

my 24-105. Image Stabilisation (IS) does not stop motion blur. It allows you to handhold at lower shutter speeds,

but won't freeze your subject. I almost never use the IS on my lens at weddings...

A 17-xx is certainly a much better proposition on a crop sensor body like the XTi. Also, from what I've read,

most churches do NOT allow use of flash (assuming this is in the US). Maybe that was a typo?

<p>That said, I have a fair number of weddings under my belt and my views on this are as follows:

<br>1. http://www.photo.net/learn/wedding/ - read this carefully.

<br>2. Have backup equipment on the day. A second XTi would be good, as you will already be familiar with its

user interface.

<br>3. Practice with your current kit. You have not given an indication as to your current experience with

photography

<br>4. Cash allowing, get a fast prime like the 50 f/1.8 (already mentioned) and at least a decent flash e.g the

430EX or (even better), a 580EX whether they be the Mk1 or Mk2 versions. Others have mentioned the Canon 17-55

and Tamron 17-50 lenses. I can't comment firsthand on these, but from what I've garnered, they are both good

performers. They would certainly stand you in good stead when it comes to low light/"no flash allowed" situations.

<br>5. If you do get a flash, consider the Demb Flash Diffuser products. I bought one and, in conjunction with

the shutter drag techniques I learnt from planetneil.com, it so totally changed my flash photography that I got a

second (as back up ;))

<p>6. Consider purchasing a tripod and cable/remote release. I bought a cheap wireless remote on eBay which works

very well. This is of course partly dependent on your style, but I find my tripod particularly useful during the

ceremony (sans flash) and evening dance shots.

<br>7. Cover yourself with a solid contract.

<p>Spend as much time learning about flash techniques (www.planetneil.com is great) and also Google "EOS flash."

<p>Did I say practice? :) See if you can shadow a pro for the few months remaining and watch how they work.

Wedding photography is demanding because you have to think on your feet a lot, deal with a whole spectrum of

personalities and characters and still nail great shots. However, with practice, it can be very rewarding and you

get to learn that many weddings follow the same general pattern, so you can anticipate and capture great moments

as they happen.

[ed_cord]

first and foremost you definately need a good flash and a good difusser....I have found the G fuser gives professional

results and is small enough to fit in a camera bag........and if you dont already have a prime lens I would get

one.....at least the inexpensive 50mm 1.8 that are offered by most camera companies.........be sure to have enough

batteries and a back up camera and flash even if you have to borrow them...........

 

http://www.geoecordero.mysite.com/article.html This the link for the diffuser.....they have lots of info and ordering

information

 

Good Luck!