james_nealy

<p>I am a big fan of collages.net albums. You can design or they can. My brides love these albums. Their image cover album is definatley a favorite.</p>

<p><a href="http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/sainfocusphoto/mytry.jpg">http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/sainfocusphoto/mytry.jpg</a></p>

<p>This is my try. Used TRA. Mixed some of my favorites together.</p>

<p>sorry, It looks like my photo is not coming up, E-mail me if you want and I will send you my attempt.</p>

<p>Get a 70-200 2.8. Get a third party if you have to. I use the Tamron it is good for half the price of the canon. The Sigma is good too. I would put the 50mm on your 20D and a 70-200 on your 40D (I don't see the need to rent another 40) Or get your 85mm and a 70-200 and be done with it. that is a pretty good range for a small indoor wedding.</p>

<p>On the flash if your church has low ceilings try to bounce the flash's (550's). You could trigger them wireless,I did my last wedding that way (cybersyncs for wireless) and it worked great. Minimal shadows and none where it counted! E-mail me if you would like to see some samples. Good Luck!</p>

<p>I shoot 1,00 plus and provide 200-300 of the best. The "pick of the litter" The more they have to choose from the more chances I have to sell!!<br>

Once you have eliminated the duplicates, the blinks, and the look aways you will find it so easy to choose what to show your client</p>

<p>I am using collages.net. Not much of gap at all. Love the design too. Check em out.<br>

www.collages.net</p>

<p>I second the Tamron 70-200 2.8. This lens has served me very well. E-mail me if you would like to see some samples.</p>

<p>I was a sports photagrapher. My wife had a friend who was a "professional" she destroyed my wedding photos. She used a rebel xt (great camera) no 2.8 glass oh, and Pop-up flash! The pics were orange, poses and crops were terrible. Many were blown out, She shot on the "green Box" mode. She was very unprofessional. Photos were processed badly, and printed at Sams Club. I decided then and there to put sports on the back burner and learn weddings. I don't want anyone to have the experiance that I had.</p>

<p>I have a package where they include the JPEG's. It is my most expensiive package. My lower packages have prints included, of those prints selected I include "digital negatives" on CD. This has helped me get print sales on the other proofs not included in the package. If they bought it once I let em have it. It dosen't affect my reprint orders <em>too</em> much, plus it's a great referal tool (three already on my holiday portrait packages)</p>

<p> </p>

I am using collages.net

 

Lots of compliments on their wraps. I actually use them to print everything, including my albums.

 

Check em out...www.collages.net

I set a custom wb with my expo disc for every weddding I do. Only takes a couple of seconds and I have a WB for the room and situation I am shooting. Remember AWB actually stands for "awful white balance"!!

I also share leads with a few photographers I know. (list of four or five) I have also had one or two of them second shoot for me if they are not booked. They return the favor from time to time. We have a pretty good thing going. I don't usually ask for a referral fee, but I sometimes get one, ocasionally it may be us going to dinner, or a bottle of whine, that stuff seems to go a long way in developing a relationship with them, and I get a few ballgame buddies out of it!

Johanna, you will need a couple of good lenses to shoot a wedding. Recomendations Sigma 70-200 2.8 (Ceramony shots) Sigma 24-70 2.8 Portraits (on the crop body it will give u the feel of an 85) and a Canon 50mm1.8 (fantastic plastic) You can find it on amazon for about $50-$70.00 If you only get one lens before the wedding the 70-200 2.8 is a good most purpose lens. Get a flash too, maybe a used 430 ex or a 580. Trust me, these are tools you will need at a wedding.

Light meter will help you achieve the appropriate exposure. I recomen the sekonic 358. Great meter, reasonably priced. Trust me if you wish to shoot professionaly you need a handheld meter.

 

 

On the manual question, I shoot manual from the camera and the ETTL will talk to the flash for the appropriate light output. Best of luck

 

sainfocusphoto.com

Are the umbrellas strobes or hot lights? Catherine is right shoot in Raw. You can do some really cool effects after the shoot. If you are looking for poses, look at maxum, cosmo, and magzines like that. You can usually find a couple of pose ideas in there. Good luck.

Great pics in your portfolio! Shooting a wedding is alot of work and there is alot to make sure you get. E-mail me at jim@sainfocusphoto.com and I will forward you my shot list. These are only my must have shots, the creative stuff and opprotunity shots will seem to come up while you are shooting what is on the list!

24-70 on a crop body will be a waste of money. Replace the 24-70 with a 17-55 EFS (they are made exclusively fofr the crop bodies and it is still a 2.8.) Add the 50 and a 70-200 2.8 Sigmasis half the price of canon's and is a great lens. Good Luck

I love my "Fong Bong". I don't use it all the time, it is not right for all situations (for those situations, I use a stoffen) but for outdoor portrait shoots and wedding work, the "fong bong" has served me well. Remember the fong bong is a tool, when used properly it can be a tremendous asset. Best of luck.

Alex,

 

I would consider the alien bee lights. I love them for portrait lighting. You can adjust the power on the modeling lamp to reflect what the strobe will look like (what you see is what you get). They are relativeley inexpensive. You can get a package of four lights for $1700.00. Also I would recomend a softbox for your main light, a shoot through umbrella for fill, another softbox (strip) for your hair light and a scoop for the background light. Check the alien bee site, they have packages and lots of ideas for the lighting you are talking about. Good Luck!

Alien Bees! Yeah! These are my favorite lights (800's) I have four and love the "What you see is what you get approach).

Thank yo all so much for your responses! I think all considered the 5D may be the way to go. I may also wait around a bit for the new 5D upgrade!

Thanks for your quick response! I have been leaning toward the 5D for a long time. The 1Ds just presented itself as an option a couple of day ago.

Hi Everybody. I am in the market for a full frame body. My wife and I shoot

weddings, Portraits and the ocasional Sporting event (Soccer & Hockey). My

budget is about $2,000. I have found a few 1Ds's on Ebay for about $1900. My

question is: is this camera worth it? Is the prestige of owning a 1D (even if

it is used) all that is really driving me here? I know it is only 11

megapixeles to 12 on the 5D. But is the 1D faster (fps) than the 5D? I need a

good workhorse camera which one would you choose? Thanks in advance for your

time and responses.

Get a used 30D and a 70-200 lens. You can't get a fast enough camera for $200. 30D and a Sigma 70-200 lens should run about $1400. It seems like a steep investment, but it will pay off in the end! Good luck.

Broadway photo is terrible. I called them about a 40D. They knew nothing, and were high pressure. I had a bad feeling about them, so I didn't deal with them at all. Remember if the prices seem to good to be true...They are! B&H or Amazon are the places to go!