First wedding assignment - DPChallenge Forums

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro for Canon

03/09/2007 04:48:57 PM · #1

My first ever paid photography assignment!! I will be shooting a wedding this Sunday. Excited and NERVOUS.

Don't know if my gear is enough to shoot a wedding. The wedding is in the evening and indoor. All I have is, 580X flash, 50 mm 1.8, 17-85, and 70-300.

Any advice, suggestions, useful links will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Shailesh

NVPhoto

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

03/09/2007 04:54:37 PM · #2

check the tutorials for wedding photogrpahy 101. pretty simple stuff, but good to see in one tutorial. I would try to find a faster lens in the 24-70 range. The 50 1.8 is good, but the others are a bit on teh slow side. Just a thought.

Prof_Fate

03/09/2007 06:03:40 PM · #3

If you dont' think you're ready, your not.
You need backup gear - body at least, preferably flash and main lens too. THere are no do-overs at a wedding and it's a very high strees and emotional day/event for the bride - not the time to be guessing and wondering if a slow consumer lens (70-300, 17-85) is gonna work. There is a reason pros use 2.8 or faster lenses.

You have 2 days to learn what most in the biz would say takes 2 or 3 years. Posing is a big part of wedding photography - the bride, the groom, the formal shots - and it take experience (and often an assistant) to do well at these.

Good luck.

rex

Canon PowerShot SD780

03/09/2007 06:29:38 PM · #4

Man I think everyone here is made of money.

Just take your time and think things out. Take lots of shots and be friendly but stern with the parties and they will listen and you will get plenty of good shots I am sure of it.

Post some shots when you get them!

Prof_Fate

03/09/2007 08:43:05 PM · #5

Originally posted by rex:

Man I think everyone here is made of money.

??

Getting paid to take photos implies the photographer is capable - artistically and equipment wise. Cameras fail, and not at night sitting o the shelf, but while in use, in the middle of shooting something.

If the B&G didn't expect pro level results they could have bought a camera and given it to a nephew to shoot the day with.

Getting paid - for photography or selling burgers at McD's - means the person doing the job should be competent and prepared to get the job done. If you're not that, then don't take the job - you're not ready.

mecfcosta

Canon EOS-30D

03/09/2007 10:27:15 PM · #6

I think that everyone has to start somewhere. If he was open to the couple about his experience, skills, equipment, etc, and they wanted to give him a chance, or really like his work, I think it's perfectly fine. When I got married I paid a friend of mine with no back-up equipment, no flash, and only two lenses (none of them as fast as you're suggesting) to take my wedding pictures, and both me and my husband were completely satisfied with his job, the pictures came out amazing, and everyone comments on them.
Shailesh, take it easy, try to be calm, try to enjoy taking the photos, and good luck!

Message edited by author 2007-03-09 22:27:40.

rex

Canon PowerShot SD780

03/10/2007 05:32:42 PM · #7

Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

Originally posted by rex:
Man I think everyone here is made of money.

??

Getting paid to take photos implies the photographer is capable - artistically and equipment wise. Cameras fail, and not at night sitting o the shelf, but while in use, in the middle of shooting something.

If the B&G didn't expect pro level results they could have bought a camera and given it to a nephew to shoot the day with.

Getting paid - for photography or selling burgers at McD's - means the person doing the job should be competent and prepared to get the job done. If you're not that, then don't take the job - you're not ready.

The point I am trying to get across is most here thinks you should own the best equipment and that just isn't the case.

jenesis and I shot a wedding and we don't have the fastest lenses and all the best equipment but we got plenty of damn good shots. The bride and groom were 110% satisfied. And we are getting more weddings as we speak.

It is not the equipment that makes the photogrpaher but how he/she uses it.

Message edited by author 2007-03-10 17:42:40.

WillSnaps

Nikon D70s

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D

03/10/2007 05:56:23 PM · #8

damn strait rex. I'm doing a wedding soon, for free but thats ok because it's family. Maybe a little less stress but lots of pressure, from myself mostly. When i was asked to do it I freeked and wanted to go by lots of equipment i couldn't afford. Once i slowed down and thought about it I remembered that creativey comes from behind the camera not always the gear you use. So be creative and work with what you got and when you can afford to get the bomb gear get it. My 2 cents worth.

soup

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

03/10/2007 06:06:58 PM · #9

make sure you have lots of memory cards, and plenty of batteries - especially for the flash. the wedding is in the evening inside, the flash is going to need to fire with every frame most likely.

the flash also won't recharge as fast as you would like it too -w/o an external battery pack for it - and even with that it isn't as fast as i'd like. be concious to change batteries before they are shot, CF cards before they are full, and to keep on top of the action... an assistant would help immensely if they are a good people person...

Skip

Canon EOS-1D X

03/10/2007 10:52:21 PM · #10

relax, have fun. yeah, you're gonna have to take some important photos, but if you take your time, it'll all work out. don't run around like a madman. just take your time to make sure things are in focus. breath on a regular basis. even though they're paying you (which is cool), they probably aren't expecting results that would be published in a bridal magazine. just do the best you can and don't try to over-think it. good luck!

virtuamike

Nikon D2X

Carl Zeiss 35mm ZF f/2.0 Distagon T

03/12/2007 02:07:02 AM · #11

If there's a rehearsal, go. If there's a wedding planner, contact him/her. Equipment is important, but planning is crucial. It'll help you anticipate your shots.

crayon

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH1

03/12/2007 02:09:55 AM · #12

consider renting/loaning a backup body and flash.

kiwinick

Sony DSLR-A550

Sony DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical ED Zoom Lens for Sony Alpha

03/12/2007 02:30:55 AM · #13

I remember my 1st wedding a baptism of fire but take your time dont be put off by any one. Talk it over with the Bride what photos does she want. as far as gear goes I still use a 3.5 lens 28/105 lens that plus a 2.8 100mmm is all I use for most of my weddings.
Weddings have changed with the advent of digital, of the thusand or more images taken really how many will be treasured by the B/G? last wedding i did I filled 2 512 cards. I took considered photos, took me 3hours of time and the couple are over the moon.
One wedding I saw was lterally machine gunned thousans of images most of them not worth the space on the card. Seems to me the more you take the more you charge. Never mind the quality,feel the width as they say.

04/09/2007 01:12:07 AM · #14

Thanks everyone for your advice earlier. I do realize by now that why you all said I need faster lense. I have to spend lot of time processing pictures due to lack of fast lense.

Please find the wedding shots uploaded to my portfolio.

First Wedding Pictures

Message edited by author 2007-04-09 13:47:06.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

04/09/2007 01:47:26 PM · #15

First Wedding Pictures

I would like to have some comments and open to take the critique.

Simms

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

04/09/2007 02:07:18 PM · #16

First impressions. Lose some of the `flashy` effects. That dont look nice, more tacky than anything.
Also it seems you have added background blur to a lot of the images, not sure if I like the effect. For a first attempt they are `OK`.

I would recommend bouncing the flash off the ceiling/wall a lot more often to soften shadows and generally light your subject a lot more evenly. Also, a faster zoom lens would be a great asset, an F2.8 mid-range is a must, if you cant afford to buy the Canon then go for the Sigma or Tamron euqivalent. Maybe renting the lenses may be an option, in which case get yourself a fast telephoto as well, something like the 70-200 F2.8L It will definitely benefit you though.

Dont be afraid to push your ISO up as well. I had to shoot a wedding last week in a church at ISO1600. The 5D deals with noise a lot better, but when examined at 100% still shows a LOT of noise, however this will not manifest itself when it comes to printing up the album.

The ones without too much post-processing are better. I like IMG_1912.jpg, very nice, natural shot.

However shot IMG_2312.jpg has far too much processing on it, the `sparkles` the vignette etc. It aint working for me.

I know I sound really harsh, but you asked for critique and I am well known for not pulling any punches.

amathiasphoto

Nikon D300

Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO IF for Nikon

04/09/2007 02:23:43 PM · #17

My first thoughts:

Totally agree with simms on those flashy effects. The purple is just a bit to harsh. I would definately tone that down in photoshop before releasing them to the bride.

As your first wedding though, these are definately nothing to be ashamed of.

You can do this without these lenses that everyone is saying are a must. You just need to be darn comfortable with your equipment, and know spot on what you need to do and when.

I also agree with 2312 being a bit too flashy; BUT you know the bride and groom better than we do. If this is an effect you are sure the bride and groom want, it is their opinion that counts over ours, hands down.

Your posing is pretty good except that you need to watch things in the background more (ie IMG_1978). You are losing info with the girl on the far left and her hair. You are also getting wierd color reflections off of the window in the background, which is very distracting. As soon as I see that, I also try to read the sign behind him, which, I am sure, is an effect that you are not trying for.

IMG_1833 looks like there is one flower on the right hand side that is still black and white. I would double check that.

IMG_1888.jpg is one that I would check out too. I dont know if it is a skin defect, the sun reflecting wierdly or what, but I would photoshop the white spot on his forehead away if I were you.

Image 1921, remove the sign out of the background. It is too centered and to easily read. Same with 1942, 1949, 2199

Brighten 1948 up.

Hope this helps.

Also I would recomend the book Digital wedding photography by glen johnson. Borders has it for 35.00 or so I think.

Good luck and keep shooting!