First paid photo shoot - DATE: 23 March 2013

[Don Haines]

I shoot with a 60D. It can do the job.... obviously other cameras are better.... but if you are renting one, will you have it in time to get enough practice to use it well..... My friend has a 5DII and it takes time to adapt from one camera to another, unless you have lots of experience with both.

I would say that #1 is to get a 32G memory card or two..... you can fill them up in a hurry shooting a wedding.

Shoot RAW (or RAW and jpg).... you can do so much more with a raw file.... like post correct white balance problems.... and there WILL be white balance problems....

If you do decide to shoot video clips, turn of image stabilization or you will clearly hear the camera motors on the video. Hint: a cell phone with a voice recording ap makes a free external mike....

Get a spare battery or see if you can borrow one. The LP-E6 is used in a number of Canon Cameras so it should be really easy to find on short notice...

You are going to need at least one fast lens for indoors.... with a crop camera I would say something around 30mm, but if on a budget there is the 40mm pancake and the 50mm f1.8. The 50 f1.8 has a cheap plastic built and feels like a toy, but it does take good pictures.

And YOU are the photographer... make sure the powers that be understand that this means that some of the time has to go to you to get those special pictures and when they are posing, don't let Aunt Bertha bump you out of the way...

[robbymack]

 
Millions of weddings have been shot just fine with lesser equipment.  I have photos that are well over 100 years old, and they look fine, and they used equipment with maybe 1% of the capability you have. 
 

+ 1 true words


To the OP please do report back after the event and post some images.  I am sure you will do just fine.  It's always important to remember that if they turned to you they likely weren't going to be spending a bunch of money for a really experienced photographer (not that pricing in any way dictates quality), so they were going to probably get someone to do it on the cheap and not someone with considerably more experience than you.  I can guarantee you that you will not only care more than this person, but produce finer images than who they may have hired.

[Bruce Photography]

I'm not doing weddings anymore, but.....

Express mail at least three or four 32 San Disk Extreme Pro SD cards and shoot Raw. 

The suggestion that someone else made about a larger flash is a good one with a boatload of batteries and/or a quick charger (minimum of 8 batteries with quick charger).  Can you get a diffuser at the same time (I mostly use Gary Fong Lightshpere) when you might get a flash? 

[DCM1024]

If you're not able to get a bigger flash, ask for the lights to be turned up during important events at the reception. Must take more memory cards! Try to borrow a 2nd body and the 5m 1.8....

[HappyDan4]

Get a friend to help out.  When you're busy setting up the shot (and the camera), you won't likely be paying attention to the small details like a crooked tie, or food on a child's face, or crazy background props, or even spacing between group shots.  A second set of eyes is a lifesaver that could save an otherwise perfect shot. 

[wickidwombat]

heres some quick tips from me

1) DO NOT TRY HDR AT A WEDDING!

2) your idea of having some sample ideas handy is very good, do you have an iphone? just stash them in that and you can get easy access to quickly scan them (easier and more on hand than a printed book)

3) everyone recomending the 50 f1.8 II is right it is cheap and good, dont use it wide open too much around f2 to f2.2 its quite nice and sharp but still gives nice shallow DOF

4) try borrow a second body changing lenses is hard when the pressure is on

5) consider renting s 17-55 f2.8 for the day for your main lens this will make a massive difference over the kit lens (if you rented this you could probably get away with not bothering with the 50 f1.8 and thus eliminating lens changes altogether) 1 less thing to worry about

6) dont shoot groups of people with wide apertures a easy rule of thumb is make sure your aperture is about equal to the number of people in the shot with f8 or f11 for really big groups

7) research and learn second curtain sync and dragging the shutter (I posted some detailed info about this in another thread a while ago i cant remember exactly which one) this technique will allow you to use not too high iso slow shutter speed flash and still get sharp shots in low light events. practice it alot before hand get your wife or girlfriend or both to dance around in a low lit room and practice until you are confident of this techinique
It is essential.

EDIT: found the thread http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=12673.45


learn about balancing flash and ambient exposure this avoids the bunny in headlight look or the flash didnt have enough juice look

9) carry lots of spare batteries for cameras and flash and spare memory cards

10) bounce flash when you can but dont be afraid of using direct flash either

11) wear black clothes you dont want to show up in a bright hawian shirt as a catchlight in the brides eyes
also it will stop you casting any reflected colour cast from spilled flash light

12) make sure you get detail shots of decorations, brides jewelry, shoes table decorations etc you dont need a macro for this just get the shots

13) shoot different angles dont just take every shot from standing eye level otherwise they will all be snap shots so play with some creative angles.

there is plenty more stuff to think about, weddings are full on and high pressure but fun too
goodluck and post back with pics

[FTb-n]

1.) Google wedding photo tips, there's a lot out there.  You will get ideas that will come in handy.  There are a lot of things to shoot at a wedding that seems obvious ... after it's over and too late.  So look for ideas before the event, such as the rings alone, hand-in-hand with rings, the program (if any), the invitation, the table with name tags (if any), etc...

2.) Look for candid opportunity with the kids, especially if they try to hide from you.

3.) SHOOT RAW.  Skip RAW+JPG, just RAW.

4.) Experiment.  Bracket for exposure and for focus point, especially on the important shots.  If shooting a group and you can't stop down for greater DOF, focus on first row, then second row, then third.  When bracketing for exposure, don't limit yourself to shutter speed and fStop, bracket with ISO as well.

5.) For the important staged shots where you (hopefully) have some control over lighting, you will want to shoot at ISO 800 or below.  But, don't be afraid to shoot at 3200 or even 6400.  With candid reception photos, it's more about the moment than a clean image.  Noise will be more acceptable as long as the image is sharp and free of subject blur.

6.) When shooting high ISO, it's better to over-expose than to under expose.  You fix the exposure in post.  An over exposed shot will have less noise than an under exposed shot.  With the 60D, I often find the meter over-exposes 1/3 to 2/3 stops -- so trust it.  If it looks a little bright on the LCD, good.

7.) Get Lightroom 4 and learn how to reduce noise with it.  (Goggle for help)  Lightroom 4 does wonders for ISO 3200-6400.

8.) Practice these techiques before hand, especially the high ISO and over-exposure tip so you know what works with your camera and what a good exposure looks like on the LCD.

9.) If planning any outdoor shots, bring some sort of white reflector.  A 5-in-1 works great, but a 30" white foam core will work as well.  Find an assistand to help with it to lighten any shadows on the Bride and Groom.

10.) Shoot center point focus.

11.) Look into back-button focussing.  If you like the idea, practice it first.  It will give you greater control over picking your subject of focus and locking your exposure (if shooting AV, TV, or P).

12.) Have fun with the shoot and report back to us.

[blaydese]

WOW!  

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
ALL THE WONDERFUL ADVICE
AND WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT !

Sorry I didn't respond sooner, had an event and today
(Friday in Japan) .. I hit the Azaleas festival / park up north...
(I'll post pics over in the HDR of that.)


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I'll respond to EVERYONE'S posts when Canon Rumors STOPS CRASHING !   


Peace!

[blaydese]

Again, thanks and FYI ~ / asking for some light advice..

IF I were to buy one or two lenses, these are what I would buy...

#1.  First Upgrade

#2  Second Upgrade


As for the previous advice, thanks, I will for sure:

SHOOT RAW
NO HDR
BOUNCE LIGHT
EXTRA BATTERY
EXTRA SD CARDS
BE IN CONTROL, BUT DON'T LET ANYONE GET IN MY WAY
EXAMPLES ON PHONE
SHOOT LOTS OF FRAMES
MEET THE FAMILY
BACK-UP
ASSISTANT = SON WILL HELP AND DOWNLOAD PICS TO MY LAPTOP AS NEEDED.
CREATIVITY
PRACTICE
CHECK THE AREA FIRST & SET-UP FIRST
DON'T TRY ANYTHING YOU HAVEN'T DONE BEFORE

 


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---- THINGS I CAN'T DO NOW BUT WILL DO IN THE FUTURE ----


BUY THE ABOVE LENSES


Peace!

[robbymack]

For the crop sensor seriously consider the Efs 17-55 before either of the two you listed.

[blaydese]

For the crop sensor seriously consider the Efs 17-55 before either of the two you listed.

So an S lens is better than an L lens?

Peace!

[Kristofgss]

heres some quick tips from me
1) DO NOT TRY HDR AT A WEDDING!

I am curious about this one. Why not do the normal-under-over-exposed picture with three consecutive shots? Worst case, you end up losing less than a second of shooting time and throw away two of the three images. I would definitely not recommend this for a complete wedding, but one picture fo the bride and groom or the family done like this can't hurt?

[emag]

For the crop sensor seriously consider the Efs 17-55 before either of the two you listed.

So an S lens is better than an L lens?
Peace!

'Better' is relative....'more useful for you' would be the appropriate phrase.  Don't get the 24-105 by itself, get it as a kit lens when you go FF.  I think you'll do an excellent job with this shoot and that the 60D will soon be a backup to a 6D.

[Vossie]

You got some very good advice already and picked out the most important elements!

If you bring a laptop (with sufficient free disk space) and an assistant to back-up your cards, the cards you have now will suffice. Extra batteries (cam + flash) are always useful to have. Also put a lens cloth in your pocket (just in case) and make sure to have a card with suffient empty space and batteries with sufficient juice loaded before the "key events" of the wedding.



IF you plan to buy new lenses in the future: the 24-105L is a great lens, but on a crop body the 17-55 2.8 is probably a better match as it gives you the equivalent of a 27-88mm zoom, whereas the 24-105 gives you the equivalent of 38-168mm on a 1,6x crop body. 27-88 is a much more useable "all-round" focal lens range. In addition, the 17-55 gives you an extra stop of light, so half the shutterspeed at equivalent light + a shallower depth-of-field for nice out-of-focus backgrounds.

The 100-400 is a great lens, I have owned one for over a decade now and still use it a lot (in the past on crop bodies, now on full frame). It is great for wildlife, but do not expect much use of it indoors or at weddings (it's too long and too dark for that).

Good luck, curious to see the outcome!

[wickidwombat]

heres some quick tips from me
1) DO NOT TRY HDR AT A WEDDING!

I am curious about this one. Why not do the normal-under-over-exposed picture with three consecutive shots? Worst case, you end up losing less than a second of shooting time and throw away two of the three images. I would definitely not recommend this for a complete wedding, but one picture fo the bride and groom or the family done like this can't hurt?

kidding aren't you? have you seen what "HDR" makes people look like? essentially zombies, sure some bracketing of certain shots might work for later exposure blending of certain elements however
the amount of time changing settings to bracketing in an already fast paced high stress environment on his
FIRST wedding shoot? gotta look at it all in context
refer to this thread for said context
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=8065.0