My first wedding Help!

[Canon Cliff]

Hi i am new to this forum and i was hopeing you guys/girls experianced in wedding photography could help me and share some of your advise. I have agread to do the photography at a friends wedding as they have a small budget, i was full of confidence to start with but as the day gets closer i am getting more worried about messing the hole thing up.

I have a 60d with grip, 17-55 f2.8, 50-150 f2.8 sigma & 50 f1.4, 430ex ii, 580ex ii.

I was going to use aperture priority with auto iso so i only had to worry about the aperture to use.

I would be realy great full if you guys would share what settings you would use for bride & groom shots and group shots etc, also what lenses would you use and when if you had my kit i.e 17-55 for candid shots of guests? 50mm for bride groom shots, 50-150 in the church etc etc.

Many thanks for your help in advance!!!

[PhilDrinkwater]

There's no "right and wrong settings" - just good photography. However, heres some things that might help:

I would do everything possible to not shoot below 1/60th. People move. You can do it, but you have to be careful.

Unless you're really good with your focussing, don't below f4 if you can help it, or take safe shots first and then try something funky. Groups I'd do at f5.6 or more.

While we're on focussing, focus on the eyes.

If you're going to shoot ap, learn to use exposure compensation very very well. Backlit scenes especially will cause a significant problem. In fact, I'd suggest shooting manual when the light isn't changing (eg in church).

Look at the back of the camera a lot.

Check your ISO regularly. You'll probably forget to change it at some important point.

Shoot raw. You may need it. (while I don't advocate raw to rescue shots, there is no denying it does provide that in addition to other benefits).

Go round your house and garden with someone or something and photograph it. You may have a maximum of 5-10 seconds to get the exposure right. Ideally you'd get it in 1-2 seconds. Keep moving from room to room and from different angles indoors and out. When you can do that consistently, you're ready. (well actually consistent exposure is only the beginning of wedding photography, but an important beginning)

I would suggest you turn this down. The quickest way to lose a friend is mess their wedding up. They don't understand how easy it would be for this to happen because the general public think because you have a big camera, that does all of the work. Or try to assist someone and get them to teach you.

[bycostello]

with that kit i'd have the 50-150 on the camera all day...

[brattymesler]

As far as lens choice goes, I'd say you'll probably end up using the 50-150 all through the service.  For the reception and portraits, I'd glue on the 17-55, and for the prep shots I'd use the 50 1.4 or the 17-55 because that is when you'll want the shallowest depth of field for some of your shots.

[mitchell3417]

with that kit i'd have the 50-150 on the camera all day...

+1
The 50-150. is going to be your bread and butter. It's really hard to catch a facial expression or feel close to the action with a 17-55mm. The only time I would use that is for large groups if you can't get far enough back or for a few establishing shots during the ceremony.

I have a 17-55, love it. But when I shoot weddings, it doesn't see much action.

[Brymills]

Don't make the composition too tight. Leave yourself some room to straigten up lines and angles without cropping off peoples feet and hats.

[dshipley]

Hi i am new to this forum and i was hopeing you guys/girls experianced in wedding photography could help me and share some of your advise. I have agread to do the photography at a friends wedding as they have a small budget, i was full of confidence to start with but as the day gets closer i am getting more worried about messing the hole thing up.

I have a 60d with grip, 17-55 f2.8, 50-150 f2.8 sigma & 50 f1.4, 430ex ii, 580ex ii.

I was going to use aperture priority with auto iso so i only had to worry about the aperture to use.

I would be realy great full if you guys would share what settings you would use for bride & groom shots and group shots etc, also what lenses would you use and when if you had my kit i.e 17-55 for candid shots of guests? 50mm for bride groom shots, 50-150 in the church etc etc.

Many thanks for your help in advance!!!

Bits of advice...

1. Being your first wedding even if you're not asked to attend the rehearsal make sure you do. This will give you an overview of the lighting, layout of the church, where people will be during the ceremony, etc. Also, this is a great time to introduce yourself to the church staff / officient and discuss what areas are off limits during the ceremony (you don't want to get in the way).

2. Ask your client to make a list of shots that they absolutely must have. You don't want to assume you know only to discover that you've upset your client after the fact. Since you're new and probably don't have a style of shooting you might ask your client to send over some wedding photos they like. This will give you an idea of what they're looking for (and really should give you an idea of if you can meet those expectations).

3. Make sure you're covered with enough batteries and memory cards to have the day covered. Also, make sure you back everything up.

4. Know your camera's weaknesses and strengths. Does it meter accurately? Does it focus accurately on all AF points? Does AF tracking work well and if so in all situations or only some? I'm not familiar with with 60D so I can't make any suggestions there.

5. Keep your cool.

[Quasimodo]

Hi i am new to this forum and i was hopeing you guys/girls experianced in wedding photography could help me and share some of your advise. I have agread to do the photography at a friends wedding as they have a small budget, i was full of confidence to start with but as the day gets closer i am getting more worried about messing the hole thing up.

I have a 60d with grip, 17-55 f2.8, 50-150 f2.8 sigma & 50 f1.4, 430ex ii, 580ex ii.

I was going to use aperture priority with auto iso so i only had to worry about the aperture to use.

I would be realy great full if you guys would share what settings you would use for bride & groom shots and group shots etc, also what lenses would you use and when if you had my kit i.e 17-55 for candid shots of guests? 50mm for bride groom shots, 50-150 in the church etc etc.

Many thanks for your help in advance!!!

I was in the exact same situation as you are now a few weeks ago. They had a hired professional for the formal shots, but I took the rest. I was so nervous to not get the good shots, that I ended up with 48GB (shooting full jpg and Raw on my 5D II). After deleting the unsharp pictures, they were left with 1422 pictures to select from.

My tip is twofold; One, talk to them and ask them what shots are importent for them to be left with (do they want process shots, the bride dressing up, and such?), pictures of all the speeches?, and the list goes on.
Second, try to get the most important shots before you loose the light.. The better part of my unsharp pictures were the ones where I had to use a flash, but then again its hard to push for the wedding waltz before dinner because of your lighting situation;)

I also, not discussed with them before, took quite a bit of pictures that might provide a good fill in a wedding album (pictures of food, - for instance the waiters placed all the food on a big table before serving, so they can deliver fast. I took pictures of that) pictures of the roses or flowers, the rings on the invitation. The list goes on.

Hope this helps.
 

[Fatalv]

I too am in a similar situation. However, I have worked as a second shooter for another wedding so I'm fairly confident in my ability to get shots at the reception. The scariest part for me is the bride walking down the isle. Just one of those shots you can't, can't, can't screw up.

My idea (and please offer advice, feel free to tell me i'm wrong, maybe even stupid.. lol) was to stop down some f4.0 at least, high shutter speed 1/160 at least, and use iso, flash for fill light. I just want to make sure focus sharp, everything is properly in focus, and no motion blur.

FWIW I'll be shooting 5dmk3/7d, 600ex-rt/430ex2, 70-200f2.8, 50 f1.4, 16-35f2.8

[phischeye]

Your friend asked you to shoot his wedding which means he trusts you, and has seen your images before. Make sure to talk to him about the shots he wants and what he likes. Make sure to know, to realy know, the agenda of the day. What happens when and where. If you can, check out the location before to make sure you know where the light is and where szenes might be difficult.

Shoot as much as you can and develop a plan where you empty and full memory cards are stored. Copy to a computer as soon as possible, make additional backups if you can.

For the groupshot. Get up high, like on a chair or ladder if the group is large. That way its easier to get all faces visible and no one is hidden behind an other person. Use a wide lense and an aperture of like f/8 for sharpness.

Consider getting a backup camera. Borrow one from a friend. If anything goes wrong, switch camaeras and continue the shoot.

Don't experiment with tricks you haven't used before. This is not the time to try out new things.

Make sure you have images of the bride and groom (a no brainer) but also of the szene and people around. Take individual shots of the guests, take a close up of the rings, flowers, food... maybe the table bevfore everyone comes in... These are great for fotobooks later and will give a good impression of the whole day. Mix

Your photos might not make it on the cover of a magazine, but if you friend loves them, you win!

Good luck.

[MK5GTI]

judging from your gear list, i would strongly suggest having a back up body.

either rent or buy another 60D (since you are familiar with it, and battery can be share).

if you rent, you can mount your 50-150 on one, 17-55 on the other.

if you buy, you can just use if for a back up, if you end up didn't touch it, you can refund it.

[distant.star]

.
Your particular equipment and settings aside, I suggest you do some research on this forum. In the last six months to a year the equivalent of a seminar in basic wedding photography has been offered in various threads. Most of it is excellent and timeless.

Do some homework and you'll learn more than you could imagine.

Best wishes and congratulations to those forming a family!

[Canon Cliff]

Hi, Thanks for all your comments there is some sound advise there and it is very very much appreciated! to set the seen a little i do have the luxury of going to the church grounds as it is local and i plan on doing this to find out where the sun is at certain times etc and to hopefully find some nice background/areas to take the bride groom shots. I have requested a must take list which i think is in progress. I love the idea of getting them to show me images they have seen and liked for me to try and get if my ability allows it!?!?

The 50-150 sigma is a great lens and gives great quality images in my opinion, especially since its been serviced and calibrated, probably not up there with L lenses on full frame though my only concern with it is that although its a consistent 2.8 lens its quite slow in low light and the keeper rate is proberly not as good as a canon lens in terms of focus accuracy that goes for ai servo mode to!

I always find using auto iso i am right on the limit of the focal length / shutter speed rule do you think this will be ok or should i remember to keep adjusting it manually? id like to be able to set it on auto and forget about it as i am properly going to have so much other stuff going through my mind aswell as the nerves going. what do you guys use?

I was also planning on using centre weighted metering do you guys have any recommendation on this.

I do have use of a second body i can borrow my old 450d from a friend that now has it so mabe i will arrange that with him so i have a back up incase my 60d does pack up.

once again all your help and advice is very very much appreciated!!! Thanks guys!

 

[Axilrod]

Make sure you have a light tripod or monopod, as 50-150mm on an APS-C sensor is pretty tight and hard to shoot handheld with.  Just try and shoot as many pictures as you can, the more you have all together the more keepers you'll end up with.  If you aren't sure you nailed a certain shot make sure you snap a few extra just in case.  It may be worth renting a 2nd body and keeping the 17-55 on one and the 50-150 on the other, but if you're not comfortable with 2 bodies that could end up hurting you.

Either way just keep in mind that most people at the wedding aren't going to be as critical of the pictures as you are, so just try and have fun with it.  No matter what happens you'll learn a lot and be that much more experienced the next time you get an opportunity to shoot.  Good luck to you!

[Quasimodo]

just wanted to give an example of the kind of fill shots I talked about (I don't want to publish photos I took of people without their content, hence the food pic).

Another shot you might want to think about is during the speeches. In Norway it is not uncommon for both the groom and the bride to speak to eachother. In these shots you need to think about positioning of yourself, and aperture, so you get both the one speaking and the one being spoken to. If you get to catch this situation and the reaction the speech provokes to the listener, is in my opinion great, - although I had to climb over other guests to get it:)