what lens to use

[Chuck Lee]

I am newto the shooting world and bought a Canon XS. My daughter is getting married and I've been asked to use what little expertise I have to shoot the wedding. If I was to buy 1 lens to get this done, which lens do you suggest and why?

Welcome to the TDP.com Forum.


You will want this: Canon EF 28-135 f3.5-5.6 IS USMwhich you can purchase here:


You will want a protective UV filter which can also be added from here:


Because it's outside, you will wantsunglasses for your lens from here:(you will then want to read this Camera Lens FiltersIt will help you to understand how to use a circular polarizer. It will turn you HI wedding photos from OK to WOW)


And get a lens hood here:This not only blocks side light that causes flaring but also protects the lens if you drop the camera.


I believe with shipping, that comes to a little under your budget price of 600 USD. Don't forget to pick up a couple of extra memory cards, lens clothes, and a nice bag to carry your camera in. We (my wife and I) like the Lowepro Slingshot bags from here:


My wife uses this lens on her 40D with great results. It is a great value. I've shot insidea museum with it mounted to my 5D and was able to get tack sharp hand held photos down to 1/8sec. shutter speed.Except for a little sloer zoom in the IQ is very comparable too the much heralded 24-105 f4L IS USM professional level lens.


Finally, once purchased, practice. It's a digital camera. Take a ton of practice photos before you go to the wedding. Try all sorts of scenarios. Try using flash for outside shadow fill. (There're a lot of good tutorials on that subject available) Please, whatever you do, don't show up at your daughters wedding thinking the camera is going to figure everything out. If you are going to do this for her, take it seriously and prepare properly. You will be at ease which will allow you to have a lot more fun at your daughters wedding. That's why, I'll hire someone when my son gets married. I'm too over the top about it!! []

[Sinh Nhut Nguyen]

Don't do it man, don't do it! Just hire a pro and enjoy the wedding.


Here's an article I think it would be hepful to you


http://www.all-things-photography.com/wedding-photo-tips-for-amateurs.html


BTW welcome to the Forums []

[Dallasphotog]

Don't do it man, don't do it! Just hire a pro and enjoy the wedding.


Here's an article I think it would be hepful to you


[url="http://www.all-things-photography.com/wedding-photo-tips-for-amateurs.html]http://www.all-things-photography.com/wedding-photo-tips-for-amateurs.html[/url]


BTW welcome to the Forums [img]/emoticons/emotion-1.gif[/img]



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What he said...


Weddings aren't impossible, but they put strain on equipment and technique that causes a lot of bad pictures for first time photographers. There are simply no do-overs on the bride in the aisle, the first kiss,etc. I shoota wedding every few weeksat the peak of the season and I've been shooting weddings since 1981. I still have moments of total cold sweat panic.


And, it's not all about skill. I have 6 Canon bodies,4-6 batteries per body, two dozen CF cards, flashes, rechargeable flash batteries, and two dozen lens choices. You don't know what will break, what lighting you'll encounteror even if it's going to rain on the outdoor reception (1DMKII; weather sealed!).


This is the one type of photography where professionals make a pretty big difference in the outcome.

[Rodger]

Welcome to the forums!


I vote with the "hire a pro" ballots. Again, to reiterate the others, this is nothing about your skill. But trust me, you will be panicked and the wedding will not be fun for you. Enjoy your daughter's wedding! Don't trouble yourself with shooting it!


I shot my best friend's brother's wedding because they had no one else to do it. At the time, I'd been shooting for under a year. (Still only been shooting for a year and two months). It was the single most stressful event of my life. (Moreso than the SATs! haha).


Again, this isn't to say that weddings are impossible, but they're just a whole new ball game that I wasn't ready for.


So in conclusion, please please please don't feel discouraged or anything, but take the day and enjoy the festivities! And keep practicing shooting in different scenarios and such.


Rodger

[jks]

hello just learning,


from what i gleaned from your thread you really don't have to buy anything. Thekit lens that came with you camera if indeed it was kit lens will suffice.You already have everything you need. I believe you also have a 430ex flash. you are all set equipment wise.


I say this becausei'm thinking,you or your daughter didn't hire are pro because you or she might be thinking of saving herself or you a little money and you going out and buying a new lens just defeats that overall thought of "saving".


Now others say a pro will do a better job. there is always that possibility especially since you yourself say you have little expertise. But then again that works two ways. A person who doesn't know much about photography could care less if pictures were taken with a point and shoot camera. these people only care to see faces and places clearly in every shoot. These people are not nit pickers. Just as long as the pictures are clear and sharp and with vibrant colors it will be okay to them and you have the equipment to give them those kind of pictures. Sure pros will take a better angle on the shot and better lighting etc. but then will it really matter to the people looking at the pictures??? Also just think of how proud you daughter will be showing off herwedding photos that her FATHER took.


Maybe later if and when you seriously getinto all this photgraphy stuff that you will notice faults [if any] with the pictures you took. Sure there won't be any re doing of the pictures but then again that's part of the learning curve. I have been there. People i take pictures of, never reaLLY CARED on what equipment i use or the style used so that photo will come out looking good. what matters to themis it looks good. Believe me you already have the needed equipment to shoot you daughter's wedding. As long as you do your part that is to look into the viewfinder and focus, the camera will take care of the rest. That's part of the beauty of digital cameras unlike in the old days when film was used you really have to have an undrstanding of photography to be able to take pictures.


Just go there have fun take pictures am sure everything will turn out great. I'm sure you will make your daughter proud of the pictures you took.[]

[Lars]

Hello.


I just want to share some experience. I have been asked a few times by friends to be the photographer during weddings and other festivities. Once, I never got any feedback on the pictures, in fact I haven't yet seen them (I gave my friend the un-developed film), and am pretty sure it was no success. It is quite a responsibility to be the "official" photographer during a wedding. The last wedding I attended, the couple had hired a professional photographer, while I could shoot without the stress of delivering memorable pictures. What a relief, and in fact the pictures turned out so good that I am making a photobook for the couple to give at their 1st anniversary. If someone ask me to be the wedding photographer again, I would say no, recommend a professional and rather enjoy the wedding. However, I would make sure that I was still allowed to shoot pictures for my own sake, and rather surprise the couple with the nice pictures of situations that professionals never pick up. If you want an excuse to buy new lenses, I am sure something else will come up pretty soon.

[MikeWhy]

jks, I don't know how to say this gently. It decidedly is not a question of the equipment, but of putting together an album for the bride and groom. Maybe I'm being a bit glum, but I think the odds of ending with a pile of unusably harsh sunlit or unusably dark backlit snaps seems pretty high right now based on the OP's description. Blowing sunshine at him with your well meaning thoughts is just crazy.


All that aside, the father of the bride has plenty of responsibility to family and guests that day already. I don't know for sure, but I suspect a pro, someone who does this for others daily, would have to demur at his own daughter's wedding. He has to be a father and host first.

[malfunctions]

I have done a few weddings and in my opinion, apart from a good assistant to help do the groupings, factor in the light, the focussing DOF etc., the 24 - 70 2.8 covers most with the 70 - 200 capturing the candids. Maybe a style thing; get in close or enjoy the separation. OK for friends but since you are the 'host' (traditionally at least down under), hire the pro and enjoy the festivities! Good luck.

[neuroanatomist]

All that aside, the father of the bride has plenty of responsibility to family and guests that day already. I don't know for sure, but I suspect a pro, someone who does this for others daily, would have to demur at his own daughter's wedding. He has to be a father and host first.

Bingo. I have two friends who are pro photographers, and also friends with each other. In both cases, when their kids got married, they hired a respected 3rd pro to shoot their kids' weddings. They didn't even consider shooting it themselves, nor hiring their pro-photographer friend to do it. There are lots of reasons for that, primarily because they wanted to enjoy the weddings, but also for other, practical reasons. For example, if you're at a wedding where you know some guests and don't know others, you're more likely to capture shots of people you know - that's human nature. But everyone was invited - with the obvious caveat that those in the wedding party should have photos taken throughout the event (including the reception), all the guests should be represented in the photo set somewhere, if possible. As I alluded to above, if something goes wrong, it's better to be able to 'blame' someone else, rather than ruining a personal relationship.


One other comment of jks's that I'll disagree with is, "A person who doesn't know much about photography could care less if pictures were taken with a point and shoot camera. these people only care to see faces and places clearly in every shoot." People who come into my office and see shots of daughter on my computer desktop often ask if those are professional shots. I'm certainly not a pro, but what they're reacting to is the out-of-focus background blur that can only be readily achieved with the larger sensors and wider apertures of an SLR/dSLR, not with a point-and-shoot. The 'clear faces' in shots that are isolated from a distracting background make a bigger visual impact.


To just learning, to reiterate the advice from many people above, I really think you'll be doing your daughter a big disservice by taking this on yourself. Mostly due to the fact that to do it right, you'll need to abdicate what should be your main responsibilities as her father during the day. Many people skip hiring a pro photographer to save money on wedding costs, and have an amateur with decent equipment do the job. In fact, for many amateurs, having a dSLR, especially with a big white Canon lens on it, is a surefire way to get asked to shoot a friend's wedding! But in those cases, the well-meaning amateur is not a member of the immediate family/wedding party (and also in many cases, that well-meaning amateur finds him/herself way out of their depth!).

[jks]

People who come into my office and see shots of daughter on my computer desktop often ask if those are professional shots. I'm certainly not a pro, but what they're reacting to is the out-of-focus background blur that can only be readily achieved with the larger sensors and wider apertures of an SLR/dSLR, not with a point-and-shoot. The 'clear faces' in shots that are isolated from a distracting background make a bigger visual impact.

I guess I made a mistake by assuming that people who are not into photography are the same wherever they may be. But what I said holds true for my experience in my part of the world. There was even one person who asked "why is the background blurred??" upon seeing one of the pictures displayed in my photo lab.