Wedding Shooting Essentials

[mattsartin]

I'm shooting my first wedding at the end of July (very excited) and need some help making sure I've got my bases covered. I'm going to be using my own Rebel XTi, 50mm f/1.4 and Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8. I'm thinking of renting a 5D mkII with a 24mm f/1.4 L, 135mm f/2 L and probably a 430 EX flash. Does this sound like the way to go? I definitely want to use primes for the bright apertures, I don't know where it'll be held or what the lighting will be like just yet, I meet with them this week. Any and all advice is very much appreciated. I'm planning on using Lensrentals.com if anyone has any experience with them they can comment on. Thank you all very much!

[Dave Johnston]

I like your idea about getting a second body for the job... but I would hold off on choosing the lenses for it until you know what the shooting situation will be. Otherwise good luck. I remember the first wedding I shot.... it was fun, butnerve wracking.


Regards,


Dave.

[randmc]

I did my first wedding with an XSI, a 17-55, and a rented 70-200 2.8 IS. I had a P&S as a back-up, but didn't realize I had left it in the car until 2 minutes before the ceremony!


With several memory cards and a couple of batteries, I felt ready to do it. Looking forward to doing more, and would certainly like a second body.


I got lucky that this couple was very chilled about what they wanted. They had just asked for some casual shots with a P&S, so what I delivered really exceeded their expectations by far! Yes, I was a bit nervous, but I did what I knew to do, and it worked out.

[bardinjw]

Lensrentals is great, and highly recommended. Make sure you get your equipment with enough lead time to practice. The 5dmkII is a different animal than a rebel, and you need to be comfortable with it during the fast pace of a wedding. Not only are the controls different, but I find the 5d meters/exposes differently as well.


I would also recommend the 580exII (or two) instead of the 430exII. You get more power, and faster recycle times, and you may need as much light as you can get.

[neuroanatomist]

I would also recommend the 580exII (or two) instead of the 430exII. You get more power, and <s>faster recycle times</s>, and you may need as much light as you can get.

I'm not so sure about the faster recycle time part. I believe that the 580EX II has a longer recycle time than the 430EX II (at least to full charge), which makes sense - both are powered by 4 AA-size batteries, and since the 580EX II is more powerful, filling the capacitor with charge from the same power source is going to take longer. The 580EX II can have much faster recycle times with additional hardware, since unlike the 430EX II, it can be used with an external battery pack like theCanon CP-E4 Compact Battery Pack (which holds 8 AA-sized batteries).


But I agree with the recommendation to go with the 580EX II over the 430EX II. You might not be able to use flash at all during the ceremony - thus<span>mattsartin'schoices of 5D2, with its low ISO noise, combined with fast lenses is a good idea. But the room for the reception may be large, and require a more powerful flash.

[Shea Design]

Firstly I hope you have an assistant (or two). There are 'wedding shot list' on the internet that one can edit, print and check off as you work. I'll 3rd the 580exII's and suggest you rent pocket wizards to radio trigger them (budget permitting). BTW - A little CTO gel can warm up pasty white skin. Best,


-Shea

[iND]

I DO WEDDINGS


You MUST have 2 bodies (ie 50D, 40D, 7D, plus a 5D would be ideal. remember we did weddings when we only had a 20D)


You MUST have a zoom on one body, the action is too fast to try to change lenses constantly. 24-70 2.8 is ideal
You MUST have fast lenses (not 4.0 or 5.6)
You NEED a 70-200 2.8 on the other body (now you have 24-200 covered)


You need one fast lens (50 1.4 is fine, you can go 35 or 85 but 135 is too long)


There are those who are using a 28-200.Traditionally a travel lens but it is 3.5. Ok if you are outside or have great light.


Plan on poor inisdie light.
Plan on NOT flashing for the ceremony
Plan on going to the rehearsal to get your flow down
Plan to have an assistant





The 580exII is a must along with lots of back up batteries.


You need lots of memory


If this is your first wedding concentrate on the entire day. If you spend time trying to get fancy you might loose out on other shots.


DO NOT DO YOUR FIRST WEDDING WITHOUT A SECOND PHOTOGRAPHER.


Most of your results depend less on your equipment than on your preparation. Know in advance your settings and your equipment well


The wedding is NO TIME to experiment. Go with what you are capable of doing. Composition very important, timing is important.


DONT TAKE ON THIS TASK LIGHTLY.

[Brendan7]

Okay, I'll admit I didn't read all the posts in this thread, but I'll try to give you some advice.


1. Use two bodies. You won't have the time to switch lenses.


2. I personally think 24mm is too wide. I'd pick the 35mm instead.


3. I also think 135mm is too long! Try renting the 85mm f/1.2. With those 2 lenses you'll be able to cover all the bases.


4. Stop the primes down a bit. f/1.2 and f/1.4 can be tricky to use.


5. If the wedding is inside you'll need the flash and a good bounce-thingy (you know what I mean)


6. Have fun.


7. bye.

[TucsonTRD]

I have never shot a wedding so I don't have any tips other than what I have read, and they have already been posted. But I would like to hear how things went when you are done. What worked, what didn't, what you needed, what you didn't need, etc.

[peety3]

It's not about the gear.


If you don't know what gear you need, you have even bigger problems.


If you use an XTi, rent one or two more Rebels. Do not venture into a two-digit or one-digit body. I've tried to go back and forth with an XTi and something else; it's not easy, and it's not fun.


If you're going to rent some lenses, rent a 24-70 and a 24/1.4, or a 17-40 and 24-70, or a 17-55 and a 24-70.


Assume that you will drop a lens from 6' as you walk from the car into the venue. Know what you will do when that happens. Don't worry too much about telephoto - you can crop. On the wide end, there's no substitute for focal length.


If you don't know how to determine ambient light's color temperature and balance your flash to match, don't use flash.


LensRentals is the most amazing business to deal with. Figure out what you want, and they'll take care of you.