Lil sister wants me to photograph wedding

413x

413x

413x

Caporegime
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The only slightly appropriate lens is have is nifty 50mm 1.8
I do not feel this is very appropriate what with lack of range
I actually find 50mm an odd distance and it's definitely my least used tool

This isn't that close so there's no rush but what sort of lens should I be looking at? I know lots of you guys do this sort of thing
 
70-200. You could probably pay for most of the wedding for the cost of one though! Can always rent. 50mm still has it's place and you could probably get away with that alone, but something a bit longer for those outside 'wedding' looking shots would be useful.
 
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presume you have a cropped camera, get a 17-50/2.8.

Get a 70-200 if you want to entire album with only shoulder/head shots of indivicuals with very little of the venue, surroundings and group shots.
 
Think very carefully before agreeing I know I wouldn't have wanted to be photographer at any of my friends or families weddings.
 
Do you have any experience with Weddings at all?

If it's going to be your first Wedding, trust me you will feel more pressure than any single person at that Wedding. You will be doing one of the most important jobs, with the main memory of the day being totally down to you. Not trying to put you off but you will have a huge responsibility so make sure you are prepared.

70-200 would be useless alongside a 50mm if they were your only lenses. Good for picking off guests as they chat and have fun, and some of the couple photos from a distance. Pick up a 17-50/55 f2.8. That should cover you for most things.

Between two of us at yesterdays Wedding, we used :

Canon 24-70mm f2.8 x 2
Canon 70-200mm f2.8 x 2
Sigma 35mm f1.4

We didn't use the 70-200's until after the ceremony, used it for a few of the couple shots and after that it didn't get used again.
 
Don't do it. My sister asked me about doing hers and I have the lens selection to cover it. Even though it would have been my first full wedding I'm quite confident I could have managed it but:

It's my sisters wedding and I wanted to enjoy it. You hopefully won't go to it again and what's the point in being stuck working.

I only have one body. Too much of a risk. I could have borrowed one but I'd rather not.

So I took my gear and took a few pictures and didn't get in the way of the paid professional. He did her a good album that I couldn't have managed but her fav pictures are the ones I took but they are no way near enough to make a book. The cheeky pro even copied a few of my set ups with the dress and flowers etc once I had positioned them :D

Enjoy your sisters wedding and let someone else do the leg work.
 
I've now said I will take pics but not as the photographer. Just as an extra. (as in if I wasn't there it wouldn't matter)

You guys are right it would be my first and it is late this year but not something to mess up!

I would still be interested in getting something to suit this scenario

A 24-70 would actually be a really useful lens in general

I have a
10-22 canon uwa
100mm canon macro L
50mm I mentioned
And will be getting sigma 120-300mm next
 
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The Mk1 lacks IS too.

If you have no experience of shooting weddings then I'd steer well clear, regardless of the fact that it's your sister's. Depending on how far off it is, if you have the opportunity to get some more suitable lenses and also some experience by maybe second shooting with someone else then you could be more prepared come the time but that's down to you.

Also, as someone above mentioned, don't even think about it without redundancy. You need at least two bodies and also a cross-section of lenses so if any one piece of equipment fails you're covered. If you turn up in the morning and your DSLR is dead, what are you going to do and tell the bride/family - that you'll shoot it on your phone? Not trying to be flippant or scaremongering but you need to think about the worse case scenario.
 
al4x said:
I've now said I will take pics but not as the photographer. Just as an extra. (as in if I wasn't there it wouldn't matter)

You guys are right it would be my first and it is late this year but not something to mess up!

I would still be interested in getting something to suit this scenario

A 24-70 would actually be a really useful lens in general

I have a
10-22 canon uwa
100mm canon macro L
50mm I mentioned
And will be getting sigma 120-300mm next
Click to expand...

I use the mk1 for Weddings. Are you on a crop sensor? If not I'd get a 24-70 mk1 and just take the one lens if you are now just taking general photos. Will cover the majority of what you need. The lack of IS has never been an issue.
 
All round bad idea then. Good job I asked.
I think it's 2015 or very late this year


Yep I have a crop sensor

I was thinking it would be a useful lens to fill the gap betweenwide and 100mm
And also be a good llenses I do take my camera to such events
 
Depends how confident you are and how experienced shooting portraits.

I shot most of my older sisters wedding except some of the actually ceremony and a 1hr shoot done by a local pro. The pro tog was needed because photography in the church had to be done form the back (300mm f/2.8 IS canon FTW!) and I needed to sit at the front, plus I wanted to removed responsibility of the ceremony and organized formal sessions aren't my thing (no idea how to position people and make them look natural, i shoot people reportage style).

I did everything before and after, cutting the cake, first dance, reception, dancing, friends, group shots, pair shots, getting dressed. Turned out fine but I made sure there was an understanding that she would have to accept not getting a single usable photo from me if something was to happen. In the end she had a few hundred professional quality photos that were mostly better than the very expensive pro togs work!

Got my sister and brother in law to shoot my wedding under similar setup but since no photography was allowed in the church at all I didn't bother paying for a pro. Results were great.
 
al4x said:
All round bad idea then. Good job I asked.
I think it's 2015 or very late this year


Yep I have a crop sensor

I was thinking it would be a useful lens to fill the gap betweenwide and 100mm
And also be a good llenses I do take my camera to such events
Click to expand...

On crop I would get a 17-55mm f/2.8 or the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8

The 24-70mm works on crop as a protrait lens for weddings, but it doesn't work well as a general purpose lens. I have the Nikon 24-70mm and it is great and almost never touched. Although next month i have some professional event photogrpahy to do and I am sure the 24-70 will be glued to the camera!
 
I did some photos at my cousins wedding but there was also a pro there, I also did a friends by myself and I felt the pressure a lot, the shots turned out Ok but not amazing

I think deciding against it is a wise choice
 
If you are on the fence then deciding against is definitely the best choice. You need to have confidence in your abilities, and confidence derived from prior experience and ability (not a wedding but just shooting at friends parties or whatever)
 
Ok, so I know where I am in respects to not doing the event.

What is the best way to practice for things like this?
Interesting to say the 17-55 is a better choice. Is the top end on the 24-70 just too long?
 
For a crop yes. If I had to choose one Wedding lens to be stuck with the whole day it would be the 24-70mm on my full frame camera. As you have a crop this is why people are recommended the 17-55 f2.8 as it's the crop equivalent.

It's wide enough to get everything you would need in, ceremony and morning prep, but also allows you to get a couple of different shots from the same position with the zoom.

Best way to practice would be to offer your services as a second shooter. See how a pro works.

It's so hard to replicate wedding situations. Everything happens so quickly and you need to get it right every time.

Morning prep : probably my favourite part of the day. You have as long as you like here and have the time to try out new ideas.

Ceremony : you have to get this right and there can be no flash. This is where decent lens and bodies come in. You can head to the rehearsal to make sure your sorted for this part.

Formal : Nobody in the world enjoys this 15-30 mins. The guest can't wait for it to be over and you are guaranteed to have to advise the bride and groom to cut down the numbers. We regularly get emails a few days before added a load of group shots the family and parents have asked for. Obviously we advise to keep the numbers down due to time, generally they listen. You have to get this correct and quickly, nobody wants to be there so checking the back of your screen and playing around with settings can make you look incompetent.

Couple photos : you can just practice these with friends etc outside. Yon will generall have a time slot to get all photos done, if it clear blue sky's with really harsh sunlight, you just have to deal with it.

First dance : used to be my least favourite part of the day until we started using off camera flash. However, you need to be prepared. Yesterday two of my 3 580exII flashes that I'd spent 15 mins perfecting failed at the start of the first dance. Gods knows why but you need to be prepared and quickly know how to go from one setup to another. The Bride and groom will still end up with good first dance photos and won't have even noticed that 2 stopped working.
 
ive decided to take my camera and take pictures but am stressing i am only an accessory and that someone paid is needed

i also dont think it is something i will be able to practice. its not the sort of situation i come across much (where as wildlife, architecture, macro etc can all be practiced easily)

the above may well be why i dont really have a good portrait lens as i dont get much normal use out of one

it will be a good experience to learn this style without pressure if im not being depended on
if the vote goes to 17-55 then i will look at that
 
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