Help please

Phillips_91

Phillips_91

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Danny
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Ok to set the scene i've been asked to photograph a wedding for a friend in september (totally 5h1t1ng myself) so i want some better lenses so i can give her some good shots, i currently only own the 18-55mm kit lens and the 55-250is.

now i'd rather this thread didnt go off topic with you really shouldnt be covering a wedding, she has a very small budget, i'm not charging her at all, and she was going to get her grand daughter to do it with a point and shoot, so anything i can come up with would be better.

i've been looking at flashguns and a couple of lenses so that i can cope with low light if neccesary but i also want good quality (even if the bride doesnt want fantastic images, i do)

i've set my mind on getting the canon speedlight 600ex-rt as a flash and the canon 50f1.4 for portraights/ low light shots.

but i'm stuck on a macro lens for the ring shots and any details, i'm torn between the efs 60mm 2.8 and the 50mm 2.5. Does anybody have any experience of these lenses and possibly some example shots, and could help me swing one way or the other (also any pointers on shooting weddings would be fantastic)

lenses in question:
50mm macro
60mm macro

and everything will be going on a 1100d body (unless i can mirraculously come up with enough money to get a 5d before september) :D :lol:

Thanks in advance
Danny :D

Edit: or if you could suggest any better lenses for around a similar budget then please do :D
 
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Fast primes might give you better optics and are typically faster. I'm not a wedding photographer but have been to lots of weddings and typically flashlights aren't used in the church or wedding breakfast, but have been at the evening do. Therefore you might want a faster lens (f/1.8 or quicker) to work in low light without a flash.

If she's wearing a white wedding dress then this will impact the exposure and you might need to compensate by a stop or so to ensure the dress will be white in the photo and not grey. This can probably be fixed in post-processing so no biggy - probably best to underexpose by a little and fix in PP than use a slower shutter speed and get blurry pictures...

However, primes won't give you the flexibility as to where you can be standing whilst taking pictures, so maybe a mid-range zoom might be the answer. I'm not familiar with Canon lenses so can't make any informed suggestion I'm afraid.

Good luck and try get some practice in!
 
adey_g said:
Fast primes might give you better optics and are typically faster. I'm not a wedding photographer but have been to lots of weddings and typically flashlights aren't used in the church or wedding breakfast, but have been at the evening do. Therefore you might want a faster lens (f/1.8 or quicker) to work in low light without a flash.

If she's wearing a white wedding dress then this will impact the exposure and you might need to compensate by a stop or so to ensure the dress will be white in the photo and not grey. This can probably be fixed in post-processing so no biggy - probably best to underexpose by a little and fix in PP than use a slower shutter speed and get blurry pictures...

However, primes won't give you the flexibility as to where you can be standing whilst taking pictures, so maybe a mid-range zoom might be the answer. I'm not familiar with Canon lenses so can't make any informed suggestion I'm afraid.

Good luck and try get some practice in!
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Thankyou very much for your positive responce, i'm looking at getting the 50mm 1.4 to cope with low light levels, the wedding itself is being held in a new wedding facility on the prom in blackpool and is apparently very well lit (havnt seen inside myself yet) so i'm not too worried about that atm, mainly want the flash as you can always rely on blackpool weather to be dark and miserable :lol:
 
For the prices of those lenses I would hire a couple of high quality lenses. Yes, you don't end up with a lens at the end of it, but you have quality lenses to do the job. :shrug:
 
No probs, I nearly found myself in the same position not long - I'm sure a lot of people on TP have... once people find out you own a camera that's bigger than their point-and-shoot; and you get that cool blurry backgroung thingamy :cool:

I'd do my homework - get inside the venue if you can and get a feel for where you might be taking pictures from. Have a look a couple of pro websites and get a feel for a few posed shots you might want to include for creativity, but most important ask if there's any specific combinations of friends/family shots the happy couple would like captured - maybe write a list and tick these off as they're done.

Get a spare battery and make sure they're fully charged, maybe borrow a second body off someone if you can, ensure you've plenty of space on SD cards etc. Pack you stuff up the night before so you're not in a flap and forget something on the day!

Here's a thought, is there anywhere nearby you can rent a higher spec body and lenses from for the weekend. Not necessary if you comfortable with you own equipment but sometimes you can rent things for a weekend at a cost of only one day if you return Monday morning.

Are you planning on shooting RAW or JPEG btw?
 
Even with fast primes, I suspect you will still need to ramp the ISO up in certain scenes. Perhaps hiring a body as well as lenses may be a good call?
 
redhed17 said:
For the prices of those lenses I would hire a couple of high quality lenses. Yes, you don't end up with a lens at the end of it, but you have quality lenses to do the job. :shrug:
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I'd rather not rent the lenses as then it gives me no chance at all to play with them and get a feel for shooting with them and as you say i dont have a lens out of it at the end, baring in mind i'm going to be getting nothing back from this wedding other than some shots for myself to keep so would be nice to have an extra lens or 2 to the collection aswell

adey_g said:
No probs, I nearly found myself in the same position not long - I'm sure a lot of people on TP have... once people find out you own a camera that's bigger than their point-and-shoot; and you get that cool blurry backgroung thingamy :cool:

I'd do my homework - get inside the venue if you can and get a feel for where you might be taking pictures from. Have a look a couple of pro websites and get a feel for a few posed shots you might want to include for creativity, but most important ask if there's any specific combinations of friends/family shots the happy couple would like captured - maybe write a list and tick these off as they're done.

i've spent every waking moment since i was begged to cover the wedding on pro's websites, flickr, google etc looking for poses that i like, how i should replicate them etc. i have asked the bride if theres anything in particular that she would like and all she wants is some "fun" shots

Get a spare battery and make sure they're fully charged, maybe borrow a second body off someone if you can, ensure you've plenty of space on SD cards etc. Pack you stuff up the night before so you're not in a flap and forget something on the day!

i'll definately see about a second battery, and i may be able to borrow a 600d from my uncle, with regards to SD space, i have a 16gb samsung, a 4gb samsung and 3 1gb's, and im considering taking the laptop so i can back everything up half way and have fresh cards again

Here's a thought, is there anywhere nearby you can rent a higher spec body and lenses from for the weekend. Not necessary if you comfortable with you own equipment but sometimes you can rent things for a weekend at a cost of only one day if you return Monday morning.

i would say i'm quite comfortable with my own body, the only thing i'm having a little issue with is the lack of spot metering, im worried that im not going to be able to stop the wedding dress from blowing out/ get correct exposure with just a evaluative metering, although come to think of it i THINK the bride may be in purple but im not 100%

Are you planning on shooting RAW or JPEG btw?

most definately shooting RAW for the wedding, dont want to be stranded with a load of useless images by shooting JPEG and getting it wrong, i also have a copy of lightroom 4 and photoshop cs4 if things go wrong
Click to expand...
 
gman said:
Even with fast primes, I suspect you will still need to ramp the ISO up in certain scenes. Perhaps hiring a body as well as lenses may be a good call?
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What body would you suggest as a minimum? would a 5d be hard to get to grips with over just a short rental period or would i be best off sticking to a cropped body? i've only ever used my 1100D and a short play with my uncles 600D
 
If you hire lenses do a 7 day hire and have them arrive a few days before so you can get used to them.
That's what I did.

As for the macro options I would ditch the idea of them. You don't necessarily need to be that close for ring shots.

As others have said hire would be your best bet.
Given the crop body I would go 17-55 f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8 a good combo for a wedding with your range well covered.
 
Phillips_91 said:
lenses in question:
50mm macro
60mm macro
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I used to have a 50mm f2.5.

It's not actually a true macro lens unless you also have the lifesize adapter but I doubt that'll be needed for a ring shot. It's a nice lens and sharp too. It is a little slow to focus and it extends forward quite a bit but I assume that the ring finger will not be moving too fast so slow focus probably wont be an issue :D

I've never actually thought about photographing a ring but I suppose a 50mm f1.4 wont focus close enough to get a tight ring shot?
 
stupar said:
If you hire lenses do a 7 day hire and have them arrive a few days before so you can get used to them.
That's what I did.

As for the macro options I would ditch the idea of them. You don't necessarily need to be that close for ring shots.

As others have said hire would be your best bet.
Given the crop body I would go 17-55 f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8 a good combo for a wedding with your range well covered.
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Would there not be a lack of detail in the ring shots just using say a 50mm prime?

i really genuinely am panicking i initially said no i wouldnt cover it due to lack of experience but i was pretty much begged and when i realised all the wedding shots were going to be done on a point and click i felt the need to. but now everytime i sit and think what i need etc my heart starts racing and panicking.
The last thing i want is to be falling short due to lack of equipment
 
It depends how close you want to be to them.
I could understand a macro lens if there was some nice scribed message on the inside of the rings that you wanted to fill the frame with.

Otherwise a half decent lens should be able to pick up enough detail without its element being up close and personal.
 
stupar said:
It depends how close you want to be to them.
I could understand a macro lens if there was some nice scribed message on the inside of the rings that you wanted to fill the frame with.

Otherwise a half decent lens should be able to pick up enough detail without its element being up close and personal.
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Ok thanks, on that basis then i'll ditch the macro idea and put the money towards something else (possibly the deposit on a 5d2 on finance :D )
 
You can rent lenses for a week for not very much to give you time to familiarise yourself. Look at the Lensesforhire website for rental prices.

I've been considering renting one to take on holiday.

I'd always having a spare camera for an important occasion like that, so maybe renting a higher quality camera, (better high ISO) and use your own camera as a backup, just in case.
 
Minimum focus distance could be a problem.

I've just tried my 5D+ Siggy 50mm f1.4 and it wouldn't focus close enough for a good ring shot. Not without a really heavy crop.
 
I've recently bought a 50 f1.4 and it is a fantastic lens, very sharp wide open and very accurate AF and it is miles better than the 50 f1.8 I had. As for a macro lens, the 100mm f2.8 is a fantastic lens, I've got the L version but the non L is as good optically, and will be a good lens for close up shots but also for longer portrait shots too. I use mine mainly for macro, but I have had some great portrait photos from it.

There are some really good non Canon flashguns about as well that are much cheaper than Canon's but do the job just as well. The 600EX rt looks to be brilliant, I've got a 580EX II and that's great, but I've also got a Nissin Di866 gun that cost around £200 new and is as fully featured as the 580EX II.

As you aren't being paid for this it might restrict your budget, but if you could afford a 70-200 f2.8 of any make it would also help for the rest of the more distant shots you need.
 
I'd forget the idea of buying a macro lens IF you are only buying it for use at this wedding. You can easily use the 50mm f1.4 for ring shots and other details. You can't get as close so you may need to compromise and crop but you can still get very good shots and using very shallow DoF can work well with some detail shots so that will be a bonus.

Consider a used Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 for around £200 to go along side the 50mm. Between those 2 lenses you will be able to get through the basics of a wedding and do a very adequate job plus you'll have the bonus of owning 2 lenses that will be very useful to you for other kinds of photography after the wedding.

As for upgrading your body, a 5D would be a massive improvement over the 1100D but only do the upgrade if it is something you want to invest in anyway. Just because the bride doesn't have a big budget to spend on wedding photography it doesn't mean you have to spend loads of money. Only spend what you'd want to spend on upgrades if you weren't shooting this wedding.
 
Phillips_91 said:
What body would you suggest as a minimum? would a 5d be hard to get to grips with over just a short rental period or would i be best off sticking to a cropped body? i've only ever used my 1100D and a short play with my uncles 600D
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Probably full frame and ideally the 5D MkII or III. You probably won't have to spend money on a flash as the ISO capabilities on these cameras is fantastic.

Checkout http://www.calumetphoto.co.uk/eng/services/rental.cfm/ for renting bodies - the brochure is on the right.
 
-Rob- said:
I'd forget the idea of buying a macro lens IF you are only buying it for use at this wedding. You can easily use the 50mm f1.4 for ring shots and other details.
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After trying a 50mm f1.4 I'm not so sure I'd want to use it for a ring shot showing any detail. It just wont focus close enough.

The closest focus distance for both the Canon and Sigma 50mm f1.4's is 45cm. That'd need a heavy crop of my 5D image.
 
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woof woof said:
After trying a 50mm f1.4 I'm not so sure I'd want to use it for a ring shot showing any detail. It just wont focus close enough.

The closest focus distance for both the Canon and Sigma 50mm f1.4's is 45cm. That'd need a heavy crop of my 5D image.
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I never said it was ideal but if this is the only time the OP is going to need to do it then its not worth the expense of a macro lens for a few shots.
 
Well, you did say "You can easily use the 50mm f1.4 for ring shots and other details." I'm not so sure.

I'm just pointing out that if a ring shot is one of the essential shots of the day I wouldn't be taking the shot with a 50mm f1.4. Not with my camera anyway as it'd need a very heavy crop. I mentioned it because the thought of taking a ring shot had never occurred to me but thinking about it maybe its a standard wedding shot? I don't know.

I agree that it's a lot of money to spend for one shot so the choice may be to buy a macro lens that will have some future use, hire a macro or rethink the idea of the ring shot and how to get it as IMVHO it isn't going to be got with a 50mm f1.4, or rather I wouldn't get it with that lens.

Actually, another way to do it might be to use the 50mm f1.4 and an extender? I don't use them but I assume that would decrease the focus distance at a fraction of the cost of a macro?
 
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I've shot a few weddings, not loads but I've done ring shots at every one of them without ever owning a macro lens.

I now do own a macro lens so the next wedding I shoot I hope to get a far better ring shot but I still maintain it can easily be done with a 50mm lens especially on a 1.6x crop camera like the 1100D.
 
Just to update, the big day was on saturday, went really well i thought. sun was out it was a gorgeous day! and the bride and groom couldnt stop smiling which inevitably made me not stop smiling so i felt very relaxed and just got on with the job in hand, i had my uncle helping me out who is also a photographer and trying to get into weddings himself so it was a bit of an insight into weddings for both of us

the equipment i decided on was as follows:
5D mkIII as i came into some money just before the wedding so treated myself to a new body,
70-200 f4L
50 f1.4
speedlight 600EX-RT
i sold my 1100D to my aunt but borrowed it back for the wedding :lol:
and with that i had the 18-55 kit lens, and 55-250 which didnt get used

will post a couple of pics on here once i've been through them all

i now feel quite at ease with wedding and want to look at some proper courses and get some experience with other photographers, i'm by no means ready to go out on my own yet but i definately enjoyed myself and would like to take the next step into it :)
 
Good to hear it went well, was 50mm the widest lens that you used?
 
No I had my 18-55 on the 1100, but the 70-200 was actually good enough for most of the situations I found myself in
 
Ah, sorry I read it as both the 18-55 and 55-250 were never used. Would have had to be a fair sized venue to get a group shot with the 50mm! lol
 
Only just came across this post so was a bit late to offer my two cents on possible lenses.

Glad it went well, and its always a good idea to have a back up camera, i use a 5d and a 40d. Quite often i have a 100mm f2 on the 40d, great lens imo and good for getting in close especially with the 1.6 crop, and a siggy 50mm 1.4 on the 5d for when i need a bit more room. I do recommend both these lenses if you ever find yourself after a prime. Having said that if you find in future you do need that macro lens, the 100mm f2.8 macro i hear gives great results for both macro and portrait work.

I also use the 70 - 200 2.8 which again is a fantastic lens. Great to see your first wedding has inspired you to carry on :)
 
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Thanks for the comments, just one quick pic as its the only 1 i've exported from lightroom so far (currently sat at 159 of 799 :lol: ) but quickly exported this one as its a couple of my mates in this one and they wanted it for there facebook covers they were so happy with it :)

C+C Welcome :D
377277_10151237056146885_694668436_n.jpg
 
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