New Here

[Sovilla]

I've been reading the forums for a while and just wanted to ask some advice.

It's my partner that is into photography, I just come along for the ride. He currently has a Sony A35 and is thinking about getting a new one. I'm kinda on the fence and thinking what he's got should do the job as long as he knows how to use it.

He's photographed a couple of weddings and done some studio shots and really wants to move into being more professional. Does he need a newer camera, a more expensive camera, a completely different make of camera? I know everyone has their own opinions and there probably isn't a right answer to my questions.

He is going to be buying some lencarta lights and setting up his own studio but will his current camera do the job?

He has 2 lenses 18-55 lenses and a 55-200 and is currently looking at buying a portrait lens.

Anyway sorry if that didn't make sense, I'm new to all this and he is too I guess.

 

[TonyNI]

Why are you asking on his behalf? If someone doesn't know the answer to every question you just asked then they aren't ready. So he's doing weddings / setting up a studio etc with basic entry level gear? He's new to photography but hes doing weddings and studio shoots? Now Im even wondering why I have replied to this thread

 

[gadgeteer]

I started taking photography more seriously when I got my Sony A55 which is very similar to the A35. It even came with me to the first few weddings I did as a backup.

The short answer is yes. Whilst the A35 is a perfectly good camera, it's hardly pro-grade. He would struggle with low light situations commonly found with weddings with the combination of lenses he has right now.

The A35 will also have a very annoying problem if he is going to use it with studio lighting in that the live view preview feature cannot be turned off. This means that when he turns his aperture up for the lights, the screen with go black and he will not be able to compose his shots. There is a workaround which is to pop the flash up then cover it when you shoot but frankly it's very annoying.

My suggestion for your partner would be to in the short term invest in some better low light lenses. A good portrait lens for him would be the Sony 50mm f1.8 which is cheap as chips and a cracking lens. Another good one would be the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 which is the lens which is pretty much attached permanently to my Sony body.

In the medium term if he is shooting weddings and doing more professional jobs then I'd recommend the A57 or A77 (funds permitting)

To be fair I've ended up swapping to Nikon for my wedding/pro work and my Sony A77 is now my backup/video/personal use camera. It might seem a bit strange having two systems but I love the A77 for many reasons and video is one of them.

If he has money to invest then he could do far worse than look at upgrading to the Nikon D7000 with the kit lens and 50mm f1.8 as a second portrait/prime lens.

In short right now he's shooting someone's wedding with amateur equipment. It's like the equivalent of hiring a DJ for a disco and him turning up with an ipod and some speakers.

 

[Sovilla]

Why are you asking on his behalf? If someone doesn't know the answer to every question you just asked then they aren't ready. So he's doing weddings / setting up a studio etc with basic entry level gear? He's new to photography but hes doing weddings and studio shoots? Now Im even wondering why I have replied to this thread

I guess I'm asking on my behalf really, he knows what he wants. I'm thinking more about how it's going to damage our pocket and whether he can do what he wants to do with what he currently has. I myself have no idea about photography and as I said am just along for the ride.

 

[Sovilla]

I started taking photography more seriously when I got my Sony A55 which is very similar to the A35. It even came with me to the first few weddings I did as a backup.

The short answer is yes. Whilst the A35 is a perfectly good camera, it's hardly pro-grade. He would struggle with low light situations commonly found with weddings with the combination of lenses he has right now.

The A35 will also have a very annoying problem if he is going to use it with studio lighting in that the live view preview feature cannot be turned off. This means that when he turns his aperture up for the lights, the screen with go black and he will not be able to compose his shots. There is a workaround which is to pop the flash up then cover it when you shoot but frankly it's very annoying.

My suggestion for your partner would be to in the short term invest in some better low light lenses. A good portrait lens for him would be the Sony 50mm f1.8 which is cheap as chips and a cracking lens. Another good one would be the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 which is the lens which is pretty much attached permanently to my Sony body.

In the medium term if he is shooting weddings and doing more professional jobs then I'd recommend the A57 or A77 (funds permitting)

To be fair I've ended up swapping to Nikon for my wedding/pro work and my Sony A77 is now my backup/video/personal use camera. It might seem a bit strange having two systems but I love the A77 for many reasons and video is one of them.

If he has money to invest then he could do far worse than look at upgrading to the Nikon D7000 with the kit lens and 50mm f1.8 as a second portrait/prime lens.

In short right now he's shooting someone's wedding with amateur equipment. It's like the equivalent of hiring a DJ for a disco and him turning up with an ipod and some speakers.

Thank you for the advice, it's much appreciated. The weddings he has done he did for free for people who couldn't even afford a photographer so getting one good shot was all they cared about. He ended up giving them disks of well over 600 shots and even spent time using photoshop and doing the usual black and white with a bit of colour. They were over the moon and he was happy getting the time to practice.

It's looking like he's right in wanting to spend lots of money, and I can't really hold him back as he took redundancy to pursue this. However we have 5 children, we get married ourself in July and currently have only my wage coming in. But I suppose you have to spend money to make money.

 

[gadgeteer]

Hi again

wow, he took redundancy to pursue becoming a wedding photographer. That's brave! Very brave!

I hope he's done his research and has a realistic business plan. I'd encourage him to post in the business forum for some fantastic advice. It can be a bit blunt sometimes but better get some no nonsense advice now than make a costly mistake later.

What everyone in the industry will tell you is that wedding photography is incredibly tough. The number one problem will be finding paying clients. It often seems that everyone with a DSLR camera will think they can be a wedding photographer. After all, you just turn up take as many photos as you can, call them candids and you are away right? People see wedding photographers charging £1k+ a wedding and think "wow, I'd like a piece of that!" but the reality is much different.

You are right that you have to spend money to make money. It's hard to advise given I haven't seen the quality of work your partner produces. But just make sure he has a realistic plan. Because honestly the market is chockablock with wedding photographers. I've seen several around my area who advertise for £20 an hour with no minimum. Frankly it's crazy. Of course your partner will have to aim much higher if he wants to do this full time.

Oh and lastly in case he hasn't told you yet. For a wedding photographer you don't need one camera. You need at least two!

 

[woof woof]

It's looking like he's right in wanting to spend lots of money, and I can't really hold him back as he took redundancy to pursue this. However we have 5 children, we get married ourself in July and currently have only my wage coming in. But I suppose you have to spend money to make money.

I'm not so sure that your partner will need to spend a lot of money. If he's getting good results with the lenses he has I suppose I see three possible ways forward...

Buy a flash.
Buy a lens which will be better for low light use, something like a 35mm f1.8?
Buy a camera which is capable of better low light image quality.

I wonder if he's thought of buying used kit to save money? This company sell used kit, I've bought stuff off them with no problems...

http://www.ffordes.com/

I'm a bit confused by him wanting a "portrait lens" as just about any lens can be used for portraits, so maybe this needs some thought.

Whatever you and your partner decide to do I think that it'd be best to think about the options first and clarify exactly what is needed and why before proceeding.

Good luck.

 

[Phil V]

Thank you for the advice, it's much appreciated. The weddings he has done he did for free for people who couldn't even afford a photographer so getting one good shot was all they cared about. He ended up giving them disks of well over 600 shots and even spent time using photoshop and doing the usual black and white with a bit of colour. They were over the moon and he was happy getting the time to practice.

It's looking like he's right in wanting to spend lots of money, and I can't really hold him back as he took redundancy to pursue this. However we have 5 children, we get married ourself in July and currently have only my wage coming in. But I suppose you have to spend money to make money.

I'll try not to make this sound too negative, but I'll fail and several people are likely to jump on me for it.

If I come round to your house for dinner and you feed me something really impressive and for free, I'll think you're a fantastic cook and be really grateful

If I had the choice between paying you £100 a head or paying that at the local Michelin starred fancy restaurant? Where will I spend my money.

From a distance, it's easy to see the more expensive and cheaper wedding photographers as just 'wedding photographers' but when you start to analyse the market you'll see the difference between the so-so and the good and the great, and what you're competing with to bring in a living wage.

Your hubby needs to do some proper business calculations to make sure that what he needs to earn can be covered by what he can charge and the amount of work he's likely to get. I strongly recommend the wedding photography business course run by DG photo training advertised in the business section. To succeed he doesn't need to be a great photographer (only good), but he'll need to be a great businessman.

Back to gear, he really does need 2 cameras and better lenses than he has now (and flashes). If he's prepared to buy 2nd hand, he might get away with under 5 grand, but you'll soon find he'll be into double that by the time he's sorted.

Again, if he's committed and any good, whilst he's building up his own business, he could freelance with schools/ events photographers. He might even pick up some 2nd shooter wedding work which is great for seeing how other photographers work and finding out more about the business.

And that B&W with a touch of colour? Loved by free and cheap clients, not so much by higher paying clients who can do tricks like that on their iPhone and will expect a 'professional' photographer to produce something that they can't get with their own camera (which might be an SLR). With all the talk of gear, it's easy to forget, the gear isn't the important bit (it's the squishy 10" behind the camera that makes the picture).

 

[ChrisHeathcote]

I'll try not to make this sound too negative, but I'll fail and several people are likely to jump on me for it.

If I come round to your house for dinner and you feed me something really impressive and for free, I'll think you're a fantastic cook and be really grateful

If I had the choice between paying you £100 a head or paying that at the local Michelin starred fancy restaurant? Where will I spend my money.

From a distance, it's easy to see the more expensive and cheaper wedding photographers as just 'wedding photographers' but when you start to analyse the market you'll see the difference between the so-so and the good and the great, and what you're competing with to bring in a living wage.

Your hubby needs to do some proper business calculations to make sure that what he needs to earn can be covered by what he can charge and the amount of work he's likely to get. I strongly recommend the wedding photography business course run by DG photo training advertised in the business section. To succeed he doesn't need to be a great photographer (only good), but he'll need to be a great businessman.

Back to gear, he really does need 2 cameras and better lenses than he has now (and flashes). If he's prepared to buy 2nd hand, he might get away with under 5 grand, but you'll soon find he'll be into double that by the time he's sorted.

Again, if he's committed and any good, whilst he's building up his own business, he could freelance with schools/ events photographers. He might even pick up some 2nd shooter wedding work which is great for seeing how other photographers work and finding out more about the business.

And that B&W with a touch of colour? Loved by free and cheap clients, not so much by higher paying clients who can do tricks like that on their iPhone and will expect a 'professional' photographer to produce something that they can't get with their own camera (which might be an SLR). With all the talk of gear, it's easy to forget, the gear isn't the important bit (it's the squishy 10" behind the camera that makes the picture).

This doesn't read at all negative for you Phil :-D

Anyway to the OP. I'll comment as a recent groom rather that as someone with a camera.

When I was going around all the wedding fairs there were countless photographers whose albums were all good but very similar in style, all similar in price, so for the. It was purely on who you got on with (people skills), in the end we ended up spending over twice what these people charged, because his style stood out as did his personality. I think in the current market, you need to have something that sets you apart from the rest and it comes to an individual styleMy recommendation would be to try and get work as a 2nd shooter and develop a unique style, possibly hiring better glass rather than buying until he gets established. Here are a couple of links to show what I mean about something different

http://www.davenunnstudios.co.uk/
http://Www.crashtaylor.com

Yes they are expensive but the market is flooded with sub £1000 photographer

Regardless good luck with your venture

 

[Phil V]

I'll add, I understand your viewpoint, but your hubby ought to be joining here and networking with other wedding professionals.

The advice might sound harsh, but the number of photographers who 'think' they can do weddings, come here and ask the wrong questions, get the harsh words and then disappear are the typical failed business ventures.

We get slated for the harsh words, but it's the lack of understanding by the tog that's set them up to fail. Usually it's because your typical inexperienced photographer thinks its about cameras, lenses and settings. All of that should be taken for granted before you think about it as a career. Obviously pro photography is all about people, marketing and organisation, and about 10% photography. And all non-pro's think that's a wild exaggeration designed to put people off:shake:.

 

[daharro]

Im sure the free weddings were good experience, but with no money comes no responsibility. If they only get one good photo then they've got more then they expected. If people are paying money, even a relatively small amount for a wedding (3-400ish) then the pressure is on! I've done a couple of weddings now and i can honestly say that i'm no where near ready. I can take photos, and some of them are even good ones, but it takes a lot more than that.

 

[Sovilla]

Thanks guys for all your advice. It really is helpful and none of you have been negative just straight to the point and honest and I like that. Sorry haven't been back sooner, I'm working all hours at the moment. I'm going to get him to register on here because I think your advice and help and even telling him off will be good for him.

 

[Phil V]

Thanks guys for all your advice. It really is helpful and none of you have been negative just straight to the point and honest and I like that. Sorry haven't been back sooner, I'm working all hours at the moment. I'm going to get him to register on here because I think your advice and help and even telling him off will be good for him.

Do him a big favour, don't let his first post be a question about weddings. It really doesn't go down well.
Make him read all the wedding posts before asking any questions and all other posts in the business section about being self employed, it'll teach him things he didn't realise he doesn't know, and it'll stop him being the victim of an angry mob.

And it'll keep him occupied for a few nights, so you can have the telly to yourself.