Shooting a wedding as a guest - voice of experience required!

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Nemesis

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I'm at a wedding next weekend, and whereas I usually just take along my IXUS, I'm thinking this time I'll take my 450D. My question (which has been asked a million times before, but I wish to tailor it to my kitbag), is which glass to take?

I've got a choice of the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (kit lens), the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS, and the EF 50mm f/1.8 Mk II.

I only want to take one lens. All I know is that it's a church ceremony, and a hotel reception. I don't know what the lighting or the weather is going to be like in either of the locations. The shots I have in mind are candid, however there's inevitably going to be some more formal style shots of the wedding party and my friends.

Any opinions on which lens to take would be gratefully appreciated? Thanks.
 
As I guess most of the action will be indoors I would opt for the 50mm, as this is the "fastest" lens option. The 50mm also gives you a field of view similar to your eyes (I'm told).
 
spot on. nifty is your best bet as it f1.8.
its dark really early, and even inside may not be too well lit.

long enough for candids, just.
just watch your focusing if your using it wide open.
SHORT depth of field can throw a hand or a face OOF if your not spot on.
and stick your Ixus in a pocket "just in case"
 
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Just to be clear are you the photographer/guest or just a guest taking their "big camera" to have a play for your own enjoyment?

I did a wedding fo a freind and it overshaddows the whole day, do one or the other its very difficult to switch off from photographer mode and become a guest you feel like you need to be out there to get the shots. If your a guest take the camera and discover how hard wedding photographers work for their money. I will never do another if I can get away with it.

I would take the 50mm if you limit yourself to a single lens. the ther 2 may struggle in poor ligh conditions of most churches and venues.
 
I took my 500D to my cousins wedding, with all three of those lenses and a 580exII flash. I was just shooting as a guest, not requested in anyway (well no experience anyway lol)

The lens mostly used was the 50mm, due to the aperture and need for fast glass.

The other lenses were indeed very useful, as I didn't have the option of physically positioning myself as the main tog, so kept in the background. The only issue was the required increase in ISO was getting a bit too high.

Sometimes the 50mm was just not wide enough, sometimes not long enough due to the physical constraints of each location.


I know you only want to take one lens, I recommend the 50mm, however I would equally recommend taking the 18-55 in your pocket for the wider end.
 
Leave the dratted thing at home, take the ixus and enjoy the day as a guest. You are there as a guest not to undulge yourself in your hobby.
 
If you want just the one, take the 50mm for the reasons people have mentioned - but if you are taking a bag or if you don't want to take one, got a friend or family you can ask to look after a lens, consider one of the others, if you think it will be lots of group shots then the 18-55 or if your gonna be standing at the back of the church then consider the 55-250.
 
AliB said:
Leave the dratted thing at home, take the ixus and enjoy the day as a guest. You are there as a guest not to undulge yourself in your hobby.
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:agree: have a great day, get a bit (or very) drunk and enjoy the wedding
 
AliB said:
Leave the dratted thing at home, take the ixus and enjoy the day as a guest. You are there as a guest not to undulge yourself in your hobby.
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Definitely agree. Also as a guest you probably want to avoid getting into the main togs way and have your own flash going off, I am sure the B&G wouldn't appreciate it if the tog turned around and told them someone was getting in the way.
 
Well...I was able to remain out of the main togs way, whereas other folk there, were all over the shop with their point n shoots, flashes firing everywhere.

Also got loads of candids, with family and friends moving between location and of course those shots later into the evening when the main tog was long gone.

I was able to fileshare 120 full resolution images on MSN Skydrive by the next morning, much to the delight of both families...hangovers aside :lol:

Good luck, whatever you decide!
 
Thanks for all of the opinions.

I'll be there as a guest only, not as an official tog in any way shape or form. I've been to 4 weddings already this year and each time when I've been using my IXUS there has invariably been a point when I've said to myself "I wish I had by big camera".

All of the previous times I've haven't taken the 450 out as I knew I'd be carrying it all day long, however this time I'll have the car, so I know once the main photo-ops are over I can lock it away and continue to enjoy the rest of the day with my IXUS.

Based on that, as many of you suggested I think the nifty is the best idea, with the IXUS in my pocket.

Cheers all.
 
I was a guest at a wedding earlier this year and took my 450D with 18-55 lens, as I didn't want to lug any other gear around.

I took all shots in RAW, which was a good choice as I could tweak them in DPP. I was very careful not to interfere with what the pro photographer was doing and took some more relaxed shots of the groom being photographed by the photographer.

Afterwards, my other half used a voucher she had for a hardback photo book of the day which she presented to the bride and I have heard that that is the book they show to everyone and they are very pleased with the results.

I only had the onboard flash, but with a bit of noise reduction, still got some acceptable shots of the speeches at 1600ISO.

All in all, it was a fun day out and didn't hamper my enjoyment of the day, as I was purely there as an extra taking photos with no pressure to get everything right like a pro would have.
 
If you have the car there, I'd be tempted to get out hte 200mm. It will give you some options for some close up candids if the light is good enough, and you can put it back in the car so you don't have to lug it about.
 
You should let us know how it went once you have finished!
 
Thanks for the advice all. In the end I did what I said in the earlier thread, and took the 450d with the 50mm for the church, and then stuck with the Ixus for the reception. All in all, I think it was the best choice and I'm pleased I did it that way. Cheers again.
 
Any chance you could post some pics up? I'm considering a 450d at the moment and am interested as to what the photos came out like.
 
Nemesis said:
Thanks for the advice all. In the end I did what I said in the earlier thread, and took the 450d with the 50mm for the church, and then stuck with the Ixus for the reception. All in all, I think it was the best choice and I'm pleased I did it that way. Cheers again.
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Did you have any difficulties in not being able to zoom?
 
Gaz Jones said:
Any chance you could post some pics up? I'm considering a 450d at the moment and am interested as to what the photos came out like.
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The 450D is a great camera, I bought a 500D first then bought a 450D as a backup doing a friends wedding. I was going to flog it after but using 2 body's is great and miles less lens changes. is there a difference between the 450 and 500? yes but if I was buying again from scratch I would save the cash and get a 450D without question. But the cash you save to a decent lens and your laughing
 
AndyB1976 said:
The lens mostly used was the 50mm, due to the aperture and need for fast glass.
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I'm going to act a bit thick here now, what is the meaning behind fast glass? Is it determined by the aperture? Please explain as I'm having a moment! haha :thinking::lol:;)
 
Mike54 said:
As I guess most of the action will be indoors I would opt for the 50mm, as this is the "fastest" lens option. The 50mm also gives you a field of view similar to your eyes (I'm told).
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You were told right but it only really applies to a full frame camera, the 450D has a crop sensor, with that roughly a 30mm lens give what the eye see's, the 50mm is a short telephoto on a 450d (ideal for portraits)
 
swanseamale47 said:
You were told right but it only really applies to a full frame camera, the 450D has a crop sensor, with that roughly a 30mm lens give what the eye see's, the 50mm is a short telephoto on a 450d (ideal for portraits)
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It depends how you mean "What the eyes see", with my 50mm on a 1.5 crop, the "stuff" in the viewfinder is exactly the same size as I'd see without out the viewfinder being there, but obviously there's none of the peripheral version recorded.
 
clarwel said:
I'm going to act a bit thick here now, what is the meaning behind fast glass? Is it determined by the aperture? Please explain as I'm having a moment! haha :thinking::lol:;)
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Fast glass means bigger aperture and so faster shutter speed for a given exposure.
 
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