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santanu

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Santanu
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Hi all,

I have been doing photography as a hobby since last two years.
I am now want to move to the field of wedding photography/
I already got a contract to cover one wedding for one of my friend.
Now I want some serious guidance from all the experienced people here in this forum.
I have two camera- Canon 7D, 400D. Recently I bought 70-200 f2.8IS II. I have other lenses like Sigma 18-250, Sigma 150mm f2.8 macro, Canon 50mm f1.8 and one flash 430 EXII.
I know I can use the 70-200 for some nice candid shots in the church but I will need one wide angle/ normal lens to get group shots. I can use my Sigma 18-250 but it performs very poor in low light conditions.
Please suggest me one lens (as i can afford only one at the moment)..
I am interested towards 16-35 lenses with wide apertures, but not sure which brand will give me a good value for money. Please suggest something as I am not able to decide myself.:bang:

thanks
 
Canon 17-55 2.8 or if you can't afford that a sigma or tamron 17/18 - 50 2.8 are probably your best bet for crop

Maybe go for the sigma or tamron and get a sigma 30 1.4 too.
 
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amtaylor said:
Canon 17-55 2.8 or if you can't afford that a sigma or tamron 17/18 - 50 2.8 are probably your best bet for crop

Maybe go for the sigma or tamron and get a sigma 30 1.4 too.
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Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR Di II VC Lens lens seems alright with a price tag of £344. Can anyone suggest something different or if anyone selling any Canon L lens in that price for me:nuts:
 
The non VC one is supposedly better for image quality but I don't have any experience with either. You won't get an l lens for that price. The nearest you could get would be a 17-40 f4 for about 400 used and it won't be as useful being one step slower.
 
amtaylor said:
The non VC one is supposedly better for image quality but I don't have any experience with either. You won't get an l lens for that price. The nearest you could get would be a 17-40 f4 for about 400 used and it won't be as useful being one step slower.
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You are right..
Probably I will sell my two lenses and get some cash. I have Sigma 150mm f2.8 macro which I hardly use..Never get time to go for macro shoot. Also I can sell my Sigma 18-250 OS one. Hope by selling these two I will get some cash..
 
santanu said:
Hi all,

I have been doing photography as a hobby since last two years.
I am now want to move to the field of wedding photography/
I already got a contract to cover one wedding for one of my friend.
Now I want some serious guidance from all the experienced people here in this forum.
...
Please suggest me one lens. Please suggest something as I am not able to decide myself.:bang:

thanks
Click to expand...

Serious guidance from an experienced wedding photographer

- after 2 years as a hobbyist, you are asking what lens do I need

My advice is

- cancel your wedding
- get some training
- second shoot for someone

You probably currently really haven't an idea how deep a hole you are jumping in to

- what do you intend to do with lighting?
 
Great advice from Richard.

I know it may sound a bit harsh but it's true. Loads of hobbyists think wedding photography is easy, When in reality it's anything but. It's one of the most stressful jobs in photography, get it wrong and theres no second chances.

Your best looking to getting someone to second shoot for and have the pressure taken right off you while your learning.

Don't let this put you off, if you really want to do it, go about it slowly, ask your friend to hire a pro and ask if you can shadow him/her for the day to get a real taste of what it's like.

I've been doing this for 4 years now and I still get very stressed before a wedding.
 
+1 for Richards advice.

I would consider myself as a fairly good 'hobbyist' photographer. All my family think I'm pretty good. However, when my niece asked my to photograph her wedding this November, my answer was a straight, sorry, no.

To add to that, my sister-in-law got remarried last year and it was my Dad - a very experienced amateur - who took the photographs. I also took my camera along and did the second shooter thing. At the end of the day I thought, there is no way that I could do this. The whole, organising people, thinking off/setting up shots, lighting, stress etc. No thanks, leave it to the pro's!
 
Richard King said:
Serious guidance from an experienced wedding photographer

- after 2 years as a hobbyist, you are asking what lens do I need

My advice is

- cancel your wedding
- get some training
- second shoot for someone

You probably currently really haven't an idea how deep a hole you are jumping in to

- what do you intend to do with lighting?
Click to expand...

I think you should caveat that with if the couple know what they are risking and are happy then the OP should go ahead everyone starts somewhere and as long as the couple have not been given unrealistic expectations then I don't see the problem.

Some people are not massively hung up on wedding photography and are happy to take a risk with it leaving more budget for the things they deem important. I went to a wedding recently where the equivalent of the professional photographer was a blank DVD per guest with a SAE.
 
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Richard King said:
Serious guidance from an experienced wedding photographer

- after 2 years as a hobbyist, you are asking what lens do I need

My advice is

- cancel your wedding
- get some training
- second shoot for someone

You probably currently really haven't an idea how deep a hole you are jumping in to

- what do you intend to do with lighting?
Click to expand...





Hmmmm...I think you are right..I have no experience of wedding at all (still i hope i can deliver some good photos).
I will talk to my friend and explained to them about my position. Still if they are ready to take risk I will give me best shot.
Regarding lighting I have one 430 EXII flash which i gonna use as a main light or fill light to get the portraits. But I will get buy a cheaper flash from ebay to use as a secondary light/ hair light..

Thanks for your guidance.
 
santanu said:
Hmmmm...I think you are right..I have no experience of wedding at all (still i hope i can deliver some good photos).
I will talk to my friend and explained to them about my position. Still if they are ready to take risk I will give me best shot.
Regarding lighting I have one 430 EXII flash which i gonna use as a main light or fill light to get the portraits. But I will get buy a cheaper flash from ebay to use as a secondary light/ hair light..

Thanks for your guidance.
Click to expand...

just to put things in perspective

We use 4 SB800's, on pocket wizards, and I have a car full of studio flash gear, which I reel out if needed (more often than not)

When I said full, I meant FULL

Other photographers have a different approach

On spare gear - I have 1 spare set up on me, and at least 2 backs and a film back in the car, along with an array of lenses (in the car)

Weddings bash gear, I dropped 2 SB800's this year, and have had 2 lenses die. One back last year

I have about 100 GB of cards (I shoot a backup to slot 2)

Don't get me started on batteries
 
Richard

you are absolutely correct in your assessment - as are other Pro Wedding Photographers who give freely of their time here to advise

in all fairness
''to cover one wedding for one of my friend. ''

so he isn't a Pro - prob never will be - but it's getting fairly obvious lately on TP that people find it difficult to separate the Pro's from the ''friends willing to help at a wedding''

so although I see you as a Professional, [in the truest business sense of the word] and have all the necessary equipment required to do the job to the high standards you aspire to, the average joe doesn't

i dont think it's correct to say ''cancel the wedding, and get some training''
true if he were starting a Business , but he's not

I would be somewhat disappointed if a Pro Landscape Photographer running a Business/Workshop on weekends in the Lakes for example , said to me '' you wont do well without training and xxx lenses and a yyy camera''

i agree with the 'professional' criteria that says ''this is the B&G unforgettable day'' but there are other ways to look at it too


oooooo, carried away a bit ...sorry about that...regards.......john
 
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@ Richard...apologies............:D

ahha............. i stand corrected

''I am now want to move to the field of wedding photography''

i shall now retire, have dinner, finish my wine and return to Landscapes where i obviously belong

:lol:
 
People are very sentimental towards wedding photography.. I am not going to cover something like royal wedding.. It's just a small weddings and the people who can't afford to pay a huge amount to the pros. That's true that I have already a day job and do photography for my own interest as I never get a chance to become a full time photographer due to family problems( can't leave my current job to start any training), but it does not mean that I am worthless in the field of photography. It's my true passion and I have been trying to develop myself. I click photos whenever I can manage time. So I thought it will be a good idea to earn some money to cover small events and helping friends and family.
I have tried to use this forum to get some encouragement and advise not to demoralise me. I think it will be better to go away from these forums which is only reserved for pros. Sorry if I said sound not good.
 
We are not trying to know you down. I myself started off taking wedding photos for free to build up a portfolio. I was very straight with my clients about how inexperienced I was and that if they did allow me to photograph their wedding I would work hard but at the end of the day I was very inexperienced.

My first wedding was a disaster, my memory card corrupted whilst shooting, but everything kept working so I didnt notice anything was wrong till I got home. I lost 80% of the wedding!!!!! I went back to their reception, told them all and retook all the group shots!!! Lesson learned, alway shoot different parts of the wedding on different memory cards!!!!!

I've been doing this for 4 years now and have learnt a lot. I've recently done a 3 day wedding & business course and wish I had done it right at the beginning.

If it's something you are passionate about go ahead and do it but do it for free & be straight with your clients. There are plenty of people out there who will be willing to let you do it for free.

Lyn x
 
Jellycat said:
We are not trying to know you down. I myself started off taking wedding photos for free to build up a portfolio. I was very straight with my clients about how inexperienced I was and that if they did allow me to photograph their wedding I would work hard but at the end of the day I was very inexperienced.

My first wedding was a disaster, my memory card corrupted whilst shooting, but everything kept working so I didnt notice anything was wrong till I got home. I lost 80% of the wedding!!!!! I went back to their reception, told them all and retook all the group shots!!! Lesson learned, alway shoot different parts of the wedding on different memory cards!!!!!

I've been doing this for 4 years now and have learnt a lot. I've recently done a 3 day wedding & business course and wish I had done it right at the beginning.

If it's something you are passionate about go ahead and do it but do it for free & be straight with your clients. There are plenty of people out there who will be willing to let you do it for free.

Lyn x
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Thanks Lyn for the encouragement... I appreciate your positive advise. Please send me a link for that 3 days course. I like to get into it as I can manage 3 days off from my work ( few annual leaves still left:-) ) also if you can suggest some good material to go through I will be highly grateful. Thnks
 
Jellycat said:
We are not trying to know you down. I myself started off taking wedding photos for free to build up a portfolio. I was very straight with my clients about how inexperienced I was and that if they did allow me to photograph their wedding I would work hard but at the end of the day I was very inexperienced.

My first wedding was a disaster, my memory card corrupted whilst shooting, but everything kept working so I didnt notice anything was wrong till I got home. I lost 80% of the wedding!!!!! I went back to their reception, told them all and retook all the group shots!!! Lesson learned, alway shoot different parts of the wedding on different memory cards!!!!!

I've been doing this for 4 years now and have learnt a lot. I've recently done a 3 day wedding & business course and wish I had done it right at the beginning.

If it's something you are passionate about go ahead and do it but do it for free & be straight with your clients. There are plenty of people out there who will be willing to let you do it for free.

Lyn x
Click to expand...

Ment to put, do it for free to build up a portfolio and then start charging a small fee once you are sure of you skills
 
I wouldn't go away, hang around and you can only improve.

No one starts off with all the kit and all the experience in any career/earning position. You need to start somewhere.

You've got some kit that can certainly get you through this one, a couple of bodies, fast lenses and a flash. Add the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 for about £500 as you are using the croppers. Maybe get some advice on using a single flash with a brolly...trigger the 430 with the 7D.


Andy

EDIT - for the cost of a 16-35f2.8 you could probably add the 17-55f2.8 along with the 11-16 Tokina and not be spending significant amount extra. That would be a fine cropper setup, maybe a second flash would be a welcome addition too.
 
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santanu said:
People are very sentimental towards wedding photography.. I am not going to cover something like royal wedding.. It's just a small weddings and the people who can't afford to pay a huge amount to the pros. That's true that I have already a day job and do photography for my own interest as I never get a chance to become a full time photographer due to family problems( can't leave my current job to start any training), but it does not mean that I am worthless in the field of photography. It's my true passion and I have been trying to develop myself. I click photos whenever I can manage time. So I thought it will be a good idea to earn some money to cover small events and helping friends and family.
I have tried to use this forum to get some encouragement and advise not to demoralise me. I think it will be better to go away from these forums which is only reserved for pros. Sorry if I said sound not good.
Click to expand...

We give loads of advice, the thing with weddings is...

They are easy to screw up

When you screw up, you are totally stuffed, and you have a very upset bride, and very little chance to correct the issue - the moment is lost

If I shoot a product, and the client has an issue with a shot, I can re-shoot it. Same for a garden, house, landscape etc. etc.
 
Richard King said:
We give loads of advice, the thing with weddings is...

They are easy to screw up

When you screw up, you are totally stuffed, and you have a very upset bride, and very little chance to correct the issue - the moment is lost

If I shoot a product, and the client has an issue with a shot, I can re-shoot it. Same for a garden, house, landscape etc. etc.
Click to expand...

I got your point...But I dnt want to back off from that wedding as my friend has been expecting that favour from me. Lets see what happen there..I will try to use all my other experiences into it.
 
The simple fact is, that not everyone can afford or want a professional wedding photographer. Going back 20 years a friend shot our wedding with a pair of Canon AE1s and a couple of lenses, but he knew what he was doing (he had done a dozen or more weddings previously) and even now, those pictures are more than just good.
I was "press ganged" into doing a wedding a few years ago, and I hated every minute of it, because I had to use a mixture of digital and 35mm, I thought that the images were "ropey" to say the least, but the bride and groom were happy??
I know many people who will use "Uncle Bob" to shoot their wedding, and I have also seen people who will pay £1K for a professional job.
I say good luck to Santanu, and would add, that he may think of hiring a lens and some extra kit for the day, and it may be worth his while taking a few pre wedding shots with the couple, and also having a look at the venue to work out angles and lighting.

Andy
 
Go for it if this is really what you want to do. As long as you're totally straight with them about your experience and any price (if you charge) reflects that, it's at least a start in the industry. As you gain more experience, you can charge a bit more, build your kit etc etc.

I've done 3 weddings now, one was family, one was a friend, and more recently one as a second shooter. If you can, I would really recommend getting in touch with local photographers to ask about shadowing them, as I found the difference between the one where I 'knew' people, and then shooting at a 'strangers' wedding totally different experiences.

It's a hard job, even from the limited experience I have. I'm not totally sure it's something I want to take on. I could handle being an 'on-call second shooter' for a bit of pocket money.... that would be ideal. :)

But if you can - go along with a pro. Even if just to see how they interact with the people, where they shoot, and for the advice. I'm lucky in that I know a couple of photographers who are happy for me to go with them if cool with clients, but I'm sure if you approach a few you'd get someone to take you under their wing!

Good luck!
 
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People skills do you have them can you control large groups of people calmly and politely how do you manage under stress say if on the day the heavens open,the kit is only a minor part of wedding photography the ability to deal with people is paramount
 
OP, I do find some wedding toggs a little up themselves, but the advice they give should be taken on board and not taken personally. Stick around and you will see for yourself that this forum is not only very helpful but also very friendly.

Good luck with the wedding.
 
Thanks everyone..
I will now really looking for a pro to shadow him in my local area.
Lets see what happens..
Also I will try to read some books on wedding photography.
I am really exited to do something different..
 
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