What kit do i need for a wedding ?

davidbridges

davidbridges

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David Bridges
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Hi all,

My stepdad and mum are getting married next year and instead of forking out a load of cash for a wedding photographer they are letting me do it for them. I will not be getting paid and i dont expect to but they have agreed to buy me equiptment for the occasion.

What do i need so far i have got on my list...

50mm - f1.8
Some kind of flash
Extras (memory cards, batteries ...)

is there anything else that might be useful ! :shrug:

Thanks for viewing.

Dave
 
One of those F2.8 zooms, like the Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical [IF] or Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC HSM - you'll want the extra light you can get, be it in the church (or wherever they're getting married) and whatever follows after that ;)
I've been on my friend's wedding, not as the main guy, but I did manage to get some shots, but I couldn't see much through the viewfinder, which is why the 2.8 lens should help, as well as its wide end for group shots.
 
May I point out the obvious...

That it'd be far, far, far cheaper to hire a Pro than to buy you the equipment a Pro uses to ensure some Wedding images are captured!!!!

Even buying you a few of the essentials, and ignoring the really obvious 2nd camera as back-up, they would need to spend more than £600 and a Pro (like me and a few others at TP) can be had for that (if no album is bought) - plus you snap away too and hey Prestatin (or wherever it is in the saying!!!) a set of Pro shots backed up yours = fab & no pressure on you

My diminutive pro bag for Weddings has over £7,000 of gear in it, experience & full insurance too - and I can be had for less than £7,000 a Wedding - LOL
 
DiddyDave said:
May I point out the obvious...

That it'd be far, far, far cheaper to hire a Pro than to buy you the equipment a Pro uses to ensure some Wedding images are captured!!!!

Even buying you a few of the essentials, and ignoring the really obvious 2nd camera as back-up, they would need to spend more than £600 and a Pro (like me and a few others at TP) can be had for that (if no album is bought) - plus you snap away too and hey Prestatin (or wherever it is in the saying!!!) a set of Pro shots backed up yours = fab & no pressure on you

My diminutive pro bag for Weddings has over £7,000 of gear in it, experience & full insurance too - and I can be had for less than £7,000 a Wedding - LOL
Click to expand...
Wow Dave... and I thought that was your hourly rate...:):)

PS: Dubai is cool... and I don't mean the 'temperature' cool - the place is fab. Temp today > 42deg. Spent the first 2 hours on beach, then by pool, just had dinner... tomorrow it all starts...!!!
 
John - the flash gear price has just gone up ten-fold for sheer jealousy of the Dubai thing!

If you're managing to have a cool beer, cocktail, whatever too - it's gone up twelve-fold; though I'll halve that to only six-fold if you have a dodgy-tummy experience tomorrow!

Question... Dubai or Wales? Where would you rather be?
 
DiddyDave said:
John - the flash gear price has just gone up ten-fold for sheer jealousy of the Dubai thing!

If you're managing to have a cool beer, cocktail, whatever too - it's gone up twelve-fold; though I'll halve that to only six-fold if you have a dodgy-tummy experience tomorrow!

Question... Dubai or Wales? Where would you rather be?
Click to expand...
Awwwww come on matey - there's only ever going to be one answer to that question.... "the green green grass of home...!!"

Isn't it boyo :)

Crappy pics I appreciate, but... this is where I was this morning...

dubai_beach.jpg


Where I was this afternoon...
dubai-16-1.jpg


Where I was this evening...

dubai-5-1.jpg

dubai-29.jpg
 
DiddyDave said:
May I point out the obvious...

That it'd be far, far, far cheaper to hire a Pro than to buy you the equipment a Pro uses to ensure some Wedding images are captured!!!!

Even buying you a few of the essentials, and ignoring the really obvious 2nd camera as back-up, they would need to spend more than £600 and a Pro (like me and a few others at TP) can be had for that (if no album is bought) - plus you snap away too and hey Prestatin (or wherever it is in the saying!!!) a set of Pro shots backed up yours = fab & no pressure on you

My diminutive pro bag for Weddings has over £7,000 of gear in it, experience & full insurance too - and I can be had for less than £7,000 a Wedding - LOL
Click to expand...

I don't think they are planning on buying all the kit a pro uses, just enough to do the job :)

DB - I have no idea about wedding photography (well, only what I've read on here), but a lot of people seem to say having a lens with a wide range helps like a 18-200mm.
 
Soz too (slaps self)

So...

Hire a Pro is the answer and you take some shots too - if you're not sure IF you need a flash of some sort - don't do it - just enjoy the day, get pis'd and have fun

Otherwise... 18-50mm as wide as you can get, 70-200 as wide as you can get, small tripod for the church bit, most powerful dedicated flash you (they) can afford, search the internet for ideas and produce a 'card' of your favs to remind you on the day, shoot everything on 'P' mode in Auto WB, fire at will and hope they all like the pics, use YoPhoto to produce a PhotoBook of the best 100-120 shots - they'll think you're a God

To be fair, I find that most couples only want in-focus and smiling, they don't appreciate the finer points of consistent colour balance, correct exposure, differential focus, composition, etc. So shoot away my friend and all will be fine and you'll get some free camera gear to boot
 
Well, it will hepl to know where the actual wedding and the wedding party are going to take place.
You'll probably also want something wider than 50 mm for group shots and I think it should be one that can take in plenty of light, since if the fun will last until, say, 3 AM, then you will appreciate such lenses.
I'd look for something in the 20-30 mm range, but a 20 should be a little better, since you probably won't have much space to waste.
 
DiddyDave said:
May I point out the obvious...

That it'd be far, far, far cheaper to hire a Pro than to buy you the equipment a Pro uses to ensure some Wedding images are captured!!!!

Even buying you a few of the essentials, and ignoring the really obvious 2nd camera as back-up, they would need to spend more than £600 and a Pro (like me and a few others at TP) can be had for that (if no album is bought) - plus you snap away too and hey Prestatin (or wherever it is in the saying!!!) a set of Pro shots backed up yours = fab & no pressure on you

My diminutive pro bag for Weddings has over £7,000 of gear in it, experience & full insurance too - and I can be had for less than £7,000 a Wedding - LOL
Click to expand...


That's a lot of shouting. Well if they buy the gear and then he takes the shots then he has the copyright and his mum and stepdad can get as many prints they want for the price of the print. Hiring a "professional" then they have to pay for the prints at a market rate. Making it far more expensive. Secondly £7000 worth of equipment doesn't always make for good photos as you wil be aware.
 
I know what you mean Ewan, but 'just enough to do the job' properly - IS £7k plus, there's no escaping that

I have a spanner in my garage (I think), but for a leaky tap I get in a plumber - who turns up with loads of proper gear, knowledge of how to use it and experience too - if he then cocks it up - he carries insurance to sort that out

Family affairs aside - who in your family will sue you? - not getting a Pro in is a false economy in any line of work - for a once in a lifetime event - it's just daft (IMHO)
 
Copyright ? So what?

Copyright of 50-500 crap shots if (and I don't mean DB here) you don't have a clue what you're doing - what value is that?

Okay, I'll add - £7k min plus a professional qualification

I still wouldn't want Johnny-bought-a-Spanner dealing with my pipes when I can get a pro in that's all - I'm not defending Pro Photographers as indeed many aren't that good; but a Pro in any field gives you some security... a badly repaired leaking pipe can be repaired later, a badly shot wedding can't
 
i have to agree with ddave . hire a pro and get yourself a decent p+s . dont mean to be harsh but if all you have on your list is a nifty fifty and some kind of flash and some extras you are goint to struggle a bit . having said that if married couple to be want to buy you a camera you have got some time to get some practice in before the day .
camera body ,dedicated flash ,and a mid range fairly fast zoom 28-75 ish f2.8 or equivalent for digital as bare minimum but if anything lets you down you are stuffed ( i think thats the technical term )
 
TBH not trying to make me being the photography anything amazing or anything but they don't really see there wedding as a 'big day' they are happy as they are but they want to host an event were all the family can come (from america) and have a great time, and they can establish themselves as a couple. Oh, and there a bit skint ... especially with americans coming...
 
DiddyDave said:
but a Pro in any field gives you some security... a badly repaired leaking pipe can be repaired later, a badly shot wedding can't
Click to expand...

normally i would tend to agree but not where photography is concerned,even a so called pro tog can make a mess, a work mate of mine had a so called pro do his wedding pics, you,ve never seen such a pile of sh?te, unfortunately no amount of sueing or insurance or refusing to pay can bring the day back it,s lost forever, on the other hand if the rogue plumber floods your kitchen it can be repaired.
 
I've heard a story about a photographer who's lab lost a roll of film from a wedding and he ended up having to fly all the guests back to the reception to re-take the photos as his contract left him liable for the loss of photos.
 
davidbridges said:
TBH not trying to make me being the photography anything amazing or anything but they don't really see there wedding as a 'big day' they are happy as they are but they want to host an event were all the family can come (from america) and have a great time, and they can establish themselves as a couple. Oh, and there a bit skint ... especially with americans coming...
Click to expand...

looking at your kit mate and what you say they want. all ill say is get out and about and practice... if your not going to spend a fortune then use what you have to the best of your ability.. and shoot in raw so you can save " if needed " alot of your shots..

practice practice practice

then practice some more...



dave:thumbs:

hth some...
 
if your a bit carefull with what you take , and not to fussy about the quality/size of your prints, you could do a wedding with a £150 point and shoot. weve had some suprising results with the kodak digital we keep in the top box when we go out on the motorbikes.
if you want the best quality and guaranteed results , use a pro.
if your going slr. a min of at least one 50mmish kit lens and a half decent flash will get some good shots. practice is the thing as a few have said.
good luck with whichever route you take.
 
at minimum as you obviously can't double up on everything due to budget i would get an 18-200VR, a SB600 flash and extra battery for body and a 50mm or similar as backup
 
Ok, came back from last weekend's wedding.

Must have

A lens equivalent to a 24-80mm lens, so something like the Canon 17-55 IS, Tamron 17-50, or Sigma 18-50.

A Fast lens at 2.8, so the kit lens is out, its simply not fast enough. Especially at the long end.

A Dedicated flash head that can tilt and swivel.

10G of memory Cards

2 sets of batteries for camera

2 sets of AA for Flash

Back up of any kind, be it another DSLR, another film SLR, even a P&S.

Know your camera INSIDE out, don't let the disco lights in the reception fool the ETTL, and know how to change settings quickly as the events can unfold before you very fast.

If possible

70-200mm 2.8 for the unsuspected candids.

Fong Diffuser, I had one but it was too cumbersome to carry. Useful if you can't bounce your flash thou.

Lens hood for the lens

Grip and a nice strap, your hand/arm will kill after 10 hours holding up the camera.
 
All you need for the wedding are two things...............................................................












A bride & groom. :love:
 
Hi, thanks for your responses. Luckily for me one of my mums good friends is a proffesional wedding tog so im going talk to him about lenses and things and see if i can do a bit of work experience...
 
Aye, get a pro in. As much as getting the gear would be good for you, it would be cheaper for your parents... and if i'm close by ;)

But no doubt you want to convince the financial powers to invest in you so, go for it with the tamron 2.8 suggest i say. and the second body, two flashes...etc ;)
 
tiler65 said:
All you need for the wedding are two things...............................................................

A bride & groom. :love:
Click to expand...

Not forgetting two witnesses and someone to conduct the wedding....

:D
 
Right, my mum has said she would spend up to £500 max on photography stuff that will benifit her on the wedding and me for when i go to college next year ect ect. Any suggestions on what i could get for that. I dont think i will buy an extra body as my stepdad may get one around christmas time ...
 
What about lenses for under £500, should i go for some primes or a zoom ?
 
How much photo experience do you actually have? If you're asking questions like this then you shouldn't even be considering shooting a wedding - not as the only/main photographer anyway.
 
To come straight to the point, get someone in to do it. If your mum and dad can afford around the £500 mark, I'm sure you will find a good tog for that in your area. Ask around, hit the wedding fairs etc., speak to other people from different venues.

The reason I say this is no matter wether its you doing it or the 'Pro' anything can go wrong on the day with pics and you'll never get the 'moment' back, but why put yourself through the stress of it.

If you've not got a lot of experience then relax and enjoy the day, pick yourself up a good P+S/Budget 350d/400/D40/D50 with kit lens and just shadow the 'Pro'. That way you'll get a good set of pics and if your mum and dad can't afford to go the whole hog with albums from the 'Pro' you can always make up soemthing with your shots.

I've just filmed a wedding this weekend and was shadowing the 'Pro' (he actually did my wedding) and because of his experience he got all that right shots, organised the guests, made everyone feel comfortable etc., which is what you need, if you don't think you have this abillity in you, just let someone else do it.

HTH with your choices :) :thumbs:
 
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