Recommended Gear for event photography?

DocFrankenstein · Oct 13, 2005

Sharkbait - all I've offered is an opinion.

You want to push the guy to go shoot a wedding with one flash, no knowledge of posing, portraiture, all in JPEG and no backup storage for some reason. Doesn't make much difference to me.

But he's bound to end up in a "kinda rude" situation if his only flash fails him, don't you think?

Doc

photogoddess · Oct 13, 2005

I'm much like ksmattfish & Alison and I tend to keep things simple. When I started shooting weddings years ago, I used my Bronica set up. One body, one lens, one flash with a bracket & softbox and an appropriate amount of film & batteries. I always brought my Minolta 3xi as a backup... just in case. Now that I've done a ton of them, I take the same Bronica set up and bring along my 10D as a back up. I do not carry any backup/storage device, studio strobes, PhD, wireless trigger or an obscene amount of flash memory. I do carry a couple of gig (4) in case of card failure but I've NEVER needed that much memory to shoot ANY event. Probably because I make sure that I think before I hit the shutter button just as if I was shooting film because every shot still counts - even if you're shooting digital. Good luck to ya uberben! Watch out for the mother of the bride. They are usually the tough ones to deal with. :lol:

Alison · Oct 14, 2005

DocFrankenstein said:
Sharkbait - all I've offered is an opinion.

You want to push the guy to go shoot a wedding with one flash, no knowledge of posing, portraiture, all in JPEG and no backup storage for some reason. Doesn't make much difference to me.

But he's bound to end up in a "kinda rude" situation if his only flash fails him, don't you think?

Doc

Wow, I'm shocked that someone with so much experience shooting weddings wouldn't have suggested to shoot the reception in available light (at a higher ISO) should something happen to his flash.

Since's he's already got a laptop for storage it isn't an issue, but I rarely shoot in RAW at weddings. I shoot the highest quality JPEG. If you shoot right the first time and get the exposure there's not a lot of need for a RAW image to adjust later.

I agree with John on this one, know the style of the couple. Most of the weddings I've shot in NH don't want a lot of posed formal shots. In fact, we've not once shot with our studio strobes and a backdrop here. For a wedding we did in MN they wanted a large portion of the time to be formals. Every couple is different. Having good backup for your gear is essential, but so is knowing the basics of photography. If your flash dies you'd better be able to shoot without it. What about churches or other places of worship that don't even allow flash?

uberben, I again say that you're doing a great job by looking for advice so early. Often the questions we get here are "I'm shooting my first wedding this weekend, what should I know?" We all had to start out somewhere. I shot my first wedding reception as a favor to a friend with my Canon G1. If you're got the drive to shoot weddings and a good eye the money will follow to pay for the equipment you want

danalec99 · Oct 14, 2005

photogoddess said:
I make sure that I think before I hit the shutter button just as if I was shooting film because every shot still counts - even if you're shooting digital.

:thumbup:

photogoddess · Oct 14, 2005

Oh wow! I agree Alison. This brings up memories of wedding nightmares past. :lol:

One of the biggest weddings that I ever shot... I was assured that I would be able to use my flash. As we were walking in the door, the priest informs me that not only would I NOT be able to use my flash, he felt that if I was seen or heard AT ALL, that I was overstepping and would be removed from the church all together. Thankfully I had scouted the church and knew where I could get my shots from without being seen AND knew the basics of photography so I was able to bump my ISO and have my film pushed so that the couple got their shots even with the last second restrictions. In another wedding, the pastor refused to allow me to take photos at all. I had my husband at the time sit in the front with a digital point and shoot. Apparently it was rude and unacceptable for the official photographer to take photos during the ceremony but the guest were free to snap away at their hearts content. Thankfully we were guests in addition to me being the photographer since I usually shoot weddings alone. It was a bit weird but at least the bride got her photos. :roll:

You can't be prepared for every situation but you have a better chance of getting the job done if you know your basics and be prepared to roll with the punches.

hobbes28 · Oct 14, 2005

I've switched back to shooting manual in the last few months so I've, of course, carried that over to when we shoot weddings and, actually, haven't had to use the flash in a long while. I like to make sure I know how to take every shot I do without a flash so when I do use it, it's like a bonus.

Alison · Oct 14, 2005

We've had that happend too! We did a wedding at a church in January and were told we were free to be wherever we needed to and flash was fine. We did another wedding at the same church, but different pastor and were told afterwards that we shouldn't have used flash! Turns out the flash really bothered the pastor's eyes, thought not ours because it was bounced but the p/s direct flashes made it hard for him to see! It can also be hard if you're told you can't go behind the last pew because when the couple walks down the aisle the guests crowd the aise and make it next to impossible to get a good shot.

ksmattfish · Oct 14, 2005

photogoddess said:
Apparently it was rude and unacceptable for the official photographer to take photos during the ceremony but the guest were free to snap away at their hearts content.

It's so true.

Last weekend the priest let me use the flash during the ceremony, as long as I didn't take photos during the prayer. He must have thought my mini-softbox looked like it could get pretty bright so he pulled my aside and explained all of the horrible eye conditions he suffered from.

I promised him I would try not to get him straight in the eyes. I had plenty of time to shoot when he was looking down at the bible, and mixed in some available light shots.

uberben · Oct 14, 2005

WOW this forum is incredible.

Thank you for all you advice. I have come up with a fairly decent sized wishlist now. My wife has graciously agreed to be my test pilot and let me practice on her in a wide variety of lighting so I can be better prepared.

I paid a photographer 1500 at our wedding and the shots were so-so. I had just began my obsession with photography at the time so I may have been over critical. However, It really started to make me think about doing this as a fun side job that could lead to a main job down the road. I just don't want to be nieve about it. So I guess I just get more of an excuse to play with my camera.