wedding photography

[Debbe]

Just wondering are there any wedding photographers here?
I have in the past always used film....(don't even own a digital at this point) I shoot with a Mamiya 645AF for weddings, seniors, portraits.
I recently attended Imaging USA in Las Vegas and seems that I am behind times!
Seems like all the wedding photographers there used digital.
Can some of you tell me what kind of digital camera you use?
Why? What lens works best for you....if you do weddings or other?
I saw some fabulous ditigal wedding albums. Do any of you do those?

So I am thinking about buying digital to try. Doing some photojournal
type weddings, that seems to be the thing also. I do some photojournal
type, but not 100% at a wedding. I still do lots of posed stuff.
I do love photojournal though.
Anyway, what is the advise for choosing digital?
Seems they were shooting Mark II, Fuji S2, D1, etc for weddings.

Thanks in advance for any response.

 

[danalec99]

You might want to check out this link

Yes, digital is being felt in almost all areas slowly. The photographer at the wedding that I attended recently had a Fuji DSLR along with his array of Hassies and Rollies.

 

[ksmattfish]

I shoot all film. "Do you use film or digital?" is always one of the first questions I'm asked when meeting with a client. So far "film" seems to be the right answer. Of course, anyone who's been to my website should have an idea that I'm a film shooter, so anyone who wanted digital probably wouldn't be interested in me.

Someday I'm sure I will shoot weddings with digital. You are right, most everyone else has switched already. There are still folks who want film. I'll probably buy a DSLR within 2 years, but I'll want to use it for quite a while before I'd shoot a paid wedding with it. There's no redo on wedding photography.

 

[Debbe]

You are so right when you say "can not redo a wedding"!! So far so good for me....but I always count my blessings!
I am a film lover also, and have not shot anything but film.
I just am allowing myself to feel the pressure I guess.
Do you shoot any photojournal type stuff at weddings?

 

[mavrik]

I shoot weddings in digital with my DRebel and 3 lenses: 18-55mm kit lens, 50mm f1.8 for low light, 75-300mm for non-intrusive journalism work. So far, so good.

As far as "no redo on wedding" - I find that's MORE true with film. With my Reb, I am shooting, shooting, I see previews of what I'm getting, I have my assistant/gf download during the shooting and preview them to make sure everything is coming out well. We shoot about 800 shots at a wedding, which works out to 250-300 keepers. I can't IMAGINE doing that with film. Yikes.

So far, so good.

 

[photogoddess]

I still shoot weddings with film. I feel so comfortable with film and the whole wedding experience that I have never even considered shooting one with my digital. There's a look and feel to my weddings that I just feel that digital can't duplicate. Hard to put a finger on but other people (clients) have noticed the difference in the quality when reviewing portfolios as well. For me, if it ain't broke, I ain't gonna "fix" it.

 

[ksmattfish]

I shoot posed and documentary style (I prefer this term to PJ, but it's the same thing).

It is true that with film you have to have faith in your equipment and abilities. I shoot 250 to 300 photos during a 6 hour wedding/reception; almost all of them are keepers

I would need several years of personal shooting with a digital system before I dared use it with weddings (I'd probably bring it in on portrait shoots that could be redone much sooner). I need that long to have the faith in the new technology and root out it's subtle weaknesses or problem areas. Every system has them, I just don't want to learn about them on someone else's dime. I saw a few posts on photo.net where people wrote about memory cards failing and losing significant sections, if not all of the wedding. :shock: That terrifies me.

Canon's fancy, high-end, $8000 DSLR with the full 35mm frame sized sensor is doing great in comparison tests with film. Many of them are saying it's on it's way to being as good as 6x4.5cm (still not quite). When I can get a DSLR body with 6x4.5 quality for $1000 to $1500 is when I'll be much more interested in digital wedding photography, and I'll still probably offer film to those who want it.

Right now I get amazing quality, and I already have all the equipment I need. I'm mostly using a Pentax 67II and a Rolleiflex; although used 6x4.5 systems are so cheap right now I have considered picking up a Bronica SLR or Fuji rangefinder just for weddings. For the moola I'd need to sink in a professional DSLR system right now, I'll be able to get exactly what I want in a few years (3 to 5). I can wait.

 

[Alison]

We shoot all digital, with a Canon 10D. I learned photography with film, did my own developing, etc. My husband sold cameras for years and so we could memo out the latest technology and try it out for free. When we started our business there was no question, we wanted to use digital. Disasters can happen at any wedding, film can get accidentally exposed, or ruined in processing. CF cards can get corrupt and lose data. Cameras can just stop working for no reason at all. However, it's all what you are comfortable with. If you are looking to get into digital find a camera that you love, take time to get to know the features, and like ksmattfish
said, the weaknesses before shooting a wedding with it. For example, the LCD on the 10D shows the exposure being perfect, upload to the computer and the image is really dark. It took a few months to get it so that I knew what I was seeing would be a good print.

I don't really think one mediun is better than the other. I've found some great advantages (you can make sure everyone has their eyes open in a group shot for one!). I personally love the digital workflow, but now with great quality negative scanners that can be acheived with 35mm, too. I find it a lot less expensive and that I have full control over the image rather than relying on a printer to get the colors that *I* want.

Have some fun, experiment and let us know how it goes

 

[Debbe]

Hey, thanks so much for all the replies...keep them coming.
That is why I love forums!
Well, I just allowed myself to feel the pressure of going digital.
My images are turning out pretty good at this point but I just
like the fact you can see what you are doing with digital...or at least
I thought that was the case. There is so much to learn about digital
before I would shoot a wedding and then I doubt I would shoot
full digital at a wedding. But I thought it would be great to have
a DSLR to do the photojournal/documentary whatever you want
to call us....I thought it would be neat to shoot digital for those.
To avoid eating so much film.
But you've all given me lots to consider and when I decide to take
the plunge and purchase one, I'll be sure to let you know how it's
going. It may be a while now that I've calmed down about the
pressure of it all.
I love this business and my desire is to be great at it. Will I ever get there? :?

 

[green]

I played a game with some friends (some of whom are into photography and others who aren't). I took ym wedding portfolio of 8x10s (some film, some that i took with my 10D) and asked them to tell me if it was film or digital. they got it wrong EVERY time.

 

[binfordtools]

Canon Mark II is the way I'd go.

 

[ksmattfish]

asked them to tell me if it was film or digital

Everyone (photographers and non-photogs) who has ever seen the 16"x20" print of this photo that is hanging in my darkroom says something along the lines of "Wow, with those colors it must be digital." But I printed it myself in the darkroom of my color photography class in the mid 90's. You'd think the lack of a huge Epson printer laying around would be a tip-off...

Kodak Royal Gold 25
Pentax ZX-5 w/ 28-200
polarizing filter
tripod

 

[danalec99]

Wow!!!