First Wedding | Tips? How should I be prepared?

[macpro88]

Ok, so a friend approached me and asked if I would shoot a wedding for a friend of his, he hasn't sent me any details or anything but its going to be a small wedding, less than 50 on the safe side and probably less than 40 I would say. Wedding isn't until November, will be indoors with what was said to be adequate lighting (we shall see...).

I AM DOING THIS FOR FREE (just to get that out of the way, because it is my first wedding)!

I currently have 7D + 24-105 f/4L + Speedlite 480EX II and some ND filters (not sure I'll need these).

I probably won't rent or buy anything for the wedding and just shoot with what I have (I would like to NOT have to buy anything, but...) but I would like to get a soft box for my speedlite just to have one and I know they can come in handy.

So, recommendations for a speedlite soft box?

Anything else I should consider renting/purchasing if I absolutely need it and will make things easier?

How should I go about practicing? Just ask friends/family to be my models for a few hours?



Any thing would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[gsgary]

that lens is no good for an indoor wedding

 

[macpro88]

that lens is no good for an indoor wedding

Care to elaborate? I was told it won't be dark, but who knows.





Wedding is also low key, not a lot of money being put into, just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

[spacefuzz]

Just remember that its a big day for them, and you dont want to muck it up for their sake. Dont do it for free, instead do it for the cost of renting the gear you need to do it right.

 

[macpro88]

Just remember that its a big day for them, and you dont want to muck it up for their sake. Dont do it for free, instead do it for the cost of renting the gear you need to do it right.

Tis a good idea, don't wanna charge since it is my first wedding, but will keep this in mind and see what prices are like.

I'm confident I'll end up with decent and usable images they will like, but not to the caliber of a hired pro obviously.

Should I really consider renting a fast 2.8 24-70? What about the softbox for flash?

 

[fotomumma09]

http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/camera-lenses-for-indoor-event-photography-fast-glass/

Just did a quick google search.

I certainly do not envy you! So much pressure, but you have a few months to get ready good luck!

 

[MLeeK]

You really need some particulars for this before you can determine what you will need.
Gary has a point in that lens. If this is a church wedding, indoors it's going to really kill you.
When? Time of day is pertinent to you regardless of indoor or outdoor wedding
When and where do they want portraits taken? Indoors-you're probably going to need more than just the speedlite. At minimum I'd want an off camera setup for it. Usually I would want no less than 2 speedlites.
Where? Indoor in a well lit green house? Or indoor in a dungeon of a church? Outdoors facing the sun? Outdoors in the shade? You see where I am going here.
Where-regulations. Many to most churches do not allow flash photography during the ceremony at all. So, if you are indoors you are in a world of hurt with that lens.

From where you are at right this second in this post here is what I would want:
70-200 f/2.8 lens of some sort. Doesn't have to be the Canon even. If you could borrow one?
50mm f/1.8
Your lens for outdoor portraits and anywhere you can use flash
Off camera setup for the flash-trigger, tripod and modifier. Umbrellas are CHEAP. A Fong Tupperware or knock off is a good start. Again, can you beg borrow or swipe one from a friend?
A half dozen memory cards about 8G
A reflector-one of those things for car windows can work well. Either in silver or white. If you can't find those a piece of that stuff kids use for science fair projects or white foam core board. Score one side of the white foam core board with a razor blade so it will fold up some and so you can "wrap" it to reflect light as you want it to.
A back up camera is really important, but I know that many go their first without it.
Good shoes.
Advil
Gatorade or tons of water
Maybe some Xanax.

 

[Big Mike]

With the high ISO capabilities of modern cameras, F4 is often going to be good enough. Although, you may find that 24mm just isn't wide enough in situations where you can't back up (indoors).

First off, I think that "I AM DOING THIS FOR FREE (just to get that out of the way, because it is my first wedding)!" is a bad idea.

If you were getting paid (or if you want to be perceived as professional) you will want to rent/borrow some form of back up equipment. This is someone's special day, are you willing to risk the photos, knowing that if the camera/lens/flash stops working (for any reason), you would be out of luck?
That is a big part of 'being prepared'.

Also, this may not matter, as you're doing this for free, but you should have a contract in place. At the very least, it should outline the expectations for you and for them...so that there are no surprises and/or hurt feelings afterward.

As for 'being prepared'...this is always what wracks my nerves before a wedding. Did I pack everything I'll need? The camera gear is the easy part. What about extra clothes, in case something happens to the clothes you're wearing. What about medication for something that might come up...headache, nausea, diarrhea etc? I always bring a small cooler with water and something with sugar (juice or pop). A tripod can often come in handy. A step ladder is a very useful thing to have.
Be prepared for any likely weather...jacket, umbrella in case of rain...maybe and extra shirt if it's so hot that you sweat though your first one.

My last wedding was a 4 hour drive away and I was there for two nights. I went over everything, trying to think of what I might need. I was 3/4 of the way there when I realized I forgot to bring any sort of jacket (forecast called for rain). I had to stop and buy one.

This is the difference between being a professional and just being a guy with a camera. A professional is prepared to get the job done.
But as you're doing this for free...I'm not sure your and their expectations will be...

 

[Big Mike]

Should I really consider renting a fast 2.8 24-70? What about the softbox for flash?

A softbox works by enlarging the size of the light source, relative to the subject. So for it to make a big difference to the quality of light, it would have to be a good size. And a good size softbox is too big to be used while the flash is on the camera. If you are using the flash off-camera, then a softbox might be useful.

But really, you can get much softer light by bouncing the flash off of walls or ceilings etc. So if it's going to be indoors, bounce flash is usually your best bet.

As for the lens, yes...of course...a faster lens is better and most wedding photographers shoot with F2.8 zoom lenses. But F4 is only one stop slower, which you can probably make up with ISO. It was less than 10 years ago that we (most photographers) didn't use an ISO over 800 for weddings...and many didn't go over 400, whether it was film or digital. Now we can easily shoot at 1600, 3200 or even 6400. So that's why I don't think it's essential to shoot with nothing but F2.8 lenses. (but it still helps)

It might not be a bad idea it add a fast prime lens. Something like a 50mm F1.4.

 

[macpro88]

Camera Lenses For Indoor Event Photography: Fast Glass – PictureCorrect

Just did a quick google search.

I certainly do not envy you! So much pressure, but you have a few months to get ready good luck!

Thanks for the article!

And yeah... I usually do nature stuff where there is no pressure... so this will be a step out of my comfort zone and we shall see how I like this. I'll either hate it or love it lol.

 

[macpro88]

Awesome points everyone, thank you so much.

Leek and Mike, thank you, I will be printing your responses out haha

I will defiantly look into renting prices of equipment I'll need and I will pull more details out for where this will be and what kinda of lighting there will be.

 

[MLeeK]

Where are you at in OH? Anywhere near one of us who you could borrow gear from?
I am about an hour from the OH border. A couple hours and change out of Cleveland. I know there are several in the CLE area...

 

[Robin Usagani]

What if your camera stopped working?, What if your lens is broken? What if your flash is dead?

 

[manaheim]

With the high ISO capabilities of modern cameras, F4 is often going to be good enough. Although, you may find that 24mm just isn't wide enough in situations where you can't back up (indoors).

First off, I think that "I AM DOING THIS FOR FREE (just to get that out of the way, because it is my first wedding)!" is a bad idea.

If you were getting paid (or if you want to be perceived as professional) you will want to rent/borrow some form of back up equipment. This is someone's special day, are you willing to risk the photos, knowing that if the camera/lens/flash stops working (for any reason), you would be out of luck?
That is a big part of 'being prepared'.

Also, this may not matter, as you're doing this for free, but you should have a contract in place. At the very least, it should outline the expectations for you and for them...so that there are no surprises and/or hurt feelings afterward.

As for 'being prepared'...this is always what wracks my nerves before a wedding. Did I pack everything I'll need? The camera gear is the easy part. What about extra clothes, in case something happens to the clothes you're wearing. What about medication for something that might come up...headache, nausea, diarrhea etc? I always bring a small cooler with water and something with sugar (juice or pop). A tripod can often come in handy. A step ladder is a very useful thing to have.
Be prepared for any likely weather...jacket, umbrella in case of rain...maybe and extra shirt if it's so hot that you sweat though your first one.

My last wedding was a 4 hour drive away and I was there for two nights. I went over everything, trying to think of what I might need. I was 3/4 of the way there when I realized I forgot to bring any sort of jacket (forecast called for rain). I had to stop and buy one.

This is the difference between being a professional and just being a guy with a camera. A professional is prepared to get the job done.
But as you're doing this for free...I'm not sure your and their expectations will be...

Scary. Of all the weddings I've shot so far... clothes... was one thing that never even occurred to me. Great advice, Mike. (all of it- not just the clothes) Thank you.

BTW, I personally bring a cooler with two medium size bottles of gatorade and no less than three high-protein snack bars. Like 20g+. Weddings are a lot of work and moving around and you have to be on your game, and being undernourished and dehydrated is a no-win situation.

 

[macpro88]

Where are you at in OH? Anywhere near one of us who you could borrow gear from?
I am about an hour from the OH border. A couple hours and change out of Cleveland. I know there are several in the CLE area...

I'm in Toledo, OH, about 2 hrs from Cleveland... great idea though.



And to answer Mike's question about expectations, they know they are not paying a pro and not getting a pro, they will be happy to have photos of decent quality.

I'm getting to know my 7D pretty well now and I'm getting pretty comfortable in knowing aperture/ISO/shutter speed and how that all correlates and affects the other so its not like I'll be spraying and praying on full auto...