Lens Shopping is Frustrating!!!

err guys can we have a bit of focus here ;)
3 pages almost talking about backup gear - I think anyone reading has got the point now - wedding professionals need backup gear - a camera at the very least and more than one lens incase one should get knocked over.

Usually you lot start on about the photographic quality (you know the photos) and the skills of the indevidual photographer in such a pressured case.

Missdaisy if I might add a few bits of advice (since I dont shoot weddings nor nikon gear, so I can't make a good recomendation on a lens) but since you have time I would suggest the following since you have time open to you;

1) see if you can find a local wedding photographer who is willing to let you ghost him/her at a wedding event - the idea here is that you go and shoot (without getting in the photographers way) thus getting a feel for weddings, whilst not having the pressure to have to get stunning results. That can be a real eye opener showing you all the different lighting situations and such that you can encounter and might show you some other areas in which your skills or kit need improving.

2) I have not seen your work so this is not me saying that you are no good - but do keep an open mind to the offer to shoot the wedding - practice, put in the hours and get the best kit you can - but in the end (and well before the day) take a long hard look at yourself and your gear and make darn sure you are confident in your abilty to perform well on the day. If not its time to step back and tell the couple to get a pro - you can still shoot on the day of course but it removes pressure from you and is a good fall back if you find that your just not ready.
IT is a demanding area of photography, not just from the technical side but also because (not matter what they say) the couple (esp the wife) want 1stclass results.
 
Overread, I do have a friend that is a pro photographer and she has offered for me to come to her house any time for free lessons, BONUS!
I have wanted to ask her to let me shadow her-- but here's where it gets sticky, I work for her husband. I have been his office manager for 9 years. (not in the photography biz) I love photography and I would like to make it into a career. I have this amazing opportunity to train with a pro but how can I use this to my advantage without pissing off her husband? Eventually it will become apparent to them that I intend on leaving my current full time job. :meh:
 
If the bride/groom understand the limitation of the photographer, it is all good. Because that is their choice not to hire a Pro photographer. If I buy a used car instead of a new one, I will need to accept the fact that when it break down in one year, I may need to pay for the repairs. I will not blame the car salesman.
That certainly sounds good until you screw up their wedding photos and you've lost, forever, those moments. I can assure you that unless they simply don't care if they have pics or not, someone - usually the bride - will be pretty upset.

When they agree to a favor they're thinking "we're getting our pics for free!" and not "we may or may not get our pics".
 
haven't seen one of these threads in a while...

mostly new players...

interesting...

:popcorn:
 
haven't seen one of these threads in a while...

mostly new players...

interesting...

:popcorn:

haha .. yes ... but it is good to see it once in a whole. So that we know this forum still alive and have new blood. ... Pass me that pop corn ... will ya?
 
MissDaisy well from your current standpoint you hav the offer of some free training so that is certainly a massive help! Might be an idea to go to some of the training sessions and then see how things go - as they go on express interest in getting some in the field experience at a real wedding - before the big day for yourself.
 
haven't seen one of these threads in a while...

mostly new players...

interesting...

:popcorn:
I think it's pretty funny how a thread about lens shopping can turn into another wedding photography discussion as soon as the word 'wedding' is used (and it doesnt matter what the original subject started as) :lol:
 
haven't seen one of these threads in a while...

mostly new players...

interesting...

:popcorn:
I think it's pretty funny how a thread about lens shopping can turn into another wedding photography discussion as soon as the word 'wedding' is used (and it doesnt matter what the original subject started as) :lol:

I think everyone wants me to know how vicious a Bridezilla can be! :lmao:
 
haven't seen one of these threads in a while...

mostly new players...

interesting...

:popcorn:
I think it's pretty funny how a thread about lens shopping can turn into another wedding photography discussion as soon as the word 'wedding' is used (and it doesnt matter what the original subject started as) :lol:
I can see how it happened. When you say "what's a good lens for wedding photography" it's not much of a stretch for the thread to discuss wedding photography.

Actually, this is what was said:

To get to the point I would like to purchase another lens that would be appropriate for weddings.

This leads to a discussion about what's appropriate for a wedding. Seems like a natural progression to me.
 
I've enjoyed everyones input, that's why I threw it out there. :thumbup:
 
ANDS, you may know people who haven't had their camera or other equipment fail, but that is like playing Russian Roulette. There will come a time (if they shoot enough weddings) where something will fail. If not, they are lucky and should play the lottery. It doesn't matter what kind of lens (or camera) you have as a backup (in a loose sense). Just use one for the sake of being responsible for your paying customer.
I agree that a skilled photographer can get great shots without buying the newest equipment. I will also add that some equipment can do more than others and yields better results than others. I would hope you use more than one lens to shoot a wedding if you are getting paid for it. :greenpbl:

I didn't say camera equipment can't fail. I would just like to know those people who have oodles invested in lenses, backup cameras that collect dust - how many times they've actually been in this situation. Check out DigitalWeddingForums.com and its classified section, and you'll see a graveyard of unused "backups" with 200 actuations on them.

As I said, if the OP has the money - spend it. But please lets not draw superficial lines in the sand that seperate cash loaded "pros", with budding "ametuer" photogs.

I too had a camera failure while photographing a sweet 16, and I was devastated, got one of those error 99 something codes.

Shoot Nikon.

I'm not gonna spend some 3 grand for a photographer who won't be prepared for murphy's law.

I'd just carry around a couple of broken lenses and a dead body I got off eBay: "See, I'm prepared!" Like I said, its all a state of mind, a false mentality that others get sucked in that makes them think one is better than the other. If I had my druthers, I'd pick the plucky shooter with two lenses and an older camera with the stunning shots, than the also-ran shooter with 20G's worth of equipment giving me Cliche Wedding Shot #867370347.
 
ANDS!, no one is suggesting she purchase $20 grand worth of gear. It is completely remiss of you to suggest that she need not worry about finding an affordable alternative to having a back-up. Either renting or borrowing a camera for a day is damn cheap insurance to avoid making a very ugly mess of things. That's all that's being said here and for some reason you're telling her to ignore the advice of countless pro's that have done of this years and to just wing it... everything will be fine because over on the Digital Wedding Forums there's gear for sale that's never been used.

What will you tell her should she come back here after listening to your advice and says "my camera stopped working because it was knocked to the floor by a guest and I missed half of the wedding"? Will you ignore her posts? Pretend you gave other advice? :)
 

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