Wedding Photos (for a newbie)

[mmcdoug2]

Hi Guys,

I am taking wedding photos for a friend at a small ceremony soon. I currently have a Canon 600D plus three lenses (55-250mm 1:4-5.6, 60mm Macro 1:2.8 USM, and a stock EFS 18-55mm), and a Manfrotto tripod.

Ultimately what I am looking for is a new lens (or two), and a new flash for this situation. The setting will be partially indoor and outdoor and at twilight - evening and will be mostly close shots (from 1-5m away).

I am still a relative n00b when it comes to photography, so any recommendations or anything that points me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

P.S.- I'd like to get away with this for under $2k if possible.

Thanks!
Matt

 

[binga63]

.... waiting for the firestorm.... good luck with the responses...

 

[Dao]

Maybe you need to define "soon". Few weeks, few months or few years?

You may need to understand that photography gears are not the answer for wedding photography. They are just tools. I strongly believe you need to know why you need such tool before you buy it and use it unless cost is not an issue.

As for the lens recommendation, there are no such things as Wedding lenses or flashes. But there are tools that a photographer use to achieve the result he/she prefer based on his/her style in different scene and lighting condition.

Sorry, since I never shoot wedding before, so I do not have any recommendation on lenses or flashes. I will let others who have experience in wedding photography charm in.

 

[ColeGauthier]

You don't have the camera body, the lenses, you certainly don't have the experience and you won't get away with this under 2k.

 

[mmcdoug2]

Even someone like me knows a 600D would be sufficient for such an event. I'm not blowing these pictures up onto billboards.

 

[MLeeK]

.... waiting for the firestorm.... good luck with the responses...

Move over, there'll be a lot of us to join you!

 

[MLeeK]

Even someone like me knows a 600D would be sufficient for such an event. I'm not blowing these pictures up onto billboards.

A 600D might be OK, but combined with the lenses you have it is going to be harder than hell and not the greatest quality at any size.
You need a 70-200 f/2.8 IS and a 24-70 (or near that range) f/2.8. Whatever you buy you NEED that constant f/2.8 and good quality glass.
For the speedlite I'd suggest the 580 EX II. They're dropping in price and if you check ebay you can pick one up pretty cheap.

Then spend some time on Strobist for learning what to do with the speedlite.

 

[mmcdoug2]

Thanks so much MLeeK

I never did intend to use my current lenses. They're cheap and nasty - I only bought them to play with

 

[MLeeK]

I am not going to lie to you, you are really behind the 8-ball with this one. With a wedding there is no 'do over' and if you don't know what you are doing you're screwed, to put it mildly.
Where is the wedding at? Church?
When is it?
What is the reception venue like? Do you have white ceilings to bounce off of?

 

[mmcdoug2]

To put the size of it into perspective, this is two people both getting married for the second time, with no more than 100 guests. Wedding and reception effectively rolled into one.

If they thought it was worth it, they would have hired a professional. They're not exactly what you'd call short on cash.

I haven't really had time to look at the venue, but it's at a function center over a golf course.

 

[pixmedic1 1]

get a used 70-200 f/2.8 tamron or sigma, $800ish, used 28-75 f/2.8 tamron or sigma $300-$400 non VR, $500-$600 with VR. we use our 17-50 f/2.8 more than our 28-75, but your mileage may vary. get a good speedlight and something to diffuse the light. plastic diffuser at the least, or better yet a softbox. we use several speedlights when we do wedding with stands and reflector umbrellas or shoot through umbrellas. some people prefer softboxes.
if you have any money left over, a 50mm prime is a great wedding lens for low light, and they are pretty inexpensive. if the wedding is "soon", you dont have much time to get the hang of lighting so whatever you are getting, get it NOW and practice. it will be difficult to "learn" how to use your flash while shooting a wedding.

 

[mmcdoug2]

Awesome, thanks very much for your suggestions pixmedic. I was looking at a softbox earlier today - any opinion on Lumiquest? Or is it one of those things where you really can't go wrong?

 

[KmH]

The camera body issue has more to do with things like auto focus module options/performance, and low light ISO performance, rather than printing photos.
Since a wedding is a unique one day event there is usually no chance for a 'do over'.

When someone has to ask what lens/flash, it indicates a lack of fundamental digital photography and camera/lens technical knowledge, which usually makes making even decent wedding photos hit and miss.

However, someone familiar with all the features, functions, and performance limitations of their Canon 600D (T3i here in the USA) would know what it could and couldn't do. For example, can the 600D do HSS flash?
Someone that familiar with their camera would likely know exactly what lens focal lengths/maximum apertures and flash would be within their budget.
Many wedding photographers use 2 camera bodies. One with a 24-70 mm f/2.8 zoom lens, and the second with a 70-200 mm f.2,8 zoom lens.

Camera/lens/flash adjustments related to depth-of-field, exposure compensation, flash exposure compensation, focus mode, focus area mode, metering mode, white balance, have to be adjusted on the fly when shooting weddings.

Here is 2K worth of lenses:
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 IF EX DG HSM AF Standard Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 APO EX DG HSM OS FLD Large Aperture Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital DSLR Camera

Flash photography adds an additional level of complexity and requires an additional set of photographic technical knowledge.
When the camera is allowed to use TTL flash control the results are often inconsistent. The camera is just a stupid machine after all. Controlling TTL flash is fairly complicated and it's not likely someone would be able learns it's ins-and-outs in a short period of time.
Many who have never done flash photography don't know that the relationship of shutter speed and aperture is different than when no flash is used. In fact the short duration of the flash of light assumes some of shutter speeds motion stopping role depending on the flash power used, the amount of ambient light present, and which shutter curtain the flash unit is synced to.

Hot shoe flash units that are TTL and HSS capable are not inexpensive because they use proprietary camera-to-flash control protocols Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash for Canon EOS Digital SLR Cameras

If one can do manual flash, the variety of hot shoe mounted flash units is greatly expanded and the costs can be substantially lowered Yongnuo YN-560 II Speedlight Flash for Canon and Nikon. GN58.

 

[pixmedic1 1]

Awesome, thanks very much for your suggestions pixmedic. I was looking at a softbox earlier today - any opinion on Lumiquest? Or is it one of those things where you really can't go wrong?

you will hear a lot of "you get what you pay for" around here, and SOMETIMES that is definitely the case. more so with camera bodys and lenses/flashes than with peripheral gear. we have fairly inexpensive umbrellas and softboxes and they work just fine. you don't have to go crazy on those for them to work well. you will even hear a lot of people rate some third party flashes and lenses very well. a few of our lenses are Tamron and they have been very good to us. off camera lighting is a great tool and if you wish to continue with weddings and such, I highly recommend a few flashes, with stands and some form of diffuser for them. it isnt really the size of the guest list that will matter for gear as much as the size of the wedding party. that will determine how many people you will have to get in a frame, how wide you will have to shoot, and how much extra lighting you will need.

 

[Derrel]

I would say this: buy decent stuff and practice with it. Lenses: Sigma or Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 as the MAIN lens. Flash: Go for the best...Canon 580 EX-II. Why? I own one, and in my experience, it is a great flash unit. Flash indoors can be one's main source of light. Why skimp on the LIGHT source??? BUY THE BEST FLASH--it is well,well,well worth it, especially for a beginner!!!! Do not buy some cheap Chinese $90 flash and expect to learn to use it...buy a 580 EX-II and allow it to do the majority of the work. Shoot at elevated ISO. FORGET this nonsense about using the "lowest ISO possible". Uh, in my experience, that is one of the many theoretical arguments, a best practices kind of stance...and one that BACKFIRES, terribly at times, on beginners, or under tough situations. Why? Using the "lowest ISO possible" kills ambient light in the background; it makes the flash fire at MAX output, so there's always a BIG blast from the flash on very frame, which annoys people, and sucks your batteries faster and slows recycle time, and again, the lowest ISO possible KILLS YOUR AMBIENT!!!! Set the ISO to 500 or 640 and learn how to shoot flash indoors at THAT ISO.

Spend a few weeks, and I mean a few WEEKS, shooting pics indoors using flash at 640 ISO with your Canon and 580 EX-II and 17-50mm f/2.8 zoom lens. Do a bit of internet research on "second curtain flash sync" as well as the term "dragging the shutter". With these tips, and the GOOD flash,m the 17-50/2.8 zoom, and a few weeks' worth of practice, you will be able to do this gig, and turn out some decent pics. This is not brain surgery,nor a space launch...this is within your reach if you follow this simple advice, and spend the money and DO SOME PRACTICING with the new rig.