Nikon Wedding Setup - Any thoughts??

What u reckons?


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Numnumball

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Mar 6, 2009
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Hiya fellow nikonians,

Seeking your valuable advices (esp pros in this field adopting Nikon for their wedding setup)
Done a fair bit of homework for my brohter-in-law upcoming AD Wedding this sat. Already famaliarized with my cam bodies and lens and flashes deep inside out for the past 1 yr...& on theory knows how to nail that exposure in normal/tricky lighting conditions...But put those aside, have no prior experience in shooting a AD.

To emphasize, i'm the secondary shooter.

The only thing bothering me right now is how to juggle among my gears to derive 2 combinationS such that i got most shots covered, from grp/table shots to space constraint HDBs to closeup shots to tele portraits etc.. (Already came up with a "What to shot in a Wedding" list ;) )

Detest the idea of having to change lens in the middle of such a impt event knowing that nth matters more than capturing that perfect moment.

To give a brief walkthrough of what to anticipate on Sat :-

Morning Session
Make up from 4am
Gatecrush from 6am (5 room HDB flat)
To Groom House from 8am (4 room HDB flat)
Back to Bride House from 930am

Lunch Wedding Session (Ballroom for 55 tables but only 38 invited)
1130am to 4pm

Much appreciated if you will to kindly share your thoughts or shed some light onto my proposed selections (feasible or impratical) and any other ideas/lens suggestions are most welcome though ideally i will wish to stick with my arsenal for now.

Note : The above poll is segregated by a "|" in which in between is the Morning Session | Lunch Session

GFCLoud /DembFlip/Stofen will be used on my 2 SB900s (one's borrowed) as and when required.

I might use only one SB900 on my primary set up in the morning session and my 105macro for detailed shots of objects with great sentimental values (wedding bands/bouquet/bride's shoes etc)

Thanks in adv~! :)
 

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for me, its 2 cams with 2 lenses, flash on 1 cam only.

S5 pro + 17-55/2.8 + flash
D80 + 70-200/2.8 (no flash)
i got 2 other flash and 2 more lens as backup.


I'm not a pro wedding shooter, but keep an eye out for small details:).
 

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Looking at your current gears, this is what I would do:

D700 + 17-35 + SB900

and

D90 + 105 or 70-200
 

for me, its 2 cams with 2 lenses, flash on 1 cam only.

S5 pro + 17-55/2.8 + flash
D80 + 70-200/2.8 (no flash)
i got 2 other flash and 2 more lens as backup.


I'm not a pro wedding shooter, but keep an eye out for small details:).

Thanks Bro for your advice.
You meant u dun use any flash on ur 70-200 even in low light conditions? :think:
 

Since you are not the main photographer, a D700 + 24-70 f/2.8 will be enough for 95% of the shots both indoors and outdoors. Bring plenty of AAs for the flash instead :)
 

Looking at your current gears, this is what I would do:

D700 + 17-35 + SB900

and

D90 + 105 or 70-200

Thanks for the advice.

Since you are not the main photographer, a D700 + 24-70 f/2.8 will be enough for 95% of the shots both indoors and outdoors. Bring plenty of AAs for the flash instead :)

Thanks for the advice. Got 12 pack of Enelops on standby (apart from whats in the 2 Sb900s), call of duty when needed :)
 

i wrote this some time ago...check it out http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=547400

ultimately it depends on what and how u want to capture the wedding.
shallow DOF, natural lighting or flash all the way ( it affects how people around u react to u and ur camera)

Thanks Bryan~! Much appreciated. Read that long time back and admits it really helps. But i sitll caught in a dilenmma (though after reading ur thread) esp for morning session; always prefer the exaggerated view ultra wides gives, so really tempted to use the 17-35 on D700 but prefer primary lens 24-70 to pair with D700.

For indoors should be shallow dof (apart from group pics)/ flash all the way, outdoors fill flash when required (max flash sync), dof adjust accordingly depending on lighting conditions.

I/m really looking at D700 + MBD10 + 17-35 +SB900 with D90 + MBD80 + 24-70 + SB900 for morning session.. I know its hard for you to advise as you shoot mainly in primes. :)
 

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D700 + MBD10 + 17-35 +SB900 with D90 + MBD80 + 24-70 + SB900 for morning session..

with this combi, it might be too wide for you, and unless you know how to compose shots with ultra wides, its not going to do you any good. honestly, up till now i can only find a few shooters who can do that well.

with the shooting style that i think you have, you might find the D700 with 24-70 more convenient for you, more your style. if you need to shoot big group portraits, change to the 17-35 which you should be keeping beside you.

i usually shoot with a gripped D300 with 17-55 and SB-900, with a secondary body with a fast prime for those candid shots. very shallow DOF without flash is what i do with my second body. these are my 2 styles of shooting weddings.

and i think you are honestly way over prepared for a wedding (though no harm to be ever ready). my 4 eneloops in my SB-900 lasted me over 1100 triggers in the morning before i had to change. i used only 8 batteries total for day and night.
 

i also had this discussion before with another shooter whose works i really admire.

he will go for a D90 with 17-55 or 24-70, and D700 with a 50 fast prime for candids.

any camera from D70 onwards with a 17-55 and a good speedlight can frankly do the job. but what makes the equipment shine is the ability of the D700's high ISO power. he can afford to dial up the D700's ISO to really high to cater for high speed, no speedlight photography for candids. On a D90 with speedlight, they will be more for posed shots, which ISO400 is the most often used setting, and most cameras have very very tolerable noise levels up to ISO400, even for my old D80 in the past.
 

Personally, I'd say go and relax and enjoy the wedding. That's not to say don't shoot, but personally I find second cameras to be too much like work. I'd focus on one camera and one lens and getting the nice moments that working uninhibited by gear allows. Which lens is up to you really, or you can just swap a bit. The 24-70 is more versatile when it comes to the more general shots and the 70-200 will allow you to snag candids.
 

if is NOT wide enough use the FX + 17-35
if is NOT tele enough use the DX + 70-200
if is NOT close enough use the 105 mm
if is NOT bright enough use the flash
:bsmilie:
 

my thoughts are more of: how much will you be charging your couple...
 

is TS brother in law
ah my bad.

I suppose option A will be the best setup here.. but keep the ultrawide in a belt pouch for rapid deployment.
 

Can understand your excitement dude.

But be careful not to turn into an 'uncle bob' or 'aunt jane'. Google the term if you don't know what is it.

If it's a relative and they hired a pro and you still want to shoot, stick to one body and change lenses. Keep it simple and your results will be better.

If you are a second shooter hired by the main, your job is capture stuff he cannot capture, be at places he cannot be, with focal length and perspective he doesn't. The main shoots he will take care and he will not miss, so he don't need you shooting the same stuff as him.
 

D700 + MBD10 + 17-35 +SB900 with D90 + MBD80 + 24-70 + SB900 for morning session..
I would go for luntut's recommendation, this way you are covered 17-105mm maybe drop the MBD lah, already so heavy no need MBD if secondary shooter but if you intend to shoot plenty and don't mind the weight can go ahead also.

../azul123