Wedding in April


Status
Not open for further replies.

TuTu_CaR

New Member
Feb 2, 2004
369
0
0
40
Hi all,
I am invited by my cousin to shoot for his wedding in April next year.

However, I not very confident with my current setup now...

1) 7D with Grip
2) 2 1500 mH and 2 1700mH Batteries
3) Minolta 24-105mm
4) Minolta 50 1.7mm
5) 3600HS

Heard that 17-35mm is a good wedding lens, should i get that? I am quite concern about the AF capabilities becasue with the 24-105, the AF seems to hunt alot, quite slow even in the day.....

Should I upgrade to a 5600HS flash???

Should I get more batteries??

Please advise ...... I am quite willing to spend up to 1k plus...since this is a long term investment thing also....hehe...
 

seriously its not abt gear...
have you tried wedding before?
its about knowing the limitations of your gear and working ard it..
actual day photography can be very straight forward and if you can be special very creative.
my advice is to know what teh couple wants and be honest abt wat u can deliver.
new gear aint gonna be useful unless u know how to use it.
 

true...... :)
 

heh...I'll hvta agree w slaam on this one...it really doesn't really matter what lens/flash/body you use to take for wedding...its the interaction and the experience of being at the right time and the rite place tat matters in the fast pace wedding...moreover...you should have already know ur limitations of ur equipments BEFORE you handle the actual assignment...so...to get a new piece of hardware just before the assignment and plunge in untested is not reccommended lor...you would wanna reduce as much surprise as possible...
 

Notice that u will be using the 24-105mm for the whole wedding, the wide end 24mm might not be enough when u comes to the table shoots only. Go find out which hotel and the numbers of tables to figure out whether do u still need to get a 17-35mm.

If this is yr first time shooting as a offical photograhper, means the couple gona depends a lot on u, try to find out more tips here and there. Gears wise, u have more than enough. mm i believe u got extra batteries for yr body right too( bring yr charger along with u)? happy shooting..

cheers.
 

Hello there,
I shot a wedding in November, do check out my impressions here.

Personally I think you should bring a backup or two, so even if you botch up a shot there's a chance someone else got it.

Cheers
Hope it helps!
QX
 

ya, most prob i will ask my friend to help also...

actually my most concern is my lens 24-105 is not wide enough and AF not fast enough... this is the limitation i am worried about....

anyway thanks !!
 

TuTu_CaR said:
Hi all,
I am invited by my cousin to shoot for his wedding in April next year.

However, I not very confident with my current setup now...

1) 7D with Grip
2) 2 1500 mH and 2 1700mH Batteries
3) Minolta 24-105mm
4) Minolta 50 1.7mm
5) 3600HS
A question, do u have the kit lens that comes with it? I think an 18-70 like the one supplied with the KM5D? Use that. :) I swear by it and experienced it, covered events, whole day weddings even in low light with no problems. See my avatar? That's shot with my kit lens. :)

Heard that 17-35mm is a good wedding lens, should i get that? I am quite concern about the AF capabilities becasue with the 24-105, the AF seems to hunt alot, quite slow even in the day.....
Yes, its good & fast with a reasonably large aperture of f/2.8 - f/4. If u have the money, go get it. But dun use ur new toy as experiment testing ground on someone else's wedding. Its absolutely nerve wrecking since u're buying ur chance on luck. :sweat:

Should I upgrade to a 5600HS flash???
I'd done stuff like these on my 3600HS. The only minus I'd say abt it is the lack of side swivel (which I corrected using a stroboframe). Other than that, I feel its ok. I had taken photos with the subject on 2nd floor and I'm on 1st floor, zoom to 70mm and fired my 3600HS at full power. Spot on exposure.

Should I get more batteries??
I got a 1700mAh Eastgear battery & the original 1500mAh NP400 KM battery. No problem on my 5D. Ur 7D I'm not very sure. If u scared, juz get 1 more loh.
 

If you are the primary photographer for the wedding, try to get as much detail of the wedding as possible. Make sure you become a member of the bridal party---it is as much in the bride and groom's interests as much as yours that you do a good job in this momentous event.
  • Get involved in the various rehersals
  • Visit all key venues (church if church wedding, residences for tea ceremonies, reception restaurant, etc.)
  • Discuss with bride & groom on venue for post-wedding shoot (nearby park, etc.) Checkout venue for lighting (morning, afternoon, evening) and best spots for shots (look out for background, scenery, etc.)
  • Take test shots at key venues. For example, if church wedding, don't be too scared of shooting from any location as long as you're not disrespectful and not disrupting the service (get to know the serving priest/minister)
  • Know the key moments during the day (bride makeup, tea ceremonies, walking down the aisle, exchange of rings, signing bridal registry, arrival at reception, yum seng, etc.) You may need a secondary photographer to cover the groom side early in the day.
  • Check the weather forecast for rain, etc. as the day draws near! Discuss contingency plans with the bridge & groom.
And for goodness sake, keep angular shots to a minimum! A friend had her wedding some months ago where the supposed "pro" photographer framed over 50% of his photos at 45deg ;( . To arty-farty for most of us incl. the bridal party.

And don't run out of room on your CF cards. You may want to shoot in RAW+JPEG for such a momentous occasion which means multiple 2GB+ CF cards, or have a portable hard disk device (eg., X-Drives) to transfer your shots each time your CF card gets full. If this is your first wedding shoot, having a friend who could tag along and assist you with small tasks will help lower your stress levels :sweat: .

Good luck!
 

haha
wah...u say liao i very stress leh~~

i shot one wedding before...not as the primary one though...

my cousin dun want to engage a pro photographer so ask me to help help loh~ i know this is a very big day for him so I am very determined to do the best I can do for him~~ :)

thanks for all the advices !! I will take note of that !

I most prob will ask my fren to help also~~ so normally one guy is station at the bride house one at the guy house huh during the tea cermony?

then I sit in the bridal car???

wah...still got a lot of ??? luckily still got 4 months..
 

Hahah go rent a PD70X from Drumma or something. Really useful. I had two 512meg cards and two PD70X available, so I double backup one card while I shoot with the other.

Most impt, know where you are during the ceremony and don't panic. If you panic you'll lose track of events.

QX
 

Prepare enough juice - freshly charged batteries for camera and flash and CF cards. Bring a backup camera if you have one (either digital or film SLR, p&s or whatever you have in case something happen).
 

TuTu_CaR said:
I most prob will ask my fren to help also~~ so normally one guy is station at the bride house one at the guy house huh during the tea cermony?
As the primary photographer, you should stick with the bride from the start of the day. The secondary photographer can start with the groom when he leaves his house to pick up his bride. Once they're together, you stick to them like glue throughout the day.

TuTu_CaR said:
then I sit in the bridal car???
There probably isn't room for you in the bridal car. Get your friend to drive you in another car and make sure he/she knows the schedule and route (and you don't want to be driving and then have to find a parking spot). Always arrive ahead of the bridal car so you're always ready and waiting when the bridal party gets out of the car. Get the bridal party to take their time so you always arrive first and waiting for them.

Make sure the families/close friends of the bridal party know you are primary photographer, so you don't have to fight for the best position with 20 other casual photographers. Act and behave like pro and other people will tend to give way to you much faster.

TuTu_CaR said:
wah...still got a lot of ??? luckily still got 4 months..
Get to know your gear in that time. Try shooting in circumstances similar to the wedding. The more you shoot the more confident you'll get.
 

can 17-35 take close up shots of things like the rings~~?
 

TuTu_CaR said:
can 17-35 take close up shots of things like the rings~~?

u cant get 1:1 size loh... the rings will not look very big in yr pic .....( unless u play cheat by cropping yr pic)
:devil:
 

TuTu_CaR said:
can 17-35 take close up shots of things like the rings~~?


Use the 105mm end of your current lens.
 

zcf said:
Or getting a 62mm Nikon 6T (close up lens) for the 24-105mm.:think:

Filter u mean?
 

Status
Not open for further replies.