Weddings

HELP!

Going to friends wedding next weekend what lens is best to use, Don't want to take tripod.

Len

Best to keep it over 50mm for taking photo's of people and fast as possible to try and get rid of the background.
What do you have to choose form?

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Please let us know more details Len.

is it a church/civil wedding?
is it indoors/outdoors?
how many people at the ceremony?
what time of day?
Are you the main photographer?
What are the venues like? Have you visited them before?

This is a huge subject and responsibility if you are the main photographer. I shoot weddings and if this is the first you need to do a LOT of research. If not and your question is just about taking your camera along to a wedding then there is little pressure

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Paul

EY UP Len,
like Paul says it depends on lots of things,at the end of last year a mate of mine asked me to take some pics at his wedding.

He had 3 tog's doing the official bit so when they took photo's i tried stuff from a different angle or perspective,when everyone was doing the confetti bit and the tog's were stood in front of them i was stood on the side of a fountain shooting down.

My mate loved the fact that i got really different shots from the norm and used a few of them in the finished album.

So if your just there to add to the official pics then try something a bit different.

Getting back to the point i used my std 18mm-70mm lense but now iv'e got a 18mm-200mm i would go for that as it would give me a lot more scope for capturing something a bit different from the norm.

Hope this is sort of useful?....

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Right Guys here goes.

Partner's eldest son's wedding
I'm not the official photogragher
Church wedding; typical early 70's church
Reception and evening do at large pub

Best bit is I'll be done up like a dogs dinner (Hire suit) I can hear the giggles already. no photos of me on this site

Thought it would be too good an opportunity to miss with new camera

Nikon D40; 18-55; 70-200 lenses.

That enough Info for you lot


Len

Len i'm hoping Andy EOS1 NRS or newbloke see's this as I think thay may have shot most weddings here (not 100% sure though but I know EOS aka donkey boy has shot a ton).

Paul has done some nice work and knows how to cut the mustard.
I have shot 4 weddings ( I loathe shooting them) but 75% of my paid work is portraiture.

I may be pulled up on this but this was my own approach with lenses. The lens span you have should be fine. I used three lenses with two camera bodies. 16-35, 24-70 and a 70-200 all fast lenses. WB set to daylight until I moved into the church. Don't be afraid to shoot wide open and don't be put off by slower shutter speeds. Also do not be put off by shooting with a higher ISO...some wedding guys shoot at 3200 and have superb results. If you have auto bracketing then set a stop each way if shooting in jpeg. If you are gonna shoot RAW then no need to bracket. Considering you are not the main shooter you should be able to relax and enjoy this shooting day. Stay out of the way of the main shooter..I REPEAT STAY OUT OF THE WAY OF THE MAIN SHOOTER (said with a smile) . Look for good light. Light is what makes an image in my personal opinion. oooops!!! Hold on a moment...i'm going off on a tangent sorry mate. You were looking only for lens advice..my apologies. The two lenses you have should be fine. Remember to charge your battery and have a great time.

(I get carried away sometimes..hey! i love shooting! )

Cheers TCO (sorry don't know your proper name)

All help gratefully appreciated.

Just purchased a Tamron 70-300mm F/4-5.6 lens.

Len

As TCO has said, the range of of the lenses you have are ideal for wedding photography.

I used to use the 17-55mm 2.8 for 85%-90% of all the shots I take and the 70-200mm 2.8 for the rest of shots. I's sometime use a 12-24 too for extreme wide angle. To stay clear of the official tog you'll probably find you'll use the 70-200 a lot more.

Most important thing is to have fun experimenting with the different lenses, you're under no pressure so just shoot away and find out how everything works together.

Weddings are FAST FAST FAST so don't worry about getting lost in the manual settings for now if your not confident with them, work on your composition and throw it all in automatic to make things easier for you.

Good luck

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Paul

What up Len
seems i missed this one.
Yup TC-oh is right, 30-odd a year for the past 6 years or so..

if you're not the main, then the pressure (what pressure?)is off you. i would say shoot long, so many friends and family will shoot with compacts getting everything in including the town around. go long and shoot on the 70-200. crop in close to people getting heads in. laughing, having a drink but avoid smoking and people eating. if you stand next to main tog you will get his clear view but different. When he is doing bridal party crop right in to head and shoulders..always a winner mate, cant go wrong. during the speeches, get close in as well. wait for the laughs and get the bride and groom laughing and crying. when everyone is outside getting mullered go inside and shoot some details of the room where you eat. closeups of the cake, name tags, flowers, table decs etc..
dont forget detail shots during the day either
crop in to the brides flowers when she has them hanging down. when she's walking away from you call her name loudly and you'll get the over-the-shoulder look!
believe or not, unless the camera went wild, i shot pretty full auto and auto flash..worked almost every time. if i had time and the weather played ball i would meter then set.
the guests are just as important so group them in together. keep an eye on kids running around as they are always loved by granny and aunt flo..
sorry for the essay mate, been a while since i shot one, miss them quite a bit..
good and luck and have fun
think of TC-O as shrek with a goat under one arm..(in joke)

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Cheers Guys

Tomorrow's the day. I'll be there for the fun first camera second as it's a family occasion but sure I'll enjoy myself

Once again thanks sure glad i stayed here

Len