Comments on: Wedding Photography Equipment

By: Steve Johns

Steve Johns — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:42:12 +0000

This is the best exchange of views on the subject which I have come across! I am not primarily (or even usually) a wedding photographer as such, but I have recently done a couple of weddings “reportage” style using 5D II and 7D Canon bodies. I don’t like the Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L (and to tell the truth, I am hanging on like grim death until its replacement comes out), so my EF-S 18-55 f2.8 stayed on my 7D throughout, with excellent results. Apart from that, I limited myself to my Canon 16-35mm f2.8 L and Canon 24-105mm f4 L on the 5DII, and that (with some occasional off-camera and bounced flash) did the trick. However, the lighting – even at night (!) was pretty good, and the couple anyway asked for a “story” shoot. This Summer I shall be doing a more formal wedding with some more challenging lighting situations, so out goes the 24-105mm and in comes the 70-200mm f2.8L IS II. I shall also finally take the plunge to invest in the Canon 85mm f1.2 L II and a second flash unit etc… My Sigma 15mm f2.8 Diagonal Fisheye might also come along for the odd quirky shot. I think that this – combined with planning and scouting out the lie of the land etc. beforehand should cover most bases. Does anyone have any additional (or better) suggestions.?

By: Vincent Emmanuel

Vincent Emmanuel — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:33:55 +0000

Just a typo in the 4th paragraph.

For Canon and Nikon, full frame bodies are readily available for not-too-expensive prices. Full frame bodies are extremely useful in wedding photography because of their low-noise capabilities, the sensor being larger. 2-3 stops can normally be gained in a full frame body as compared to a normal APS-C dSLR. This means that ISO 3200 can be used instead of ISO 800 and still have about the same amount of noise, and the shutter speed can be raised two whole stops: necessary, as weddings are normally conducted in not very bright light. If you only have one camera, it should be a full frame body.

I think it should be ISO 800 instead of ISO 3200.

By: Pradeep

Pradeep — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 23:20:12 +0000

useful article!

By: Dare

Dare — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:05:28 +0000

Professionals do not know how killing it is to lose your own reminiscences whenever your digital photographer experiences specialized “problems.” That’s the reason why you must constantly purchase specialist photography enthusiasts that understand their own stuff. Don’t ever scrimp upon event pictures. Ever.

By: ChristopherakaPaul

ChristopherakaPaul — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 01:59:07 +0000

To “photo hero needed”, I would like to give you the best advice I can give to any person going into prOfEssiOnAl anything…….take your time, do your research online about the business and its pros and cons, research any equipment and software people recommend by using the reviews online, check out what the pros do, get books, get videos, work as an assistant to someone and learn from what they do right and wrong and set goals of excellence, but most of all…take your time.

By: ChristopherakaPaul

ChristopherakaPaul — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 01:59:07 +0000

By: Photo Hero Needed

Photo Hero Needed — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 20:01:12 +0000

Hi there

I’m about to buy my first SLR camera – until now been on a borrowed one to collect funds.The view is to go professional in Wedding/Event & portrait photography. I’m enrolled on course but wanted you opinion on camera selection and price range: should I go for an expensive ( for my pockets) Canon Mark ii or a cheaper slr?

The more expensive one would save me upgrade and last a long time – but perhaps throw me in the deep end in terms of level.

Kind of last and all opinions will be greatly received.

Many thanks

By: photomadesimple

photomadesimple — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:35:06 +0000

Fair enough, prime lenses certainly give you that professional shallow depth of field look, but using them unobtrusively for candids is difficult, because you can’t zoom. We use primes for dresses and room details, and zooms for candids. We certainly would not, under any circumstances, use one lens for the whole job – you see a lot of people with 18-200′s, but this is a jack of all trades master of none lens. If I could do a good job with one lens I’d not be staggering around with a bag full of kit!

By: Antony Pratap

Antony Pratap — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:08:12 +0000

I usually shoot with a fixed-focal (prime for portraits) and a wide (for groups).

By: Colorado Wedding Photographer, JasonG

Colorado Wedding Photographer, JasonG — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:31:16 +0000

Great post… Our philosophy on gear is to keep it as simple as possible. Weddings are wonderfully challenging events to shoot (that’s why we love them).
Our Gear:
2 Nikon D700s
70-200 2.8
24-70 2.8
50 1.4
85 1.4
SB600 (reception primarily)
AlienBees 1600 (reception primarily)
6 Ebay remote flash triggers (simple, inexpensive, we bring six just in case we need backups)
Vivitar 285h flash (reception primarily)

We can carry everything (except for the AlienBees Flash) with us anywhere. We use the natural light provided by mother nature for 95% of our images.

We use flash in two scenarios.
1. Formals – if shot in the middle of the afternoon under harsh sunlight (and there are no options to find shade)
2. Reception – especially for indoor receptions.
Note: The flash is rarely on camera. We love off camera flash (hats off to all the strobists out there). We have a bunch of ebay wireless triggers for our flashes. We’ve used Pocket Wizards in the past. They’re great, but very pricey. Our ebay triggers have been rock solid.