A Rookie's 1st wedding, need HELP packing my bag...

[bingo_lover]

Ok, so a buddy of mine asked me to shoot his wedding for him that is coming up in a month. It will be me and 2 of my friends that will be shooting, none of us have wedding experience but we have all been shooting for a while.

What should I be bringing with me to shoot?? Here is my current list of equipment:

Nikon D50
Nikon 50mm 1.8
Tamron 17-50 2.8
SB800 flash
Manfrotto tripod

I am willing to rent other gear.

What equipment/accessories would you guys suggest I get?? Primes, filters, etc...

Any and all help is GREATLY apprciated!!

[HotHolly]

If you have never shot a wedding before, make sure you check out the church and find out about any rules and restrictions prior to the day of the wedding. The lighting is usually crappy, some restrict flash & movement, and you can find out if you'll be banished to the balcony. If you are, and perhaps if not, you'll want a telephoto. All I can say is weddings are harder than they look. Tag along on a few shoots if you can before their big day so you at least have your feet wet.

[dbphotos]

First of all rent a wedding shooter... (I'm just kidding!) ;-)

I'd definitely get at least a 70-200 f/2.8 lens and I'd recommend a 2nd body (go for a D300 or D3 to allow for better noise handling). What happens if your primary camera dies on you? I'd never recommend a wedding shoot with only 1 camera body.

Make sure you have a plan with the other photographers so you aren't shooting each other or getting into each other's workspace.

Just my .02 cents.

[abril1127]

I just shot my first wedding 2 weeks ago using my D50. Let me warn you, What he was saying about the Noise is very true. I had a SB600 bouncing it off the ceiling and still got noise in more pics than I wished.
Bring a Step Ladder. You will be glad you had it.
I packed a White cloth to lay over ugly grey folding chairs and such, It came in handy!
Good Luck, Have FUN and Keep your Subjects laughing/Smiling!

[bingo_lover]

Holly and David-
Thanks for the tips. I was leaning towards renting the 70-200 to get those good shots from a distance. I was also thinking about getting the D300 as well because I am a bit skeptical of my D50's capabilites in low light.

April- How did your wedding photos turn out with your D50? Are you still able to use a majority of your photos even with the noise in them? The other 2 people that are shooting with me will both be using canons that handle noise well so I dont want to be the one that is left out cause my camera cant handle low light.

[CaptainTom]

Three rookie wedding shooters all at the same wedding ? That sounds like some sort of made for TV comedy. I predict that things will either go very smoothly, or it will be like the three stooges ! I hope it goes well.

I also hope that the wedding party and families are very down to earth and not like many that I have worked with who wanted the lowest profile photographers with the highest quality results.

You'll undoubtedly get lots of images to work with.

As far as equipment goes... KISS you have two back up shooters, so if you can coordinate what type of shots each will be getting, you won't have to move around a lot, or change lenses much. Extra batteries are a must.
Also keep in mind that if your "friends" aren't experienced wedding shooters they may get distracted by the festivities and not get the shots you need. i.e. alcohol, women, dinner, cake. If it is a long wedding/reception day, they may tire and leave all alone.

Attending a long wedding/reception and shooting one are two completely different experiences. Not for the faint of heart, or FEET !

[abril1127]

I have to say I was rather disappointed with my pictures. The Family LOVES them, they are ready to write me a recommendation. I'm not sure how much was my lack of experience or how much was the Camera...of course I'm leaning towards the camera! One things for sure there was noise. It was a dark church (my Aunt attends there and she says she thinks about bringing a flashlight to read her Bible during service! ) I would do everything you can to keep you ISO at 200 but keep in mind that when you bring a dark picture up in photoshop you can get the noise there too. I found a sequence in Lightroom that ever so slightly helps the noise but nothing cures it.
If you want you can PM me and I will give you the password to their online wedding gallery.
Oh and Batteries like Tom said. By the time I was going home I was on my 3rd set of Batteries for my Speedlight. I took about 900 pictures. Almost 3GB in RAW. Oh Shoot Raw it will help you deal with the noise!
Have FUN!

[mawster_focus]

Did my first wedding lats night and I loved it! I have d300 and d50 as my backup and shot with both. You really need to get a better camera at least a d80 would help alot! I had a second shooter that shot with d80 and his pictures are just slightly darker than mine and have no noise. I would go with camera for now if you dont have the money for a d300. But I shot with my
D300 last night and shot at ISO 100 and just used the SB800 and all pictures are clear as can be and most I have very little post process. D50 at a wedding is kinda fishy! Goodluck and if you need anyhelp let me know!

[mawster_focus]

Also when is the wedding? If you need one more let me know and I will 5th shoot for you guys!

[toverman]

The title made me think you were packing your bag to leave town so you wouldn't have to shoot the wedding.

A lot of this has been covered on this forum (and probably others) before, but you might also want to search around for a "shot list" that will tell you the typical ceremony/reception shots you'll want to get, as well as any formal/group shots the couple might want. You should develop your own list in advance and keep it close during the wedding day.

[bingo_lover]

Originally Posted by CaptainTom

Three rookie wedding shooters all at the same wedding ? That sounds like some sort of made for TV comedy. I predict that things will either go very smoothly, or it will be like the three stooges ! I hope it goes well.

LOL. I was debating on whether or not to call MTV cause I figured that this might make for a good reality show.


Thanks for the tips everyone, a lot of great advice on this board and also a lot of friendliness/helpfulness

Daniel- What lens did you use on your D50? Did you have to bump your ISO up or did you use a flash mostly? How did they turn out? I saw some of your work on HI, nice job!

Also, thanks for the offer to come shoot with us. My friend recruited another photographer to shoot at his wedding but if we need another I'll let you know. I'm not sure if you'd want to shoot though, we are kind of doing this as a favor to him and wont be getting paid for the gig

And Todd thanks for the heads up on the "shot list." I'll definitely be searching the forums for it.

[abril1127]

So how was the wedding? Did you rent/get a different body? Lets see the goods!

[bingo_lover]

I was all set to rent a D300 and the 70-200 to go with it....

and then my buddy told me that he was gonna spend the money for a professional. I was definitely relieved because I dont think I'd be able to shoot a wedding, especially considering that I have no experience in the area. I'd also feel bad if I had done the wedding and the pictures turned out subpar.

But thanks to everyone for all the helpful advice!!

[mooshu2]

have a shot list ready. know the critical and key momemnts. I would def. rent a 70-200mm..with three of you guys, you should be able to get some great pics. don't bunch up.

[chris walter]

Originally Posted by bingo_lover

I was all set to rent a D300 and the 70-200 to go with it....

and then my buddy told me that he was gonna spend the money for a professional. I was definitely relieved because I dont think I'd be able to shoot a wedding, especially considering that I have no experience in the area. I'd also feel bad if I had done the wedding and the pictures turned out subpar.

But thanks to everyone for all the helpful advice!!

Don't take this the wrong way but, count yourself very lucky. The best advice I can give you is do not even think about shooting a wedding until you have assisted and then been the 2nd shooter for at least a year or more, somewhere around 20-30 weddings under your belt with an experienced professional.

cw