Need Help/Input

[johnsonM86]

I'll be shooting my first wedding in about a month and a half, and i was just wondering if anyone here could help me out as far as which lens, in my arsenal, should be used the most during the wedding ceremony itself since i probably wont have much or any time to change lenses. I'm shooting with a canon 20D and i own 4 canon lenses; 50mm f1.8 prime, 17-40mm f4L, 75-300mm, and 100mm f2.8 Macro. Any suggestions and pointers related to my question on any other aspect of wedding photography i will have to encounter is very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

-michael-
www.pbase.com/mikej86

[smitbret]

My first advice would be that unless you have some experience with this, get out. Otherwise, a nice 28-80 or 28-135 would be a great matchup for this camera and that situation. You'll like the zoom when trying to take quick pictures. In general, you won;t need to be tack sharp.
-Brett

[johnsonM86]

ya i dont have experience but there's no way to get out, my uncle is convinced I'll do a fine job no matter what, says he's not looking for anything extravigant or elaborate. either way, as a fallow up, I'm wondering if i should put one of my lenses on my Canon Rebel ti 35mm camera so that i'll have two diff lenses/bodies to work with at the same time. this would save me changing lens time and i'm assuming shooting color film will stack up, quality-wise, to my 20D prints. ANY INPUT IS APPRECIATED AND ENCOURAGED! PLEASE!

-michael-
www.pbase.com/mikej86

[[email protected]]

I'd suggest the 17-40.

[Hards80]

if you can get up fairly close to the stage and by pretty close as they're walking down, i think the 17-40 should stay on your 20d during the ceremony iteslf as its versatile and will allow you to get some nice full length shots..

i would probably put the 100 2.8 on your film slr and keep it slung over the other shoulder in case you need the extra reach, or to get a nice candid or two.. i would keep it loaded with kodak Porta 800 to get the shutter speeds you need since your flash will be on the other camera.. i would have them processed and would scan them.. that will give you the option of making some nice mono conversions of these..

you might consider doing a few event type photographygigs to practice.. even if its not much of an event.. make a list of your shots ahead of time, and then practice making sure you can get all those shots you want in the time allotted and under the "pressure"... this will improve your efficiency and comfort when it comes to wedding day..

best of luck to ya, dustin

[johnsonM86]

thanks a lot for you input dustin, i knew i would be using both bodies but was unsure about what lens to put on which one. your advice is spot on with my assumptions, fortunately i will be able to practice because the wedding is going to take place at my house. this is great since i can practice with the lighting etc around my house. thanks for your advice and i think i will go with the set up you suggested. i dont have anywhere to scan the pics though so that is my problem. will my local camera store scan them or whats the deal there?

-Michael-

[johnsonM86]

Dustin do you know where I could buy that film? the portra 800 i mean, do they sell it at pretty m any local camera store? once i get it where can i/do i need to have it developed???? any info is appreciated

-michael-

[JohnG]

I didn't see any mention of a flash gun - do you have one? If not, you will most likely need it. Even taking pictures outdoors, you would want it for fill flash and, sad to say, the built-in flash on the 20d is rather pathetic (true of most camera bodies though). I would recommend picking one up that has swivel/tilt capability (Canon 580ex, 550 ex or Sigma 500 DG Super) and an omnibounce. You might not be able to use it during the service but if the reception is indoors it is essential.

[johnsonM86]

i will be using my 420EX flash, as i cannot justify shelling out the 500 or however much it is for the 580EX. the ceremony will be held outside and i believe the reception will be outside as well. it should perform alright as a fill flash as i shouldn't need it too much.
i also bought a bounce thing for it, some plastic thing that covers the flash and is supposed to disperse the light better, from what i've seen since ive been using it it seems to perform quite well.
thanks for the response.

-Michael-

[eric s]

Oh... so many things to say.

First off, please do a search on this forum for the word wedding. Then read every post I've made on this subject. Some will be too old and will have been removed from the forums, but many are still there. Please follow the links to the web pages that I recommend.

Then come back and read the rest of my post, ok?

-------

Now then. I will say again what I have said many, many times.
Don't do it. I know this goes against what almost everyone has said. But look at the number of posts I've made. Look at all those posts about wedding photography I've made. I really care about this... I've talked to pro wedding photographers... I've read wedding photo posts elsewhere... I've read wedding forums. I know a fair amount about this without having actually done it (I've taken my own advice!)

You have no idea what you're getting into. It is extremely hard to do. And even if they don't care that you get the best pictures, they want you too. You are producing the things that will reenforce memories of a once-in-a-lifetime even. In 20 years they won't remember a lot, but they'll remember it though your pictures. If they are not good, they will remember that *you* messed it up.

And don't believe smitbret about the pictures not having to be sharp. They have to be very sharp because you'll need to make big prints of them. 11x14 for some of the important pictures.

My suggestion is this.
Pretend to catch Chicken Pox. If you have to, really get it. It's fairly easy to catch if you haven't gotten it, and safer any ways (it's better to catch when young than old.) Another option is to get food poisioning. Leave some hotdogs out starting now and by the day of the wedding they will be good and spoiled. Eat a few and you'll be throwing up in no time. And trust me, you'll have more fun throwing up than shooting the wedding.

Now, since I fear you won't take my suggestion here are a few more comments.

Do what Hards80 suggested. Find some events to shoot and go shoot them. As many as you can. Learn what it takes to shoot pictures with little time to prepair (you read my other posts, so you understand why this is necessary, right?) Learn to get it right the first and ONLY time, because everthing is a "one chance to get it right" situation.

Learn how to get proper exposure when someone is wearing white and the other is wearing black. Light the room like it is planned for the actual even and practice with friends/relatives wearing similar clothing. This is much harder than you would think. Make sure you still have detail in the white dress. Practice editing your pictures to make sure you get enough detail.

I gotta get back to work, but I'll post more after I see what you have to say about my other posts.

Eric