Practice and use the digital's rapid feedback to improve quickly. If I were you I'd try to be a 2nd photographer and not the primary. -Bruce..

Mezner1 wrote:.

Hi Everyone,I need some advice, a mentor of my wife's son is getting married,(the Dr. told them they were in love) any way my loving wifevolunteered me to shoot the weeding, OK this is fine but I have noexperience behind a SLR and I just bought me first DSLR the otherday, (Canon 30D) any way any advice is greatly welcomed, as all Ihave ever used is point and shoot..

Well, you're in trouble, but you already know that. If there's anyway you can convince the powers that be to hire an experienced wedding photographer, even if you do still tag along as a "second shooter" everyone (including yourself) will benefit..

If not, hopefully you'll at least have some time between now and the day of the wedding to get familiar with what will be needed. By all means remind your loving wife that she'll be enlisted as your main assistant and that she's going to have her work cut out for herself too. Find a way to make the families understand up front that this is your first wedding. That you're going to do the best job you can but if there is a problem, they'll have to take that up with that $3000.00+ professional wedding photographer that, ooops, they decided against hiring..

First, you're going to need a capable flash and to get good and familiar with using it. That alone can take some time if you haven't been doing a lot of flash photography up until now..

Going in with only a single camera, lens and flash can be exceedingly risky. If anything breaks down it's going to be up to Aunt Edna and her point n' shoot to carry the day. If at all possible, borrowing or renting a set of spares will help a lot to bring the stress levels down. Besides, your lovely assistant can be enlisted to make some use of these items and fill in with some shots when she's not busy running around getting the groups organized for you. .

In the end, while there's no shortage of potential for disaster, you're not the first person in the world to find themselves put into this position. As long as you plan on working hard, doing the best you can and preparing as much as possible ahead of time, chances are very good that you'll succeed and probably have some fun to go along with all of that stress..

A good place to start getting some pointers would be the search engine, here and in the Pro Forum as well. There are tons of threads covering the topic of shooting weddings. There's also plenty of good reading material all over the web. One good primer can be found here....

Http://www.aljacobs.com/NEW%20WEDDING.pdf.

Good luck!.

'Here, look at the monkey. Look at the silly monkey!'.

Tom Younghttp://www.pbase.com/tyoung/..

My loving wife volunteered me to shoot the weeding,.

Whoops!.

OK this is fine.

No, it's not. Its seriously not..

But I have no experience behind a SLR and I just bought me first DSLR the other day, (Canon 30D).

Whoa..

Any way any advice is greatly welcomed, as all I have ever used is point and shoot..

And here it is..

Seriously. Dont do it..

1. This is a BIG favour you are being asked to perform. This is not just hey, bring your camera and grab a few photos, maybe some of them will be OK..

You will not be able to drink. You will not be able to talk to your wife or anyone else all day. You will be flat out on the job. You will have no fun at all..

You will be stressed, and you and your wife will probably have a fight before the end of the day..

2. You are under-equipped..

Unless the B&G are prepared to buy you a second body, a dozen memory cards, a pro flash and maybe a couple of extra lenses, you do not have the equipment..

3. You do not have the skills (I will guess). Im not talking about technical skills..

You will need to manage 10-20 people into formal group shots. You will need to deal with things such as an emotional bride, a disinterested groom, a distressed MOB, disobedient kids, people who would rather get to the bar than stand around for half an hour being directed by an amateur photographer. Its like herding cats..

And you will have no authority because youre just another guest, not the highly paid professional with the assistant and the six bodies, 10 lenses and a flash that looks like it could light up Saturn..

Good wedding photographers have excellent people / diplomacy skills..

4. You do not have the technical skills..

Youve just bought your first SLR? Unless the wedding is to be held in about - oh, 2 years from now, youre not going to be ready..

The only way any of the above can be mitigated is if the bride & groom genuinely are prepared to settle for happy snaps of their wedding; if they do not expect anything near the quality that even a low-grade professional would produce. They will tell you sure, we understand. But do they - really? This is their wedding day; they will have some expectations, however low..

They must be prepared to accept even the possibility of a total disaster..

Make them sit in a chair, shine a light in their eyes, and PROMISE that they dont expect much. And then dont believe them!.

The only way you should be prepared to shoot a wedding would be as one of several competent photographers who have been asked to bring their cameras and grab lots of photos. Not as the prime photographer, not if any degree of formality (group shots etc) is required..

Ive been using SLRs for over 30 years and I wouldnt touch a wedding (except as a casual). I especially wouldnt touch it just after having bought my first digital..

No-one has the right to ask you to do this..

There is nothing but downside in this for you..

Print this off and show it to your wife. : )..

You will get paid for this right?? At least get them to pay for needed equipment. You will need flash, good wide zoom for group shots, and a good prime 50, 85 or 100mm for portraits..

Marsbar.

Drebel XT/BG-E3EF 70-200 f/4L USMEF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USMEF 50mm f/1.8 IIS1-IS / S100 / oly Trip 35..

Well I did get some better news on this I will not be responsible for any of the group shots, the Grooms Aunt will be doing this but she refuses to do any thing during the ceremony, that is where I guess I get to step in. again any advice would help I am trying to get out of this as this is happening on the 14th. thanksMez..

Well, that's a better situation..

First off:.

1. More info please- What sort of lens do you have?- What sort of flash?- Do you have a tripod?.

2. What sort of venue is it?- old style church, high ceilings, lit mainly via the windows?- modern function centre, lower ceilings, strong artificial light?- outdoors?- and what time of day?.

And some random thoughts / advice that come to mind immediately:.

1. Buy a grey card and practice setting your white balance accurately. Especially if you will be working indoors, or outdoors in contrasting light/shade conditions..

2. Go to the venue (or if thats not possible, a place like it) at the same time of day that the wedding will be (and hope the weather is similar!) - take your wife and son, and practice shooting them in the same place / conditions. Work on skin tones especially..

3. If youre going to be working indoors, work out how much available light you will have and how much flash you will need. Youll probably be using a combination; be prepared to try both..

4. Indoors, youll almost certainly want a tripod. With a quick release mount. That way you can hand hold for the bride walking up the aisle and then move quickly to the tripod for the ceremony itself, and possibly off the tripod and move around a bit during the ceremony. With a bit of luck youll have room to move the tripod itself from place to place..

5. Learn to focus manually. First off, your cameras AF may have trouble in low light, secondly no AF is perfect and (especially when youre on the tripod at a fixed distance from the ceremony) you will be able to be more precise with manual focus..

6. Shoot RAW + JPEG if your camera will do that. You might not be a RAW expert, but it's an insurance policy - if you dont get the images perfect, someone else may be able to improve things, and more easily if they have to RAW to work from. This will cost you nothing but some extra memory cards (which the bride & groom will pay for  ) and a slight slowdown in the camera (but were not going to be shooting 3 fps are we?).

7. Sort out your memory cards and develop good practice in changing cards, filing used cards in a separate place (with the write protect in place, if available) etc. If youve never shot in quantity before, this is a small skill that would be good to have in place before the day. One less thing to worry about..

8. If your camera has a beep to signify autofocus is locked or whatever - TURN IT OFF! : ).

For what it's worth...

Arrowman wrote:.

Well, that's a better situation..

First off:.

1. More info please- What sort of lens do you have?.

Kit lens 18 to 55.

- What sort of flash?.

No.

- Do you have a tripod?.

2. What sort of venue is it?Out side brides back yard.- old style church, high ceilings, lit mainly via the windows?- modern function centre, lower ceilings, strong artificial light?- outdoors?- and what time of day? afternoon.

And some random thoughts / advice that come to mind immediately:.

1. Buy a grey card and practice setting your white balanceaccurately. Especially if you will be working indoors, or outdoorsin contrasting light/shade conditions..

2. Go to the venue (or if thats not possible, a place like it) atthe same time of day that the wedding will be (and hope the weatheris similar!) - take your wife and son, and practice shooting them inthe same place / conditions. Work on skin tones especially..

3. If youre going to be working indoors, work out how much availablelight you will have and how much flash you will need. Youllprobably be using a combination; be prepared to try both..

4. Indoors, youll almost certainly want a tripod. With a quickrelease mount. That way you can hand hold for the bride walking upthe aisle and then move quickly to the tripod for the ceremonyitself, and possibly off the tripod and move around a bit during theceremony. With a bit of luck youll have room to move the tripoditself from place to place..

5. Learn to focus manually. First off, your cameras AF may havetrouble in low light, secondly no AF is perfect and (especially whenyoure on the tripod at a fixed distance from the ceremony) you willbe able to be more precise with manual focus..

6. Shoot RAW + JPEG if your camera will do that. You might not be aRAW expert, but it's an insurance policy - if you dont get theimages perfect, someone else may be able to improve things, and moreeasily if they have to RAW to work from. This will cost you nothingbut some extra memory cards (which the bride & groom will pay for ) and a slight slowdown in the camera (but were not going to beshooting 3 fps are we?).

7. Sort out your memory cards and develop good practice in changingcards, filing used cards in a separate place (with the write protectin place, if available) etc. If youve never shot in quantitybefore, this is a small skill that would be good to have in placebefore the day. One less thing to worry about..

8. If your camera has a beep to signify autofocus is locked orwhatever - TURN IT OFF! : ).

For what it's worth..

Thanks for the advice. Mez..

I was in a similar situation a few weeks ago. It was my sisters 70th Birthday with lots of family and guests. I took along my Canon 400D with Sigma 18-200 OS lens(which I had had for 4 days). I got a few nice shots and fortunately my wife took my Panasonic P&S and got lots of better shots. It did not really matter as it was only a family birthday but no ways would I take on a wedding..

Panasonic DMC FZ50, Raynox DCR 250 and Canon 400D with18-55, 70-300IS & Sigma 18-200 OS & 50-500(Bigma). See photo's at http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexbondsmith/..

Hay.

First off, DON'T use the Kit lens, bring it with you, but only as a back up in case you drop the camera and the good lens gets smashed..

For lenses you are gonna need a good wide zoom for close space group shots and the like, here are my recommendations:.

-EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USMworks well, very good quality, good value..

-EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USMFaster than EF 17-40mm, has IS, but ~50% more expensive than EF 17-40mm.This is the lens that I would use..

-EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM.

Not as wide as others, but makes up for that quality. This lens is top of the line,and is quite expensive too!.

You are also going to need a good medium tele prime for portraits too:.

-EF 85mm f/1.8 USMVery sharp, fast, creates excellent DOF effect..

If you dont like what I recommended, just make sure to get a lens that is as fast as possible, and has USM. You also might want to get a wide prime(1.4L), but that is an option..

For flash:.

-430 EX-580 EX II (if you have the money).

Don't forget a diffuser!.

For Tripod:.

Something made of metal, NO plastic. Slik is good, Manfrotto is better..

You should also get a flash bracket so you get the flash futher away from the axis of the camera lens. This will produce a softer flash, with less glare. This will require you to get an off shoe cord..

I would suggest looking into renting some of the equipment, because all that stuff is gonna be pretty expensive when you total it up..

Good luck..

Marsbar.

Drebel XT/BG-E3EF 70-200 f/4L USMEF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USMEF 50mm f/1.8 IIS1-IS / S100 / oly Trip 35..

Marsbar wrote:.

Hay.

That's one heck of a shopping list!.

Certainly if one expected to go into business and compete full time as a wedding photographer many of the items on that wish list would indeed be well worth considering..

Realistically, the OP has less than two weeks to prepare for a one shot wedding that he may not even be getting paid for. A basic body, most likely the kit lens and hopefully a compatible flash head are probably about the extent of whats going to be available on the hardware end. Even securing a basic set of spares is probably pretty much of a long shot..

While far from ideal, and "unprofessional" as it may be, plenty of people put in the same position have managed to pull off successful results using "prosumer" digicams, low end rubberband shuttered film bodies with Vivitar lenses, KMart flash heads and even less..

The trick is to avoid getting sidetracked by all the variables, concentrate on the basics and to keep things as simple as possible. No doubt, luck will play a bigger part than anyone should feel comfortable with but under the circumstances that's more likely to be offset by some basic preparation rather than a fat checkbook..

'Here, look at the monkey. Look at the silly monkey!'.

Tom Younghttp://www.pbase.com/tyoung/..

My first reaction was to echo the others and say "Don't" but this is a family thing and I guess you're lumbered..

So my 2d worth is to ask the happy bride and groom what shots they want and list them in the order they'll happen. Then take them with a lot of back-ups made by taking from a different position etc. (Tick them off on the list as you go.) With luck one of the dozen will do. I'd also do half with the camera on the "P" setting with fill in flash as cameras have better programming than people under stress..

I'd also give the old P&S to your wife and get her to tag along taking pictures....

And I'll wish you the very best of British luck..

Regards, David..

Why not hire a pro-photographer [as your wedding present to the B&G] and get them to do the hard work?.

You can still take candids.Bertie..

I agree with Arrowman and Bertie. You can be a backup photographer and shoot a few candids, but DO NOT agree to be the primary photographer. The best suggestion of all was to fork out some bills and hire a wedding photographer as your gift to the bride and groom..

Jerryhttp://jchoate.zenfolio.com/..

For my $0.02....

It all depends on the expectations of the bride. If she's expecting pro photo results, follow all previous advice and get them to hire a pro..

If she's not so vain and just wants a few "journalism" shots, you might be okay..

Your best bet is to sit down with the bride and find out what she really wants. A lot of brides these days don't want the $4,000 shoot, but if she does and you can't provide it, you're screwed and are FAR better off passing the job to a pro (let her KNOW this!)..

It's really all in the bride's expectations, and you won't know if you don't ask. If nothing else, you absolutely need to let her know your own qualifications beforehand..

I've shot 5 weddings as a primary photographer, and in every case, a pro would have done a much better job. But, they turned out "okay" and in each case, the bride got what she wanted. These were all "low budget" weddings for freinds and family...

I agree that this is very dangerous business..

I think it is essential that you deal with the bride directly; intermediaries are too likely to moderate expectations - they'll tend to tell the bride what she wants to hear and tell you what you want to hear. We all act that way..

The suggestions so far are great. The best being to hire a photographer as a gift..

Second best is going to the site days before and practicing..

It is a serious business for most brides and less than really really good won't go down well...

It actually turned out good.

Here is what you need to know.

Most weddings are low light situations but your 30D is a good choice for this type photography. A EOS 1D Mark II or III would be better but the 30D will do a good job.

Take all pictures using RAW it will give you more latitude..

Use bounce flash or a diffuser if possible. Try to avoid head on flash.

You are going to have significant delay between flashes while your unit charges up (unless you have a battery pack which is highly recommended). So time your shots..

When taking pictures without flash, watch your in-camera exposure meter. You can salvage a negative 1 stop exposure but you can not recover less than negative 2 stops. Overexposure is not very likely but dont go there, better to slightly underexpose. Use the ISO setting on you camera that is why it is there..

If you can not use a flash the ISO adjustment is your friend, use it often. With the 30D an ISO of 800 makes a usable picture but if you can go lower do it..

I hope you have a good L lens, the 24-70 would be a good choice the 16-35 would be even better with the 30D due to the 1.6 multiplier...

The thing that will ruin most of your non-flash pictures is blur due to slow shutter speed. Believe me it will be a disaster if you do not control your shutter speed. Things will look good in your preview but when you get home they will all be blury if you do not control it. Even with a tripod you should try not to go below 1/60 shutter speed for your non-flash pictures with people in the scene. Use the ISO setting on your camera. Even the 1600 ISO setting is better than a 100 ISO with blur. You can probably fix the noise, you cant fix the blur...

I shot a wedding and brought a lot of my equipment. In the end, I really could have done it all with my *ist DS, Sigma 17-70, flash and a good tripod. I did end up using my Zenitar 16 for a number of shots, mostly at the reception. Do not get too caught up in getting a bunch of stuff. Get the basics down. Learn the camera.

Keep your head. Never panic. Keep your eyes open for the "cool" shots..

Ditch the kit lens! It is a body cap and little more. I do recommend the Sigma 17-70. It is cheap for what you get. It is not only sharp, it gets the finer points right..

I must caution against using direct flash. Bounce it off a white wall or ceiling when possible. Get some kind of diffuser or bounce thing if needed. Make sure you have enough battery and card capacity for several hundred shots. This does include flash batteries..

Get a list of shots desired from the couple. If you can get an assistant, that would be better than any state of the art accessory...

Mezner1 wrote:.

Well I did get some better news on this I will not be responsible forany of the group shots, the Grooms Aunt will be doing this but sherefuses to do any thing during the ceremony, that is where I guess Iget to step in. again any advice would help I am trying to get out ofthis as this is happening on the 14th. thanksMez.

So how did it go?.

'Here, look at the monkey. Look at the silly monkey!'.

Tom Younghttp://www.pbase.com/tyoung/..

Well it went very well the Grooms Aunt flew in how has been shooting wedding for about 10 years so I took second I was so thankful learned a lot but I would not be willing to try this on my own for a Very long time...