Camera Labs

chris, are you confusing crap with posted replies on the forum. your the one asking how to pic a wedding not me. would a artists ask how to paint a tree, or would they paint it as they see.

your just clueless, aint bothering anymore.

@karlk you are just one of these people who thinks they are so professional that everyone else is awful at photography. But wait your probably not even that good yourself.

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

james, im not shooting a cropped 550d, been playing with cams for a long time. yes i am a professional at my current income of experience and knowledge. you go and shoot weddings on ya 550d, just wait till they ask for a 36 x 24 of the pic you took. idiot.

ok lets put it simple, enquire about any service you require. fix my laptop, mend the dishwasher, fix my car. ARE you going to accept a invitation to do it with the inclusion, all goes wrong its not my fault. dont be so stupid and hung up on posts, so before you start slating me just lay in ya bed tonight and think who u might call, when need arises. Someone that knows what they r doing or a chancer on the internet.

Hi karik,

I think any of us who've tried to take more than just snapshots at a wedding, myself included, can understand where you are coming from. Indeed I'd advise any couple to engage the services of a professional photographer if the budget permits as, from my own observation, there are so many things to think of and plan for and a handful of things that, if they get missed or messed up, could end up spoiling the day. And that's not meant to impugn Chris in any way as I have no way to know how well he might do.

But, and it's a big but, I think your level of activity and generally abrasive tone in this thread doesn't sit too well with our friendly CameraLabs spirit and I'm offering that opinion as a Moderator here on the forum. Much better to state your opinion clearly and, if need be, at length in a single post and try and avoid effectively trying to shout down everyone else by sheer quantity of posts, some of which resort to name calling which is in direct contravention of our forum rules. Please consider this an official warning.

@Chris I know my limits so I won't offer any advice in an area which is clearly out of my expertise other than that you might want to avoid, if at all possible, taking on the role of prime photographer without prior experience. If your friends can afford to get the money shots done by a professional, even if they can only afford one of limited experience, then that puts you in a much more comfortable position as, dare I use the phrase in the light of what's been said earlier in the thread, "back-up photographer". Sorry to be a bit negative and whatever you decide "Good Luck".

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

thanks Bob... that's what i did... told the couple to get a professional... so i become a "back-up"... and it's a labor of love... both of them are close friends... either that or be the best man which i hate... how can i be the best man when their's a better man... the one kissing the bride... on that day or occasion at least...

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Canon 60D, EFS 15-85mm IS USM, EF 50 F1.8 II

look at it from the bright side, U might end up learning allot from this experience and from the other photographer!

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550D + 18 - 55mm kitlens
50 mm F1.8
I apologize in advance for my poor spelling..

yep... i really want to learn anything i can...

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Canon 60D, EFS 15-85mm IS USM, EF 50 F1.8 II

Karlk,
I agree with what you are saying with regards to not taking on the role if you are not confident and that it is a once in a lifetime to get it right, But

The OP is not a professional, the "client" knows that, yet is still using them to provide the service.

I am not judging your skills (original poster), but the point is that the client is well aware of the matter.

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Canon EOS 500D
Lenses: EFS 18-55mm IS, EF 50mm F/1.8 II

Im used to shooting dirty big moto-x bikes and moving objects like cars and stuff, its what im used too.

The people who are getting married wernt planning on getting any photographers at all, and relying on family and friends with there compacts. My fiance mentioned i had a DSLR and they thought i could come along and just take some pics with no pressure. So i thought meh why not, somthing new to try. The shots il get may not be the greatest but using a DSLR il get the nice depth of field and if they choose too could even get a picture blown up to a bigger size.

The tips from people with genuine advice has been quite helpful and i will take them on board. It may not be my choice of what to shoot, but i may aswell put a little effort into it, with planning ahead.

I could say no i dont want to do it and they would have some ok pics from compacts, or i could say yes and they may get lucky and end up with some really good ones from me.

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Nikon D90, MB-D80 Battery Grip
18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 VR Lens
Speedlight SB-600
Tamrac Expedition 5 Backpack
Sandisk Extreme 3 - 8gb
Vista Attaras Tripod

so far......

Oh and also, I see you use a 8gig card.. maybe make sure you have plenty storage space. Especialy if U plan to shoot RAW

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550D + 18 - 55mm kitlens
50 mm F1.8
I apologize in advance for my poor spelling..

You asked me what I was planning before the thread exploded so...here goes:

Bodies:
Nikon D2H
Nikon D90

Lenses:
10mm 2.8 fisheye - should be fun for overview/aisle shots
15-30mm F/4 (mostly backup/incidental zoom lens)
35mm F/1.8 (expected workhorse)
50mm F/1.4 (for the portraits and possibly church shots if the 70-200 doesn't cut it)
70-200 2.8 (mostly outdoors paparazzi lens)

Accesories
SB-600 hotshoe flash + "diffuser" or bouncecard
Thinktank bags to carry it all
Spare memory cards

Thinking of bringing:

Laptop + cardreader for use as an imagetank (backups!)

My plan is to be carrying everything on me in my bags, so that means I shouldn't really take the laptop. Clothing would be tough, still need to talk to my clients how "formal" they want me (Vest + poncho would be ideal but I can see them objecting to that, lol)
Right now it's probably black pants, black shirt or white collar-thingie (you know what I mean). I prefer black because I'm more "stealth".

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

@Citruspers: Be careful if you bring your laptop to show your images to the guests; electronics tend to be magnets to spilled drinks and other fluids that would totally screw your laptop

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Nikon D90

Thanks for that! I didn't plan to use it as a mobile slideshow, just as a backup medium to dump the pictures on between shots (just in case a memory card corrupts/dies).

Still, I probably won't bring it along. Too big and hevay, and another thing to keep an eye on.

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".