This is my first wedding I have ever photographed, its for my cousin, and i was wondering what sort of lenses and techniques were generally used. I have a Nikon camera, and a 35mm f1.8, 18-55mm f3.5, and a 70-300mm. I also have the sb400 flash. Any advice you have about wedding photography is appreciated.
I did one wedding as a second shooter before I shot one on my own and it came out great (also after a few years of photography and some classes). I was using a rebel xti a 1D mark IIN a 24-70 2.8, 70-200 2.8, 100 2.8 macro and a 50 1.8 along with some off camera flash equipment and a reflector. I was fine in terms of equipment but the whole process was exhausting so be prepared. I think you can do it if you have a decent background in photography and know what you are doing. besides the 35mm though, those lenses are gonna be pretty much useless indoors especially if the lighting is no good. a flash can save you sometimes but not always. you need to know how to use bounce flash techniques and be in a building where that is possible. if the wedding is outside on a nice day you are okay. Having only one camera body is going to be a real hindrance as well, you need to rent another body. I would also recommend a circular polarizer if you are going to be outside to get a nice blue sky for some portraits and just in general. I wouldn't recommend this if it wasnt for family, but seeing as it is they will probably be happy with whatever you can do. on other hand you personally want to make sure they get something they will be happy with. good luck, its not easy. Weddings are fast paced and you need to be on your toes for every single moment, do not miss a thing! Get every aspect of the event, watch for emotions, tender moments with the brides parents, tears, etc. you need to capture the ambiance of the day as well. Also have plenty of memory cards, its not at all uncommon to come away from a full wedding day with 2000+ pictures. Also shoot in RAW so you have a lot of editing choices.
My first advice is don't do it (tell your cousin to get a professional. That's what I did when my cousin asked me to photograph her wedding).
Contrary to what some people say, it doesn't matter how many classes you take or how many books you read or how long you have been shooting pictures ? nothing really prepares you for your first wedding shoot. I speak from experience (which is why professionals usually work under someone more experienced the first few times).
But if you insist on doing it, keep your cousin's expectations low.
Not sure why you are asking about lenses if you already have some (are you going to buy new ones?). Professionals use fast zooms (f2.8). Your zooms are slow, but you can still take wedding pictures with them. I just took pictures at a wedding (as a guest, not as the main photographer) with an 18-55mm f3.5 and 75-300mm f4.5 lens. The results were very nice (not pro quality, but good enough to share with the wedding couple).
If you don't know how to use your external flash (sb400) manually then it is safest to keep it on auto (I made the mistake of getting a new external flash for a wedding, thinking it would make my pictures miraculously better. it didn't. In fact, it was hardly better than my pop-up flash). That was 6 years ago. I'm better now, but still not as skilled as I'd like with flash photography.
If you have time to practice with your flash between now and then, I strongly recommend it. good flash photography is not as easy as it seems (key word is 'good').
I also suggest getting some wedding photography books from the library (or buying one from a bookstore).
Try to be as unobtrusive as possible. And try to anticipate the action before it happens to be at the right place at the right time (or you'll just be trying to keep up, and getting lousy photos meanwhile).
don't forget the obvious stuff (extra memory cards, extra batteries for both flash and camera, an extra camera in case your main one breaks down (even if it's a compact camera, it's better than nothing), maybe a granola bar to eat while you are shooting. And don't get dehydrated ? remember to drink water every once in a while (but not so much that you have to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes)).
There's tons more I could write but I think you get the picture
AS others have said. Dont do it. if you need to ask what lens to use you clearly dont have the skills to shoot a wedding. what lens i use depends mostly on what i want to achieve and this can be different from every wedding. Various lens will be needed depending on the conditions such as low light church.
If you really want to shoot weddings try and get your self in with a photographer as a second or an assistant but do not just go shooting a wedding without the skills to do so.
Don't do it. you don't have the lenses, the flash or the skills for it.
Source: http://www.freegby.com/advice-for-wedding-photography.html
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