wedding shoot
- Thread starter chowchow
- Start date
I second that.
What is your photographic experience? Have you shot wedding before with film? Pictures are taken with a camera, but the most important thing is the light. It's the light that will imprint an image on the film. Just taking pictures with an automatic camera won't give you that experience. It will take pictures, but will it be enough to get paid for them?
What lenses do you have with the d5100? There is no way I'd try to shoot a wedding for money with just one camera body and the standard "kit" lens. It would not cut it and it might destroy your reputation.
What is your goal? Do you just want to shoot pictures at a wedding for friends or a family member? Would there be a professional photographer working for them and you'd just take more shots? These are all different situations that need clarification before telling you what the D5100 lacks for wedding pictures.
Others might have a different opinion.
ohkphoto
Snow White
I agree with all of the above. The only thing I would add is that you have to be prepared to shoot rapidly and constantly. No time for changing camera batteries. I have been shooting weddings digitally for the past 4 years and would never trust any camera "lower" than a D200 for durability and consistency under high pressure.
Wow, Anthony and fotojack and everybody seem to be pretty firm on this! I guess it really depends on what it is you're doing with those pictures. I recently shot a wedding with my brand spanking new d5100 and got a lot of great pics. No, I am NOT a pro photographer! I am a new kid, here on Nikonites! I was taking pictures for friends and family, and the bride and groom were thrilled with some of those photos I took. Chow chow, if you're a photo enthusiast and not a pro, I'll bet you can really enjoy taking pictures with the d5100. If you are a pro, please don't pay any attention to my comments!
Ruidoso Bill
Senior Member
Helene says it all, durability, reliability, rugged. You really need two bodies for different lenses and forbid problems backup.
That's great. I'm glad they liked the pics. Did they pay for them since they were family/friends? How many shots did you take? Any post processing done? Indoors or outdoors? Any special lighting used? Just curious.
Hi, Fotojack, and thank you for your questions. No, they didn't pay anything. I'm completely amateur, and a beginner. I believe I must have taken about 300 shots, using only my tiny flash and whatever lighting was available. I tried to be creative with the dance floor lights, some colored lights they had over a little bridge over a stream and so on. I had the advantage of greater freedom as the official photographer got all the official pics and I went around getting all the stuff the bride and groom never saw going on at their own wedding. I'll try to upload a few and would really welcome your critique and suggestions.
Just-Clayton
Senior Member
i did a small wedding over the summer with my 3100. kept about 300 pictures i did. was i prepared for this kind of thing. no! used only the kit lenses i got. used a flash that i had to keep changing the batteries.(missed shots because flash wasnt ready) camera battery held up pretty good. learned a lot. What i have learned is you need a flash that can run off a power pack, a camera that can handle the fast pace and have a back up, some portable lighting so you dont get any lighting problems(remote flash etc.) you should also get a helper to do your foot work after 5hrs of shoot i was tired!! As for DX over FX here is a site i read on the difference Nikon DX vs FX. not understanding this at first i had a hard time with cropping my pictures on the 3100. i couldnt get the same picture at 8x10 as i did with a 4x6. and so i had to make my larger prints 8x12 to match the 4x6 print. which means with a dx you have to stand farther back for a shot and thats where you lose your quality of the shot. (Quote me if im wrong on the last few sentences)
Did i enjoy doing the wedding?? Yes! now i have to sit down and decide what to start out with.
Did i enjoy doing the wedding?? Yes! now i have to sit down and decide what to start out with.
Browncoat
Senior Member
USB 3.0 is 10x faster than USB 2.0 (640 MB/s) vs. (60 MB/s). Yes, that's a big difference.
I don't transfer shots directly from my camera to a pc. I use a dedicated card reader plugged into the USB port of my laptop. This method avoids draining the camera battery, and it's much faster. Anthony is right, 3.0 is much faster, but i still use the old 2.0 version.
My desktop pc has a built in multi card reader.here is what i am using:
[h=1]Nikon D5100 DSLR Camera
with 18-55 & 55-300mm
VR Lenses, Case,
4GB 30MB/s SD Card,[/h]As for my experience, I don't think I am a professional, but I am pretty comfortable with the camera and able to understand lighting. I am pretty good at using photoshop and know how to take pictures from unique angles. I love candid photos instead of poses. I have taken a lot more landscape pics than portraits.
I would like to make money doing photography. Therefore, I would like to build reputation. I have taken outdoor pictures with the D5100 and it seems to produce quality pictures, but I notice it is not very crisp.
I
[h=1]Nikon D5100 DSLR Camera
with 18-55 & 55-300mm
VR Lenses, Case,
4GB 30MB/s SD Card,[/h]As for my experience, I don't think I am a professional, but I am pretty comfortable with the camera and able to understand lighting. I am pretty good at using photoshop and know how to take pictures from unique angles. I love candid photos instead of poses. I have taken a lot more landscape pics than portraits.
I would like to make money doing photography. Therefore, I would like to build reputation. I have taken outdoor pictures with the D5100 and it seems to produce quality pictures, but I notice it is not very crisp.
I
First of all if you are getting paid money then no you and your camera are not ready, and if you are not getting paid money, you need to advise the bride that they need to find a competent professional, please, please do not do this. The D5100 is a nice camera but it is hardly one to be used for weddings. When doing weddings you need two of everything and I mean two if not three of everything including cameras, lenses, flash units, batteries, chargers, even cables and cords because not only can Murphy show up at your wedding but will.
When doing weddings also you will need fast lenses and cameras that can handle them, the D5100 is too small to balance most fast lenses. You also have to understand lighting and how to use multiple flashes and also when not to use them and how to use available lighting when flash photography is not allowed in some churches. Professional cameras, fast lenses, flash units all adds up to $$$$ and we have not even started to talk about post production software and editing.
If you are trying to do someone a favor and they cannot afford a professional, please do not ruin their day, do them a favor and offer to help them pay for one, just because you have a nice black camera does not mean you can step in and do the job, wedding photography is very, very difficult to do it right and good pros do make look easy maybe but it is not, it is very hard to do, very very hard in fact. You have to know your equipment and have a good solid background with lots of experience. Usually after learning the ins and outs of proper lighting and acquiring good equipment you can then begin to look for work as a second shooter under a seasoned professional and then ultimately get the required experience to go out on your own.
And further just for fun, please view this, [Video] Judge Brown Tears Cheap Wedding Photog a New One | Fstoppers. Hopefully it drives home the point.
Rob
When doing weddings also you will need fast lenses and cameras that can handle them, the D5100 is too small to balance most fast lenses. You also have to understand lighting and how to use multiple flashes and also when not to use them and how to use available lighting when flash photography is not allowed in some churches. Professional cameras, fast lenses, flash units all adds up to $$$$ and we have not even started to talk about post production software and editing.
If you are trying to do someone a favor and they cannot afford a professional, please do not ruin their day, do them a favor and offer to help them pay for one, just because you have a nice black camera does not mean you can step in and do the job, wedding photography is very, very difficult to do it right and good pros do make look easy maybe but it is not, it is very hard to do, very very hard in fact. You have to know your equipment and have a good solid background with lots of experience. Usually after learning the ins and outs of proper lighting and acquiring good equipment you can then begin to look for work as a second shooter under a seasoned professional and then ultimately get the required experience to go out on your own.
And further just for fun, please view this, [Video] Judge Brown Tears Cheap Wedding Photog a New One | Fstoppers. Hopefully it drives home the point.
Rob
Sorry chowchow, I failed to read that part beforeI posted above. Let me encourage you to keep taking tons of pictures, maybe look at getting a used D90 or even a new one, you can probably now pick one up for about the price you paid for the D5100 if you shop around and then put a battery grip on it, get faster lenses and a good flash unit and go from there.
About me, I shot weddings both part time and later on full time back in the early to mid 90s with medium format before the digital age. I eventually sold off all my equipment and went back to school to enter the IT field that I currently work in. I think it takes lots people skill to do wedding photography and be successful in it, and to that point I just got burned out on people trying to take advantage of me but still I am thinking of gradually getting back into it, maybe look to do it part time as a retirement job, maybe farm myself out as a second shooter, will take it one step at a time. I have lots of catching up to do and acquiring all the right equipment adds up to $$$$.
Most wedding pros that I keep up with are now shooting full frame meaning a D700 (not D7000) and up in the Nikon line and the 5DII and up in the Canon line. Someday hopefully you will have both the experience and equipment to find work as a second shooter for somebody in your area and then after building up a nice portfolio you can go out on your own. That would be my advice anyway for what it is worth.
Keep shooting and good luck,
Rob
Just-Clayton
Senior Member
good advise Rob. i myself have a 4 yr plan. i plan to have in 4 yrs the eqipment and experience to shoot the big weddings by practicing and going with the expert wedding shooters. i have a few photographers that will let me tag along. do i plan to do it full time?? probably not! right now i am doing senior pictures to get the practice. so i will see in 4 yrs how i am doing.