First Wedding, Help needed!

Elliot87

Senior Member
Hi Folks,

It has been a very long time since I posted on here and the main reason is because I haven't been doing much photography. However my sister has decided to get married during the pandemic and has asked me to take pictures during the ceremony. Now wedding photography is something I really don't want to do, much happier with wildlife photography as the animals don't judge the results, but as it is my sister and it's a very low key event (only 15 guests as it stands with Covid) I'm going to give it a go.

None of my current gear is ideal so I will be adding one or two lenses (budget options) but want advice about what I really need.

Body will be a D7100 (no second body but a Lumix FZ82 in an absolute emergency.) I do have a D3200 but this is getting sold.

Lenses: Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM. Just ordered a used copy, I imagine this will be the primary lens on the day.
Is it likely that I will need a longer lens? I'm thinking Sigma 50-150mm HSM but not the newer OS version as the budget won't stretch that far. Are the non OS versions any good?

I also have 35mm, 50mm and 55mm primes but the 17-50mm covers all these without the need to change lenses and move too much.
11-16mm Tokina, I doubt I will need anything this wide with only a small number of guests.
Then I have my 200-500, too long, too heavy and not great for indoor use with the f5.6. I have a Tamron 70-300mm VC but this will likely be sold ahead of time. Or would I be more sensible to keep this to fill the gap a 50-150mm would cover? I doubt I could get good results indoors with this lens.

Final question, should I be investing in a flash, or two or three? I have never done any flash photography and this is an area I have very little confidence.

Sorry for the rambling post, any help on gear I'll need or general pointers are greatly appreciated.

The wedding is in November and is about 300miles away so unfortunately I won;t get a chance to scope it out much ahead of time. I think the key is to keep my sisters expectations low and do the best I can on the day.
 

Andy W

Senior Member
The 17-50mm should be fine for this. An on camera flash bounced off the ceiling should help eliminate shadows on your subject. Spend some time practicing beforehand with whatever you decide to use.
 

Elliot87

Senior Member
The 17-50mm should be fine for this. An on camera flash bounced off the ceiling should help eliminate shadows on your subject. Spend some time practicing beforehand with whatever you decide to use.

That is good to hear. Do you have any recommendations on what I should be looking for in a flash (on a budget)? Will I need TTL?
I've been looking at used Nikon speedlights but if I'm honest I find it confusing to know what is what. An SB 700 seems to be around £140 in good condition. On the other hand I've been reading very positive reviews on Amazon for Neewer flashes, which are far cheaper and appear to be Chinese copies. This one for example is £55 https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Neewer-7...ywords=nikon+flash&qid=1601244255&sr=8-3&th=1 As it is something I may not use all that often I don't want to spend a great deal but still needs to be up to the task.
 

Andy W

Senior Member
That is good to hear. Do you have any recommendations on what I should be looking for in a flash (on a budget)? Will I need TTL?
I've been looking at used Nikon speedlights but if I'm honest I find it confusing to know what is what. An SB 700 seems to be around £140 in good condition. On the other hand I've been reading very positive reviews on Amazon for Neewer flashes, which are far cheaper and appear to be Chinese copies. This one for example is £55 https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Neewer-7...ywords=nikon+flash&qid=1601244255&sr=8-3&th=1 As it is something I may not use all that often I don't want to spend a great deal but still needs to be up to the task.


The Neewer you linked to should do the job and the TTL will be helpful. I normally use TTL with an on camera flash.
 

kevy73

Senior Member
Hey Elliot... a specialist wedding photographer here...

Is your Sisters ceremony venue indoors or outdoors?

I like the idea of your 15-50 f2.8 and I think you are on the money in getting the 50-200 f2.8 also.

I never use flash during a daytime ceremony regardless of indoors or outdoors. I have only ever used "flash" during a ceremony once and that was because it was a night time wedding so I had no choice. I know you US folks do things differently over there, but here in Aust using flash during your ceremony is almost against the rules... I know that some Churches don't allow it regardless of how dark and dinghy it can get in them.

Flash is reserved for the reception which here in Aust usually starts around 6pm and goes until midnight.

My camera's are ALWAYS set to rear sync with the flash and I generally aim 45ish degrees up and have it set to TTL -0.7 or TTL -0.3 - ISO around the 1000 and shutter around the 100. F stop is usually around the 3.5 to make wide enough for couple shots.

I usually shoot the 24-70 f2.8 and my 85f1.4 at the reception. Flash is ONLY on the 24-70, I shoot the 85 flashless and always at f1.4 - good for the sniper type shots where people don't even know you are taking them.

Feel free to message back with any other questions or if something I wrote didn't make sense.
 

JoeIskor

Banned
Hello Elliot, congratulations with your sister's wedding, it is a very important event in your lives, so you have the responsibility to save all the good moments from the wedding in order to remmeber about it year by year. Good luck! I can suggest you to take a look on https://www.wanderlustportraits.com, these guys have a lot of beautiful photos from weddings and I am sure you will find something interesting, because I always steal ideas from them, they are kind of geniuses haha. I hope I was a little useful for you.
 
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Elliot87

Senior Member
@kevy73

Thanks very much for the feedback and valuable information!

The wedding venue is indoors, a traditional Church. I have checked and they have not put any limitations on using flash etc. however I would much prefer to go without it or keep use to the bare minimum as I don't want to be a distraction. The more I can go unnoticed the better. My only concern is that my D7100 body is far from the best at handling low light, 1600 ISO is usually the max I go too and even then IQ is suffering quite a bit. When the new lens arrives I will practice lots and see what the pairing is capable of, with and without the flash.

As it stands with Covid restrictions, I'm not even sure there will be a reception to speak of following the wedding, but there will be at some point next year and no doubt I'll be taking pictures. Your advice with settings for using flash is much needed and appreciated!

I am still not 100% sure if I will get a second lens for the shoot but if I do I'm leaning towards a portrait length prime. Of course an 85 f1.4 would be ideal but I may compromise and look at a 105mm macro lens, as although the 2.8 aperture will not be ideal, it is something I will get much more use from long term. THe Sigma 105mm with OS is top of my list right now but I need to research my options a lot more.

No doubt I will have some more questions once I start using the new gear.

Many thanks!
 

BF Hammer

Senior Member
Elliot, I don't have much advice. I have only done a wedding once as a favor for a co-worker. It was a low-key outdoor wedding on a farm property. For starters, I would say think of this as a chance to shoot wildlife closer than normal, be able to talk to the animals and they may willingly pose for you too! Much easier than wildlife photography, right? :)

About the speedlight, if the church has the traditional high ceilings I would not count on being able to bounce the flash and lighting up the room enough. Consider buying an inexpensive light-modifier that goes over the strobe and diffuses it. But this will also limit the range you can light-up. It could be your only way for the posed photos following the ceremony. There are techniques for adjusting your speedlight power down to only light the subjects and greatly dim the background so the focus of attention goes to the subject. Food for thought as you work.

I see wedding photographers use the expected "holy trinity" lenses, 14-24mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm plus a prime portrait lens most. Your 200-500mm can pretty much stay at home unless you want to shoot other subjects on the trip. The 70-300mm lens could come in handy, but indoors I imagine needing a tripod or monopod plus plus high ISO. For sure bring a tripod for the posed photos post-ceremony. Receptions are normally done with flash and handheld from what I have observed.
 

kevy73

Senior Member
@Elliot87

I am sure you will do well - if you get it, practice slowing your shutter down to around 1/50 to 1/160 and shooting wide open on the 50-150 lens - this will help you during the ceremony, I do tend to use the longer lens during the ceremony. If not, practice with as long as lens as you have. I am 6'4" and I hate being in front of other people during a ceremony, so I tend to stand a long way back or a long way to the side where possible. If you want examples of church images that I try to go for - please let me know and I can fling some images your way of just things I try and get.
 

Elliot87

Senior Member
[MENTION=48483]BF Hammer[/MENTION]

For starters, I would say think of this as a chance to shoot wildlife closer than normal, be able to talk to the animals and they may willingly pose for you too! Much easier than wildlife photography, right? :)

That is a good way to look at, although my many nieces and nephews may prove to be just as skittish and unpredictable as some wildlife!

About the speedlight, if the church has the traditional high ceilings I would not count on being able to bounce the flash and lighting up the room enough. Consider buying an inexpensive light-modifier that goes over the strobe and diffuses it. But this will also limit the range you can light-up. It could be your only way for the posed photos following the ceremony. There are techniques for adjusting your speedlight power down to only light the subjects and greatly dim the background so the focus of attention goes to the subject. Food for thought as you work.

If my memory serves me right it does have very high ceilings so I may well need to follow your advice on this one.

I see wedding photographers use the expected "holy trinity" lenses, 14-24mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm plus a prime portrait lens most. Your 200-500mm can pretty much stay at home unless you want to shoot other subjects on the trip. The 70-300mm lens could come in handy, but indoors I imagine needing a tripod or monopod plus plus high ISO. For sure bring a tripod for the posed photos post-ceremony. Receptions are normally done with flash and handheld from what I have observed.

I currently have the 70-300mm up for sale but haven't had any takers yet, so may keep it for the day. The VC is good but it will struggle with the light I think. As you say a tripod may well be essential here. My other often is to buy a Sigma50-150mm f2.8, the earlier non OS model. I would love to have the latest one but they seem hard to find and are out of my budget here. The non OS one should work well with monopod and tripod and will certainly allow lower ISO than my 70-300mm. I will buy used and potentially sell on afterwards so it shouldn't prove too expensive.

I would prefer to buy a Sigma 105mm or 150mm macro OS as these are actually lenses I'd like to have long term but would not be ideal for this event I don't think.
 
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Elliot87

Senior Member
@Elliot87

I am sure you will do well - if you get it, practice slowing your shutter down to around 1/50 to 1/160 and shooting wide open on the 50-150 lens - this will help you during the ceremony, I do tend to use the longer lens during the ceremony. If not, practice with as long as lens as you have. I am 6'4" and I hate being in front of other people during a ceremony, so I tend to stand a long way back or a long way to the side where possible. If you want examples of church images that I try to go for - please let me know and I can fling some images your way of just things I try and get.

I don't currently own the 50-150mm but from what you have said it may well be a good idea to get one. The longest lens I have is 200-500mm f5.6, I don't think I'll be able to get far enough back to use that one but I understand what you are saying. I may practice with the Tamron 70-300mm on a tripod, monopod to see what results I can get, it is a long time since I used that lens. Under 250mm it is quite sharp although does like to be stopped down to f8 for best results. From 70-150mm it may be better wide open but I have almost always shot it at the long end some more experimentation is needed.

I am always happy to see results from experienced wedding photographers like yourself. I currently feel very lacking in inspiration!
 

Elliot87

Senior Member
I just bit the bullet and ordered a used Sigma 50-150mm f2.8 EX DC II HSM.
So I will have D7100, Sigma 17-50mm 2.8, Sigma 50-150mm 2.8 and a Neewer 750II flash.
Redsnapper Tripod or manfrotto monopod. Both are solid.
Panasonic FZ82 bridge camera will be an emergency backup, although of course this will not be capable of doing a good job but would be better than nothing.
Oh and I might throw my wifes Nikon F80 SLR into the mix with a 50mm f1.8D. Just in case everything digital decides to break. Imagine shooting your first wedding, with film, in 2020!

Now gear shouldn't be the issue, I just have to practice practice practice!
 
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Danno

Senior Member
I did a few weddings for family and dear friends and I used a Tamron 28-75 f2.8 and the Tamron 70-200 f2.8 G2 on my 7200 and later D700. The combo worked great. I think you will be pleased with the combo you have chosen @Elliot87. I think I ended up in all cases using the 28-75 most of the time.
 

Scott Murray

Senior Member
@Elliot87

https://www.kevinmcginn.com.au/Vendors/Sophie-and-Daniel/ was a wedding in a smaller church. This is a full wedding gallery, so every image I (and my 2nd shooter) took on the day. Reception was a home reception.

May need to change the URL.
Screen Shot 2020-10-03 at 3.10.58 pm.png
 
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