Photographers Help!

[Spykee]

Hi Everynone,

im in need of some advice off all you photographers out there.......

i have been into photography for a bit now and bought myself a Canon EOS 300v 35mm SLR about 18 months ago.

basically i still feel like im learning as i dont have the luxury of previewing the picture like a digital SLR but im doing ok so far......

anyway my friend came over the other day and i was showing her some of the pics that i have taken, which included some of my cousin's wedding last year and now she has asked me to take her wedding photo's for her!!!

i feel like i cant say no cos shes one of my best mates but at the same time im not sure if my skills are up to the job :S

now i have the camera with 28>90mm & 90>300mm lenses but im wondering what else im going to need to do this properly?

she is having her wedding in Turkey this August and is concerned that the photos will be crap if she uses someone local and said she would be happier if i do them.

the wedding is in the afternoon so its likely to be in bright sunlight but then the reception is going to be in the evening when its dark as the light goes at around 7pm.....

im thinking along the lines of a Lense Hood, tripod and maybe a light filter (of some sort)? :S

any advice on this would be much appreciated

thanks,

Alex

 

[swren]

A UV filter or 2 would be a good idea, Depending on your lenses diameter you may need 1 for each lense you plan on using.

A lens hood will also be pretty much essential, though i have seen the Canon ones and they are not that good in my opinion, but any good camera shop will be able to help you on getting one.

I know it sounds mad but a flash may also be handy to provide fill in light on some shots. I'm thinking more of outside the church etc.

This is more a luxury i guess but if there a lot of people attending the wedding and you want to get everyone in a single shot, you might need a wider lense to get that shot, but they are quite expensive, mine was over £300 i think.

Best bet is to do some test shots at your local church with some stand in mates to check your settings etc. Learn from your mistakes now rather than on the day.

I'm no expert on weddings but if i were doing one these are the types of things i would be trying / getting.

Hope this helps abit

Si

 

[Spykee]

cheers Si

its not going to be at a church actually its going to be on the seafront in Turkey so i have no idea til i get there where the light will be coming from etc when im going to be taking the shots.......

do you have any particular sort of UV filter in mind? its likely to be very bright sunlight....

the lense diameter is the same on both lenses at 58mm so that shouldnt be a problem

do you rekon somewhere like Jessops would be the best place to get hold of a decent lense hood? when you say the canon ones arnt that good, do you mean that they are not deep enough? ive seen some different styles and thats what i have thought myself about them.....

Alex

 

[sh33n]

Can't you just use your mobile phone for the pics!?

 

[Spykee]

LMAO..... erm NO!

 

[Rich]

Your a braver man than me a few few people have asking me to do there wedding shots and I have said no!

If it is going to be dark a Speedlite type flash will be essential. A fast lens say 2.8 will also help lots indoors and in low light.

28>90mm - 28 is wider on a film body than it is on the new range of 1.6 crop didgi slr's, but as said above maybe to wide still. I would think more like 17/18mm

Always use the Canon lens hoods that come with the lenses here, shy away from filters here incase of creating extra glare, but you should be fine with a hood one.

Some hoods here

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/index.cfm?photo/lenses/canonlens.html

A dry run maybe good as said.

 

[swren]

Well if its by the sea i would recommend getting a polarize lenses as that will give you a much better blue sky (assuming its a nice day obviously), but a just a UV lense will also be handy. You can get both from Jessops as thats where i got mine.

The canon lens hood i saw were indeed not very deep, my sigma one is much better as it actually works, but i'm sure canon must do a good one, the bloke i spoke to at the time was a numpty.

Si

 

[Rich]

The depth of the hood is designed for the focal length of the lens though?

The 70-200 and 70-300 ones I have both include a deep hood, but on wide angle a deep hood won't work. Make sure the hood is designed for the lens.

The 28 mm one I have is about the 6th of the size of the 200/300mm ones.

 

[swren]

^^^

Good point Rich

Si