Awesome-sa
Well I'm not shooting the wedding. Just shooting the reception and doing formal shots of the bride her family and shooting the party etc. I have an XT and standard lens as well as a 50mm. I was thinking about investing in a 70-300mm lens. Good idea or not? The reception is indoors.
I know its pretty basic but it works for a broke college student.
Answer
The EF 50mm f/1.8 "Nifty- Fifty" and EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM are good lenses for those on a tight budget. The 50mm will be your best bet for low-light indoors at the reception but, you may occasionlly find it frames a little tight on your XT. That's not necessarily a problem but, if you aren't already aware of it, a 50mm lens on your camera will be the 35mm/full-frame equivalent of an 80mm, short-telephoto lens. So if you need to do any wider shots, you'll either need some extra stand-off distance or you'll have to accept the tighter frame.
A wider option, albeit more expensive, is the EF 28mm f/1.8. There's also the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 that many people on tight budgets find very useful for candids. Either of these would get you closer to a "normal" focal length on the XT. Downside is that both lenses get mixed reviews and are much more expensive than the 50mm f/1.8.
For what it's worth, all of Canon's 70-300mm lenses are a bit slow and will require flash under many conditions. If you can, spring for the IS USM version, you'll be able to get away with a few extra stops of hand-held speeds/apertures. This won't compensate for a moving subject but it will make up for a good bit of camera shake on your end. Ultimately, at the pro-level, you'd want something with an f/2.8 or faster aperture and bump up the ISO while being careful about noise. Noise is far less of a problem on full-frame cameras but it sounds like it will be a while before you are ready to make that move.
The EF 50mm f/1.8 "Nifty- Fifty" and EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM are good lenses for those on a tight budget. The 50mm will be your best bet for low-light indoors at the reception but, you may occasionlly find it frames a little tight on your XT. That's not necessarily a problem but, if you aren't already aware of it, a 50mm lens on your camera will be the 35mm/full-frame equivalent of an 80mm, short-telephoto lens. So if you need to do any wider shots, you'll either need some extra stand-off distance or you'll have to accept the tighter frame.
A wider option, albeit more expensive, is the EF 28mm f/1.8. There's also the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 that many people on tight budgets find very useful for candids. Either of these would get you closer to a "normal" focal length on the XT. Downside is that both lenses get mixed reviews and are much more expensive than the 50mm f/1.8.
For what it's worth, all of Canon's 70-300mm lenses are a bit slow and will require flash under many conditions. If you can, spring for the IS USM version, you'll be able to get away with a few extra stops of hand-held speeds/apertures. This won't compensate for a moving subject but it will make up for a good bit of camera shake on your end. Ultimately, at the pro-level, you'd want something with an f/2.8 or faster aperture and bump up the ISO while being careful about noise. Noise is far less of a problem on full-frame cameras but it sounds like it will be a while before you are ready to make that move.
help with wedding photography?
Mo-ni-que
i'm a beginner at photography and my aunt has asked me to photograph her wedding, just because she doesnt care if she has fancy pictures or anything, she would probably not mind it if her pctures were taken with a disposable camera haha but she wanted to let me practice my photography.
so, i found this lens that is supposedly perfect for portrait pictures, its called the Nikon 135mm f/2 DC, and it blurs the background nicely and makes the subject very sharp and all that, but its like $1300, does anyone have any suggestions for a cheaper lens that will do similar things as this lens?
and also, any other suggestions for equipment or lenses i could use while photographing the wedding?
thank youuu
thank you for the suggestions but i want to make it clear that shes not expecting much, its her second marriage and she doesnt care much about hardcore wedding pictures, she just wants to give me a chance to practice.
but thanks again
i'm using a Nikon D3000 and i already have a 18-55mm lens that it came with
Answer
Honestly, unless you are planning to shoot many more portraits on a full frame camera in the future, you should just think about getting the 50mm f/1.8. Inexpensive and a good portrait lens on the crop sensor. Also good in low light. But you will have to manually focus. If you want a do-it-all lens for the rest of your photography needs as a beginner, think about the 18-200VR. The VR will give you a couple more stops in camera shake terms, and more reach for further away in decent light. It is *NOT* a lens for wedding photography in general, but will serve for a one-off event for an amateur, and then you can continue to use it. The go-to lens for wedding photography on a crop frame is the Nikon 17-55 f/2.8. Pricey, but a great lens. The Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 is a good choice if your budget won't permit the Nikon version. If you don't have a flash, consider the SB600 or SB900.
Here is a link for first time wedding shooters:
http://www.rokkorfiles.com/Wedding101-page1.html
If there is enough light, you should be able to cover the bulk of the wedding with the kit lens. Outdoors in day time you should be fine. If you are in a dark cave of a church, you won't be fine. There's where you turn to the 50mm fast lens.
Make sure she is truly not expecting album shots. Some people really don't care much about quality photography, but only want a reminder of the event in snapshots.
Look at some good pro wedding sites and pay attention to the type of shots they get, and the posing of the formals. Visit the venue before the wedding and take some test shots. Pick out a pretty location for a few formal portraits, with uncluttered background and even lighting. At the wedding, make sure you at least get a good closeup and full length shot of the bride, and the couple together. Also the close family members, and the wedding party if there are attendants. Get pictures of the oldest and youngest. Hold the camera straight, tilt is seldom a good idea. Check your histogram for exposure. Stay away from blowing lots of highlights, but do not underexpose. If you are not comfortable shooting on manual, (and as a beginner, you are probably not) shoot on Program mode and use exposure compensation when needed. If you do not know about exposure compensation, then find out about that before the wedding. If you can process RAW images, then shoot RAW. If you do not have a workflow for RAW, then shoot your finest quality large Jpegs, or shoot RAW + Jpeg. Use as low an ISO as possible, but do not be afraid to go higher to get the shot and avoid blur. Noise from high ISO can be lessened in post processing, but blur is forever. Have lots of memory, and don't fill the cards to capacity. Keep the used cards in a safe place. Do not delete the trash and missed pictures in the camera. Wait until post processing. Download the images to your computer, then back them up immediately to CD or DVD. Go through them for the first edit. You will delete the blurry, missed focus, odd or unflattering expressions, closed eyes etc. Keep the better ones. Now you pick the best ones to tweak. Keep a light hand in manipulation. Wedding photos should not look like Myspace profiles, so easy on the contrast and saturation. Make them natural looking. Then load the best onto a CD or DVD for the happy couple to choose and print their favorites.
It is unlikely that your photos will be amazing, but with some preparation and care on your part, you will at least get some good shots to remember their day. Hope it goes well, and good luck!
Honestly, unless you are planning to shoot many more portraits on a full frame camera in the future, you should just think about getting the 50mm f/1.8. Inexpensive and a good portrait lens on the crop sensor. Also good in low light. But you will have to manually focus. If you want a do-it-all lens for the rest of your photography needs as a beginner, think about the 18-200VR. The VR will give you a couple more stops in camera shake terms, and more reach for further away in decent light. It is *NOT* a lens for wedding photography in general, but will serve for a one-off event for an amateur, and then you can continue to use it. The go-to lens for wedding photography on a crop frame is the Nikon 17-55 f/2.8. Pricey, but a great lens. The Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 is a good choice if your budget won't permit the Nikon version. If you don't have a flash, consider the SB600 or SB900.
Here is a link for first time wedding shooters:
http://www.rokkorfiles.com/Wedding101-page1.html
If there is enough light, you should be able to cover the bulk of the wedding with the kit lens. Outdoors in day time you should be fine. If you are in a dark cave of a church, you won't be fine. There's where you turn to the 50mm fast lens.
Make sure she is truly not expecting album shots. Some people really don't care much about quality photography, but only want a reminder of the event in snapshots.
Look at some good pro wedding sites and pay attention to the type of shots they get, and the posing of the formals. Visit the venue before the wedding and take some test shots. Pick out a pretty location for a few formal portraits, with uncluttered background and even lighting. At the wedding, make sure you at least get a good closeup and full length shot of the bride, and the couple together. Also the close family members, and the wedding party if there are attendants. Get pictures of the oldest and youngest. Hold the camera straight, tilt is seldom a good idea. Check your histogram for exposure. Stay away from blowing lots of highlights, but do not underexpose. If you are not comfortable shooting on manual, (and as a beginner, you are probably not) shoot on Program mode and use exposure compensation when needed. If you do not know about exposure compensation, then find out about that before the wedding. If you can process RAW images, then shoot RAW. If you do not have a workflow for RAW, then shoot your finest quality large Jpegs, or shoot RAW + Jpeg. Use as low an ISO as possible, but do not be afraid to go higher to get the shot and avoid blur. Noise from high ISO can be lessened in post processing, but blur is forever. Have lots of memory, and don't fill the cards to capacity. Keep the used cards in a safe place. Do not delete the trash and missed pictures in the camera. Wait until post processing. Download the images to your computer, then back them up immediately to CD or DVD. Go through them for the first edit. You will delete the blurry, missed focus, odd or unflattering expressions, closed eyes etc. Keep the better ones. Now you pick the best ones to tweak. Keep a light hand in manipulation. Wedding photos should not look like Myspace profiles, so easy on the contrast and saturation. Make them natural looking. Then load the best onto a CD or DVD for the happy couple to choose and print their favorites.
It is unlikely that your photos will be amazing, but with some preparation and care on your part, you will at least get some good shots to remember their day. Hope it goes well, and good luck!
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