Lens for wedding

Ibcus · 10-07-2009, 4:58 PM

My friends wife has asked me to take the pictures at her wedding, they are doing it on a budget so have roped me into it. To be honest I'm not looking forward to it one bit.

I only have the lens that came with my Sony a200 (18-70mm) and a Tamron AF70-300mm F/4-5.6. No flash apart from the one on the camera.

What would be the best lens to buy to get half decent photo's without breaking the bank?

Something I could use other than at weddings as it will be the first and last one I do.

Thanks.

kBm · 10-07-2009, 5:15 PM

Top of the wish list would be a prime lens - a 50mm f1.4 - expensive yes, but it the shots you will get will be outstanding. Not sure if you can get a 1.8 for Sony, im sure google will help. It can be used for all types of photography.

SomeVorn · 10-07-2009, 5:20 PM

Got to be a fast prime I'd say, something along the lines of 30 to 50mm.

It should blow your other two lenses out the water for low light work and optical quality - plus the control you will have over depth of field should mean that you can limit unwanted distractions in the background when it comes to portraits etc.

However, if you are going to shoot indoors/at the reception, I'm afraid a flash is likely to be a requirement.

OrbitalPete · 10-07-2009, 5:43 PM

Yep, I'd go for a 30 or 50mm 1.8 prime and a flash.

Also, if its your first one, I would just keep taking photos. hundreds of them. Many hundreds. That way even if your ratio of keepers to dross is high you still get an albums worth out of it

trust us · 10-07-2009, 8:09 PM

Flash for bounce,fill etc

JSW · 10-07-2009, 8:33 PM

Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 would do nicely

The 24-105mm Pirate is selling is also a cracker of a lens and very sharp

Ibcus · 10-07-2009, 8:42 PM

would a Minolta 50mm f/1.7 prime be ok?

Ibcus · 07-08-2009, 8:47 AM

I have since bought a Minolta 50mm f1.7 and a Minolta 35-105 f3.5-4.5.
Will these be good enough?

Small question about the skylight filters they both have, 50mm has skylight 1A and 35-105 has skylight 1B.
Is it ok to leave these on when shooting indoors for the wedding or should I take them off?

Jammyb · 07-08-2009, 9:42 AM

I've spotted a major problem with this whole scenario.

"My friends wife has asked me to take the pictures at her wedding"

Surely your friends wife is already married??

Not only that but she married to your friend, if you're any kind of friend to him you should tell him what she planning in advance, rather than simply photographing the event....

When you show him the incriminating photos I doubt he's going to care what lens you used.

eddiewood · 07-08-2009, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ibcus

I have since bought a Minolta 50mm f1.7 and a Minolta 35-105 f3.5-4.5.
Will these be good enough?

Small question about the skylight filters they both have, 50mm has skylight 1A and 35-105 has skylight 1B.
Is it ok to leave these on when shooting indoors for the wedding or should I take them off?

When I first got my A200 I took it to a wedding to try it out.

I found my Sony 50mm f1.4 inside the brightly lit church good without flash, but expect to do a lot of walking about. The main problem is that being an effective 75mm you have to be some distance from the couple when taking head to toe shots.

Because they will be walking down the aisle you find yourself having to quickly frame a shot and then move backwards some more with people getting in the way.

A f2.8 zoom would fix this, but is hideously expensive just for one occasion.

Outside you should have no problem with light for the Minolta 35-105mm, although 35mm isn't very wide for group shots, so you'll end up standing well back. At 105mm you should get some candid shots.

However, I'd probably use the 18-70mm at around 24mm-28mm tbh, it's more flexible because of it's wider end.

You'll end up using a flash at the reception, they tend to be dimly lit. If you don't have an external flash yet, your shots may be a bit harsh flash wise and it'll probably cast a shadow if people stand too close to walls, something to watch out for.

Remove the filters.

I can understand your reluctance, you will be expected to produce great shots just because you have a professional looking camera.

The best advice I can give is to take control of the couple and their immediate family and tell them exactly where and how you want them posed. If you leave them to mill around then you will not get the shots that they wanted.

Have you been inside and around the church and taken some test shots? Go and have a word with the caretaker, they should be happy for you to hang around after a Sunday service to take some shots.

Ibcus · 07-08-2009, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jammyb

I've spotted a major problem with this whole scenario.

"My friends wife has asked me to take the pictures at her wedding"

Surely your friends wife is already married??

I just got into the habbit of calling her his wife, they have been together for around 14 years.

Thanks for the advice eddiewood.

They are getting married at JJB stadium in Wigan, i am going to go down and ask if I can take a look at the room and take a few test shots to see what the lighting will be like, and maybe the room they will have the reception in too.

Throttle · 07-08-2009, 10:33 PM

If there getting married at the JJB Stadium id imagine the room would be alot better lit than the likes of a church so at least that might help with being a brighter venue

How soon is the Wedding ? ... Not that im volunteering on taking any photos or anything lol

Ibcus · 08-08-2009, 1:21 AM

The wedding is in October.

I nipped in to the stadium around 3.45 today and they took me to the rooms they will be using, the room they are getting married in has windows all across one wall looking onto the pitch. It is well lit, or at least it was today but it was a very nice day, maybe not so good in October.

I didnt have much time in the rooms, staff change over time so only had 15 mins to do the tour of all the rooms.

This is the room they will get married in, it had no lights on at all, pity it wasn't set out for a wedding.

I tried to get my cousin to come along with his nikon but no luck so far, so if your free on 16th Oct Throttle.....

Only joking

Liddle ol' me · 08-08-2009, 12:31 PM

EDIT: PM'ed

eddiewood · 08-08-2009, 1:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ibcus

The wedding is in October.

I nipped in to the stadium around 3.45 today and they took me to the rooms they will be using, the room they are getting married in has windows all across one wall looking onto the pitch. It is well lit, or at least it was today but it was a very nice day, maybe not so good in October.

Looks great in July, in October it'll be cloudy and the light will fade rapidly towards 5pm. A south facing window would help.

You should get away with the 50mm, but you'll have to use a wide aperture so watch out for lack of depth issues like sharp eyes, but out of focus nose etc.

If you are in aperture priority watch the shutter speed and ISO too, or you'll get camera shake or something grainy due to high ISO. You may want to fix the ISO to 400 on the A200 so it doesn't go too high.

On the day I would get in the room first and take some shots of where they'll be and then zoom in on the image to check focus, depth and grain, take somebody with you to shoot at. At least then you'll have some idea of what aperture to use and ISO to fix at before the ceremony starts. On the day they may also have the lights on, so check your white balance setting, take a picture of a white cloth for example and check it is white, not yellow.

Between now and then, practise, practise, practise. Get somebody to model for you in front of a window. Use your 50mm to experiment with settings using only natural light from the window. You'll be surprised how quickly you start to get some nice shots.

The last piece of advice is this, if you have a sharp picture but the colours, light or whatever aren't right, cheat by converting it to b/w and boost the contrast, it might make a mediocre colour picture into a very nice b/w one

Good luck!

Throttle · 08-08-2009, 4:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ibcus

I tried to get my cousin to come along with his nikon but no luck so far, so if your free on 16th Oct Throttle.....
Only joking

Lol Im busy that day

tbh i wouldn't have the confidence in myself for something like wedding photos with people i don't know id be bit unsure even people i do myself

If its october you could save up for the Tamron 17-50 F2.8 if you wanted to upgrade to a faster lens which would be better for low light photos Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Lens
or a external flash which be cheaper still ...if you want any upgrades that is you might be just fine with what you have but obviously upgrading bits do help sometimes

The 50mm would be ok