Equipment 4 wedding photography

[mahshelly1]

Hello! I would like to start doing wedding photography and would like to go with a digital SLR. Does anyone have any advice as to what camera shoots the best for weddings? Also, what all will I need (lenses, back up camera, etc...)? I would really appreciate any help you can give me!
Thanks, Michelle

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mhaber/

[Ronnoco]

Well, some churches have very poor lighting, even during the day, so you need a camera that focuses fast under low light. A fast lens as in a 2.8 with a good range of 28mm to 200mm would be ideal and flexible but you may have to compromise on focal lengths. Wide angle is good for group pictures and telephoto for centering in on the front of the altar area, head table at the reception or facial expressions from a distance.

A very good flash is necessary because not only the church but even reception areas can be very low on lighting. You don't want red eye or that "flash look" so either you need to be able to calculate very fast to do manual settings or have a flash that is extremely precise and "tweakable" in TTL, ADI or other auto modes depending on the camera.

A tripod that is fast and easy to set up and take down and a slave flash on another stand are both very helpful. Lots of batteries, memory cards, some specialized filters will also be necessary. I also have a digital camera that will quickly change to stabilized video for the wedding vows for example, which is also useful.

As to specifics of particular cameras etc., it really depends on your style and what you are most confortable with. Everyone here would probably have a different favourite camera.

Ronnoco