New 20D + 2 weeks + Wedding = Need Suggestions

[philic1013]

We'll skip over the obligatory share your new "joy, shots, review" when you get a new camera thread for the time being (as I actually dont have it in my hands yet!) and get down to it!

The good:

B&H has shipped out my new 20D,with the 18-55 USM lens! I'm thrilled! Been saving up for a 10D since exactly this time last year. It'll compliment me well with the Elan 7e and the 20-35mm USM, and 105mm Macro.

Backup gear consists of my father's Canon S60 ( which I might add, is a very nice camera) and my Elan 7e, stocked with some Potra.

The bad:

$1500.00 hurts. My older brother is getting married Jan 3rd. Its understood that theres no guarentee and whatnot, and its a very "non-traditional" wedding anyways, but the financials with the couple-to-be and both pairs of parents prevent hiring a photographer. I've been asked, and offered to step up to the plate simply because, if I don't, the only pictures taken will be a handful of P&S disposable's from the guests. Outdoor small backyard wedding, indoor/outdoor reception afterwards. Weather can be picky, Locations for the "staged" havent been decided, but I just know that DOF will be my number 1 enemy, who wants someone's backyard fence and what have you in their wedding shots! That won't pan out untill the day before when everything's prepped.

I've had to pass up on my first thought of picking up the No BS package, as money is nil.
I'm planning on shooting as much as I can before the date,doing test shoots and all (location is our parents house) and spending the rest of my days in a library/ bookstore reading every book/magazine I can get my hands on.

What tips/advice can you offer me for last minute wedding photos ? Anything I should spend extra time on regarding the 20D?

I've only got one 512 Lexar Professional memory card. I've got the lenses listed above, and two batteries.

How quickly will I be eating that card,and how quickly can I dump it on to the computer (at wedding) and continue?

What, if any, should I look into renting for the wedding?

There is a small, allowance for renting equipment, although I havent looked at prices yet, It's South Florida, how much could one lens be to rent for a day?


I'll be digging up all the "last minute wedding" threads to sift for advice, as well as the number of excellent wedding results that always get posted here for ideas. Anything you have to offer would be appriciated.

Ever so Appriciated-

Andrew

[92135011]

Professional photographers are very expensive these days so I fully understand why they wouldnt be able to afford one. Not many people can these days. Canon's line of CMOS digital cameras are the fastest in the business to date, with their digital technology probably unparalleled in the electronic world. Having said that, I have seen images taken by the 20D in 1600iso, and they didnt turn all that bad. Most digital cameras at 1600iso pump out junk, as I heard from a pro photographer who frequently tries out different brands - 20D produces the most decent yet. Having said that, you could easily shoot indoors as well as out.

The most important thing about photography is your confidence. Shoot and keep shooting. Use the burst features to your advantage. Especially that special moment when the ring goes on - well that depends on how non-traditional you are talking bout (no ring at all??). If it's important gear, that would be a card reader and buy another card. Shoot with one card, then transfer with the other. Since you be at your parent's house, you can just jack in to their computer, assuming they will have enough HD space. Dont be afraid to take shots that dont look good. Try out new things and keep shooting regardless if you think you will like them or not. You can always delete later on anyways, right?

I dont think you will need to rent anything. All you really need is the heart to do well and the confidence to keep shooting.

ps. you can rent/buy a soft filter if you wish (some people love that soft look with wedding shots)

keep the money to process later instead

[Lionheart]

New camera+must do wedding shoot=recipe for disaster, but I've done that before, and all went well. Some thoughts:
One 512 card on an 8 Mp camera might make it if you're shooting at the lowest resolution available. Just to give you some idea of how fast cards fill up, the last time I shot a wedding digitally, I had 2- 1Gb cards, 3- 512 cards, and I filled up all but one card, and I was getting worried because my laptop was back in the car. Keep in mind that the file sizes of the images get larger as you bump up the ISO speed of the 20D, and in most weddings, light is rarely in abundant supply so your ISO settings will typically be at 400 minimum, 800-1600 for many situations, depending on your flash and battery supply. Also it takes time for the card to download no matter how fast your connection is to your laptop computer. If you are shooting digital, you need extra CF cards, at least one extra, and have an assistant off load the spare card whenever possible onto the computer.
Two batteries are the absolute minimum IMHO. I don't know how fast the 20D drains batteries, but if you're utilizing the on-camera flash a lot, two may not get you through the wedding. I pack a minimum of 4 spares not including what's in the camera, and I never use the on-camera flash-too much red eye and too much drain on the batteries. Bring the battery charger with you, I always do. I shot a wedding in January where I actually had to charge my spares during the reception, but that was because there were two of us shooting the wedding, each with a 10D. I shot the telephoto angles, and my cohort shot the wide angle shots.
Beg, borrow or steal extra CF cards- you need more than one. I shoot an average of 600 to 800 shots during a wedding regardless of whether it's film or digital. I know the pros shoot quite a bit less, but I'm just an amateur pro-wannabee, so I have an excuse Besides, I'd rather shoot more than enough than not enough. It's only memories right? and they're not your memories either ;) I'm being a lark of course.
Put your 20D through the paces heavily now, get used to switching AF points on the fly, it makes all the difference in the world in getting or not getting the shot. As much as possible, know how to change settings in shooting situations without taking your eyes off the action. I cannot stress how important it is to really know your camera's controls instinctively. It will give you a lot of confidence when all you're worried about is framing and creating the image.
You may want to consider shooting primarily film with your Elan 7 if you're more familiar with it, and have digital for backup, but bring 20 rolls of film, ISO 400. Portra is very nice film, used a lot of that myself in my film days, although Fuji NPH was my favorite.
If you rent anything at all, rent a 550 or 580 EX flash and a Quantum pack for it. Make a list of the posed must shots as well-father/groom, best man/groom, etc.
Good luck, I hope anything I've said helps even a little. Weddings are simultaneously fun and stressful, but they're worth shooting, especially if you're doing it as special favor for loved friends and family.

[stevenlmas]

If you can swing it, the battery pack/portrait grip is worth the $. I have a 10d and can go all day without having to stop and swap out batteries. The extra shutter release when holding the camera at 90 degrees also helps me avoid the slightly off-kilter shots.

512MB cards are getting cheap. Buy.com is a good place to look. And BJ's Wholesale club had 512MB card for ~$50.

I carry an Archos Multimedia Jukebox with me as well. It's basically an iPod sized 20GB MP3 Player with a CF/Smart Media Card reader. I can take one card out start copying to the HDD and continue shooting with the other. (Not to mention that I have about 200 CDs on it as well, and still 10GB for storing pics.) This is an expensive option and not necessarily viable for the upcoming wedding, but something to think about in the future. It was very helpful when I was backpacking in Costa Rica for a month, with no access to computers and sporadic access to electricity/recharging.

Best of luck... Hope you post a few shots after the wedding.
Steve

[another view]

Just like Caddyshack: See the camera - Feel the camera - Be the camera ;)

New equipment on a job can be a bad idea, but the best thing you can do is get to know that camera inside out. Know where the controls are and how they work, to the point that you don't have to think about how to do something or even look at it. The main thing I'd practice is flash shots, indoors and out. Digital flash systems in general aren't as accurate as film camera TTL, and with less exposure latitude accuracy becomes even more important. Find what works best for your camera/flash setup - for me, it was switching back to "A" mode rather than TTL but don't forget that in doing that you have to compensate for bouncing the flash or a diffuser, etc. If you don't have an external flash and have to use the pop-up, at least work with that - and get another battery or two because with a new camera it's hard to tell how long a battery will last.

I wouldn't worry about any more equipment at this point, it would just be more new stuff to figure out. Learn the camera and flash above all else. I would really try to come up with another gig of card space though (total of three 512's for example). My 6mp gives me about 200 shots per 512 so you'd probably end up with about a total of 400-450 shots (rough guess) on that same 1.5g of space using high resolution jpegs. It would be good to just keep shooting and not have to worry about card space.

One thing that could be a problem: Digital has about the same exposure latitude as slide films, but the highlights blow out easier. Bright southern Florida sun + bride in white dress + groom in black tux = a situation with a lot more contrast than digital can handle. Neg film like Portra will handle a lot more contrast, so you might consider using some of that too. Look for a shady spot to take posed pictures, and use your flash.

I guess my point is that if you work with the camera and get as comfortable with it as you can, there will be a lot less stress on the big day. There will be enough - don't worry - but knowing your equipment will make life easier.

[philic1013]

Well, I just ordered a 70X 1GB X-Digital Media CF card from amazon.com for 59.99. That, plus my father's 512 Sandisk Pro card, should be enough to keep a spare card ready for me. It's all about shooting, testing location, and planning with the couple to be now.

[Franglais]

I'm just getting into serious semi-pro usage of my D70 (350 shots last night, 250 shots tonight, probably 100 tomorrow). Some thoughts reading your post:

1. Practice as much as possible before the day.
2. Be ready for some nasty surprises. Digital is not as forgiving as negative film (the highlights burn out really easily).
3. Read the camera manual thoroughly beforehand and have it with you at all times. These cameras are so sophisticated that there's always some extra feature to discover, usually when you turn it on accidentally and can't figure out how to turn it off.
4. DO have a powerful flash handy. As I said earlier, these cameras are not very forgiving in terms of light and you need a flash to dig yourself out of trouble (I would have spent the $1500 on a DRebel and an excellent flashgun).
5. 512MB is not nearly enough for a serious event. I find I tend to shoot more with digital because the viewfinder is so poor that I can't see what I'm actually shooting anyway..

Charles

[efjeld]

Well, I did my fiance's brother's wedding last weekend. It was a money saver for them, and a first shot at this kind of photography for me.

To be honest, it was pretty tiring!! A few hints, tips, whatever...

Make sure you've got the DOF down. I didn't on a lot of shot's, which ruined them.

Get another CF card... I shot about 10 rolls of film, at 24exposure and one 36exposure. Not sure how many pictures you can get on a 512mb card, but probably 150-200. Keep in mind, I did all the "formal" shots, as well as candids throughout the day.

If you've got a technique to organizing people for the formal shots, stick with it. Don't let some loudmouth mother dictate the way people should be posed, standing, etc....

Lastly, watch the lighting and use your flash. The lighting I had wasn't the great, but most of my shots came out better than I thought. A few were had some annoying shadows due to an improperly aimed flash, but still pretty good.

If I had to do it over again, the only thing that I would really pay more attention to is the DOF and lighting situations.

Good luck!

[Mando327]

"If you've got a technique to organizing people for the formal shots, stick with it. Don't let some loudmouth mother dictate the way people should be posed, standing, etc...."

I don't mean to sound like i know it all 'cause i don't, but rather want to learn, but aren't THEY the ones who are paying for the pictures? If she wants it a particular way, shouldn't you just be like "ok, if that's what you want Missus...it's your picture and your...or should i say MY money now....lol" :-) of course, saying all of this in your head!

Disclaimer: Don't say this in your head if you think aloud ;-)

Mando

[Mando327]

Ohh, and if you can, try to use BOUNCED flash whenever possible. I seriously love the results. Of course, be wary of HIGH ceilings when doing this, or colored ceilengs/walls, as they will tint your picture the color of the wall (but nothing photoshop can't fix I haven't tried the Sto-fen Omni bounce diffuser thingee, but i will soon! I really dislike the results of direct flash, so i try to stay clear of it whenever possible. Once i did the whole bounced flash and then direct and compared the two results, and i fell in love with it.

Mando

[Franglais]

Ohh, and if you can, try to use BOUNCED flash whenever possible. I seriously love the results. Of course, be wary of HIGH ceilings when doing this, or colored ceilengs/walls, as they will tint your picture the color of the wall (but nothing photoshop can't fix I haven't tried the Sto-fen Omni bounce diffuser thingee, but i will soon! I really dislike the results of direct flash, so i try to stay clear of it whenever possible. Once i did the whole bounced flash and then direct and compared the two results, and i fell in love with it.

Mando

I'm frequently faced with the problem of lighting a gym course room with 20-30 people spread out in three rows while they do their Step or Aerobics or whatever course. I have to have the closest person well-lit and the rest fading into the distance in a room that must not look like a cavern. The best solution is the Metz CT45 with both bounce and direct but it doesn't work with the D70.

My SB800 with the Stofen-like diffuser is not bad. As the ceiling is only about 10ft high and I get a certain amount of diffusion plus the brilliance of a direct flash.

I like pure bounce (no diffuser) for family events because it looks like room lighting. The point to be careful about is being too close to the subject and illuminating the ceiling just above the subjects head. The eyes just disappear into the shadowsof the eye sockets.

Head-on flash is fine as long as the only thing you want to illuminate is the subject directly in front of you. Background will just fade away into shadow.

Example no 1: With Stofen, full auto, background is about 1 stop underexposed
Example no 2: Direct flash, subject off-center, burn-out