Hi all, it's been a full on later half to November with a big 200 person wedding last week and me being sick as a dog with the flu in the week just past.
The wedding of Tash and Andrew went without a hitch, the rain stayed away but it was well into the 30's temperature wise causing me to sweat like nothing else lugging two cameras and flashes the whole day, and I mean the whole day. Luckily I brought a change of clothes, which is highly recommended with such a long coverage. Belinda and I did a full day's coverage that went into the night, starting out at a Bread and Breakfast in Upwey, Victoria for the getting ready photos and then onto a wonderful private property in the heart of Upwey for the ceremony and reception owned by the lovely couple Cole and Janine.
I was well prepared with 3 camera bodies, 6 lenses and four flashes and nearly 30GB of memory cards. Thanks to Croydon Camera House for the loan of a Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 zoom and a 30mm f1.4 prime lens for the day.
I can't stress the importance of backup equipment at a wedding especially for the low budget weekend warriors starting out, as I experienced first hand that a camera can play up at a crucial moment. I once had my main camera seize up on me and flash error-88 on the display. I had no idea what it meant and how to fix it, so I kept shooting with my back up. When I had a few seconds, I had to investigate what the problem was. The camera wouldn't even turn off, it just locked up on me. So I just removed the batteries and that reset the camera, and it performed flawlessly for the rest of the day.
I made sure I had all the focal lengths covered with my assistant using the 24-70mm which is a great versatile focal length for weddings and I had loaded my 70-200mm F4L IS and a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 which performed beautifully. I'd have to say the Sigma was OK, but not brilliant, though it was a suitable alternative to the Canon version which is three times the price.The 30mm f1.4 Prime lens on the other hand worked really well, but I found I didn't use it all that much except for a few ambient light shots at the reception. I'd sooner invest in a Canon 50mm f1.4 or a Canon 85mm f1.8 for the low light stuff.
This was the first event I got to try out (in a real circumstance, not practiced on my cat) wireless ETTL flash with Canon 580ex IIs and boy they really worked. I was super happy on how easy they are to set up, how flexible they are, how easy they are to change settings on the fly and how robust they are in terms of recycle speed and output. I also mixed my wireless Nikon slaves as well in the mix with a transmitter Velcroed to the top of my master flash and it all mixed perfectly. The only problem is that they fire at different times, but I kept my shutter speeds fast enough to avoid any ghosting problems. In all I was happy with the results.
Next is the mammoth task of editing the photos and getting them back to Tash and Andrew as soon as possible. I'd like to thank the happy couple, all the people that I co-ordinated with on the day and my trusty assistant Belinda who put up with my bossing around all day.
The wedding of Tash and Andrew went without a hitch, the rain stayed away but it was well into the 30's temperature wise causing me to sweat like nothing else lugging two cameras and flashes the whole day, and I mean the whole day. Luckily I brought a change of clothes, which is highly recommended with such a long coverage. Belinda and I did a full day's coverage that went into the night, starting out at a Bread and Breakfast in Upwey, Victoria for the getting ready photos and then onto a wonderful private property in the heart of Upwey for the ceremony and reception owned by the lovely couple Cole and Janine.
I was well prepared with 3 camera bodies, 6 lenses and four flashes and nearly 30GB of memory cards. Thanks to Croydon Camera House for the loan of a Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 zoom and a 30mm f1.4 prime lens for the day.
I can't stress the importance of backup equipment at a wedding especially for the low budget weekend warriors starting out, as I experienced first hand that a camera can play up at a crucial moment. I once had my main camera seize up on me and flash error-88 on the display. I had no idea what it meant and how to fix it, so I kept shooting with my back up. When I had a few seconds, I had to investigate what the problem was. The camera wouldn't even turn off, it just locked up on me. So I just removed the batteries and that reset the camera, and it performed flawlessly for the rest of the day.
I made sure I had all the focal lengths covered with my assistant using the 24-70mm which is a great versatile focal length for weddings and I had loaded my 70-200mm F4L IS and a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 which performed beautifully. I'd have to say the Sigma was OK, but not brilliant, though it was a suitable alternative to the Canon version which is three times the price.The 30mm f1.4 Prime lens on the other hand worked really well, but I found I didn't use it all that much except for a few ambient light shots at the reception. I'd sooner invest in a Canon 50mm f1.4 or a Canon 85mm f1.8 for the low light stuff.
This was the first event I got to try out (in a real circumstance, not practiced on my cat) wireless ETTL flash with Canon 580ex IIs and boy they really worked. I was super happy on how easy they are to set up, how flexible they are, how easy they are to change settings on the fly and how robust they are in terms of recycle speed and output. I also mixed my wireless Nikon slaves as well in the mix with a transmitter Velcroed to the top of my master flash and it all mixed perfectly. The only problem is that they fire at different times, but I kept my shutter speeds fast enough to avoid any ghosting problems. In all I was happy with the results.
Next is the mammoth task of editing the photos and getting them back to Tash and Andrew as soon as possible. I'd like to thank the happy couple, all the people that I co-ordinated with on the day and my trusty assistant Belinda who put up with my bossing around all day.
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