So, an update on my sister's wedding and DSLR photography

[blondeviolin]

My sister has since decided that she is going to pay for a photographer for the first two hours. So, all of the pictures where she'd want to have a professional, she will. She wants me to be able to just focus on being part of the wedding party, etc.

 

My dad still thinks it would be prudent to have me there and for me to have a DSLR...but from what I gather, I will be back-up/extras/candid type of photos. I DEFINITELY feel like I can do that, even with my little point-and-shoot. Now I don't have to guarantee they'll be great. They'll just be extras.

 

With that being said, what DSLRs should I be thinking about? I THINK I might want a Canon Rebel. T3? I will also be going to feel them at a camera store probably this evening.

[cottonmama]

The biggest thing you need to know is that the camera body is NOT the most important part of your gear. Spend less on it so you can get good lenses, flashes, memory cards, etc.

 

If you will be taking pictures indoors, I would strongly suggest getting a swivel/tilt external flash. The pop-up one on the camera will make people look flat and will get you pictures that look like they came from a point-and-shoot. Practice ahead of time bouncing the flash off of the wall and ceiling and see what the shadows look like each way. In a crowd you will have to be careful not to bounce the flash in people's eyes. ;-)

 

Depending on your budget, you might consider getting the camera body separately and getting a nicer lens than the kit lens. I tend to avoid zoom lenses because you get less quality for the money, but wedding photography is probably a case when you want to be able to zoom.

 

I would be sure you have a big enough memory card to shoot a few hundred pictures in RAW, and maybe a backup. Make sure your memory card is pretty fast; you don't want there to be a big lag that makes you miss the next shot.

 

Good luck! Sounds fun!

[Katy]

I suggest you go to a high-quality camera store and ask if they have DSLRs available to rent. And if they're having a dance or dark reception, rent a flash too.

 

I have a Nikon D5000, which I love. I can put it in auto mode and anyone, assuming they can frame up a photo and the action isn't too fast, can take amazing pictures with it. If you want to go manual and do a bunch of fancy things you can, but it works well even if you don't know anything about photography.

[Cindy in the NH Woods]

I suggest you go to a high-quality camera store and ask if they have DSLRs available to rent.

 

:iagree:

 

This may not apply in the original poster's situation, but make sure your editing software is compatible with your camera. I just rented a Nikon D7000 camera (loved it) as a second camera body to photograph a wedding, but my version of Photoshop does not read this camera's RAW format. I was able to convert a few files into DNG files, but it has been a real pain. (I still have the JPEG's, but prefer to work with RAW files.)

 

This is probably more shop talk than you want to hear, but maybe it can help someone else avoid my mistake. ;)

 

Good luck!