RolandDieter

Don't do it is the best advice you have been getting. But if you do it anyway, check out the venue in advance so you know where to shoot from. Know where the bride and groom will be and how clear a view you will have. The candids from a reception are easier because they can be very informal, but even for these it is extremely helpful to have past experience. Also, what will the lighting be? I got roped into shooting one (yes, free for a relative) in their home. A dining room chandelier was only 3-4 inches over the couples heads (the table was moved out of the room). It was tungsten lighting. But a huge picture window was just to one side and full ceiling fluorescent lighting on the other side. The opening to the kitchen was almost as wide as the room and they refused to turn the light off because they wanted everyone in the living room to see better. And they wanted me, the photographer, in the back of the standing crowd. The only good news is the that marriage turned out as bad as the shoot.

klevco47 Loc: Eastham Ma Cape Cod

If you do have to shoot this wedding, find the Grandmother, have her be your go to person to get the shots.
I did a lot of weddings, and a Pro gave me that advice, best ever. Nobody says no to Gram about any shots, you then become the "nice" guy. Best of all you are not forcing anyone for any of the shots.
Good Luck

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

I've been an assistant on several wedding shoots and I have never worked so long and hard in all my years. I'll share some hard learned advice that may save you many of my experiences.

1. Visit the church or where the wedding will be held several days in advance. If you can have the bride and groom with you that will help agree where they would like to have some of their pictures staged. This will allow you to check for distracting backgrounds, lighting requirements, as well as little things that you may want to bring into the setting to make it more pleasing (flowers, decorations, etc.).

2. Make a list of what formal pictures the couple may want. This can be done by looking on the web at the vast number of wedding photos. For example: Mother assisting the bride. Best Man putting the flower on the Grooms lapel, Favored poses of the couple, A shot of the bride attended by the bridesmaids.

3. Meet with the priest or whoever will be conducting the ceremony in advance to know what he prefers and will tolerate during the ceremony. Many will only want pictures taken after it is complete in which the settings can be staged. This is very important! Also, it is distracting to those attending to see the photographer standing in their way blocking their view.

4. Visit where the reception will be held for the same reasons as where the wedding will be held.

5. Conduct the same inventory of formal photos to be taken during the reception. Make a list of what they are and WHO should be in them so that they can be gathered at the time of the shoots.

6. Get an assistant that you can rely on. It will be a very, very long day.

7. Dress comfortably and wear shoes that are made for walking and standing all day. Get a good night's sleep the night before the event. Don't drink a lot of coffee or soda for you will pee too much. Of course NO alcohol beverage whatsoever.

8. Of course make sure that you have your gear ready to go. Check, check and check again. Make a list days in advance and review it many times so things will come to you. Extension cords, extra cards, battery charged and charger, flash, fresh batteries, duct tape...always, flash light, reading glasses.

9. Last but not least, take a Rosary and pray that everything works out well for you..! Failure is not an option.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Welcome this opportunity to improve your skill and provide the best wedding gift of all. Don't be afraid of failure, they will be satisfied by much less than to think. You are competing with amateurs and phone cameras.

You will both remember the event for the rest of your lives.

The info provided is sketchy but I'll go with it. I assume the focal lengths at actuals and not equivalents

Use the 18-150 for general shooting. It will cover all but huge group shots. Things usually move quickly so don't be bogged down with equipment and lens changes. Use the 24mm for the occasional group shots.

A flash will make your images professional looking. It needs to be powerful, be able to swivel and have TTL. Forget the modifiers, they rob the flash of light and are almost useless. Bounce the flash off of the ceiling or nearby surfaces. Don't worry about color temp, it can be corrected later. The average young person couldn't care less anyway. If you don't have one, buy one. You will use it over and over. They are much less than you think.

Finally check out videos on YouTube or web sites. Look at a lot of wedding images to get ideas that are useful. A word of caution...some are subtle sales pitches for equipment or training videos ($$). There is so much free information one would be a fool to pay for it.

Good luck and happy shooting.

Stan Wieg Loc: Fair Oaks, CA

Very good advice!

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Honestly, you probably have "the wrong gear" for a job like this. And it sounds as if you have no backup gear and didn't mention if you have any lighting equipment. My first advice to you would be to just say "No".

However, let me try to be more helpful....

By "mirrorless crop-frame Canon" you must mean an M-series camera. Those are the only crop mirrorless Canon is presently making (rumors are that therer will be an APS-C R-series next year). I have a Canon M5 myself. Neat little camera. But Canon basically approached their first mirrorless system as if they were "point n shoots" with interchangeable lenses, then forgot to develop much of a lens system for them. That's the biggest problem with the M-series... there aren't many lenses for them and the ones that exist are mostly target at amateurs rather than pros. Depending upon which M-series you've got, AF can be slow even with the Canon EF-M lenses. Newer M-series certainly do better, but still won't be as quick focusing as large aperture USM lenses on DSLRs or full frame mirrorless. Lets start by considering the lenses you have listed and how you might use them.

Leave the 18-400mm at home. You'll have no use for it.

You mention having a macro lens and, unless some of your other lenses can do close-ups, are likely to want it for shots of the rings, cake decorations, etc. There are many close-up opportunities at weddings. At weddings I've shot, I always tried to squeeze in a little time to just walk around looking for little detail shots that can help tell the story of the day. At a reception it might be centerpieces on the tables. Or it might be a bow on a flower girl's dress... Or the bride's bouquet... Groom's boutonniere.... A tear on the mother of the bride's cheer... yada yada.

Take the EF-M 18-150mm as your "general purpose, walk-around" lens. The biggest problem is its f/3.5-6.3 max aperture. This will be "too slow" for indoor shooting without a good powerful flash.

You mention having a 10-20mm, 50mm and a 24mm, which I assume are all EF/EF-S mount lenses adapted for use on the M-series camera.

I'm guessing the wide zoom is a relatively slow Sigma... that it has a relatively small max aperture. Sigma has offered a big hefty f/3.5 and a smaller, lighter f/4-5.6 crop censor ("DC") 10-20mm lenses in Canon EF mount. A max aperture of f/3.5 or especially f/4-5.6 is going to be challenging to work with under indoor wedding conditions. You're likely to need a powerful flash that has wide capability (16mm full frame equivalent, to cover the angle of view of 10mm on Canon APS-C).

The good news is that a wide angle is easier to hand hold a steady shot at slower shutter speeds, but the bad news is that you have to be very careful using it to take photos of people. Too much distortion if you get too close. Keep people away from the edges of images where a wide lens renders a lot of anamorphic distortion... people look "stretched" or like their one arm or leg is bigger than the other. Wide lenses used too close also don't render faces well... they make peoples' noses look big and their ears look tiny. You should experiment in advance with this lens to see just how close you dare to use it and how slow shutter speed you can hand hold with it at various focal lengths. If you have a flash (I hope!) also experiment with it to see if it fully covers the 10mm setting of the zoom.

If there is a large crowd, a broad scene inside a church, some dancing at a reception, etc., the wide lens might serve. Shoot from balcony in a church.... shoot from the middle of a dance floor... stand on a chair at a reception There may be some outdoor shots possible too. (You can't be in two places at the same time.... I've recruited assistants to take some of these type of shots at times, while I worked closer or from a different angle to get other shots.)

I'm going to guess that your two prime lenses are the Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM "pancake" and EF 50mm f/1.8 STM, that you are using with an adapter. These will be useful. The 24mm is only marginally "fast enough" with f/2.8 aperture, but is a nice "moderate wide" that can be used more safely for shots of people than the 10-20mm. It will still cause distortions if you get too close or position people too near the frame, but nowhere near as much as the wider zoom. In fact, a 22/23/24mm lens on a Canon APS-C is roughly equivalent to 35mm focal length on full frame, a popular "street photography" lens, use it for candid portraits at a moderate distance, small groups, "environmental" portraits that show the people in their surroundings. The small, unobtrusive size of this lens can be useful. People aren't intimidated, the way they can be by a big lens and camera being pointed at them.

The 50mm lens' larger aperture and longer focal length will make it a better portrait lens on an APS-C camera. The larger aperture can blur down backgrounds more to make the subject(s) stand out better or to "remove" clutter and distractions. This short telephoto lens should be used for any formal portraits, as well as for various candid shots from a moderate distance.

Only the 15-150mm lens above has Image Stabilization, which will be helpful when shooting from a greater distance with its longer focal lengths. However, don't rely on it too heavily if your subjects are moving. Too slow a shutter speed will allow subject motion blur to occur, even if IS does its job perfectly. This is another place that a flash could freeze movement.

Another thing that flashes can do is assist AF. You may have a problem in lower light conditions, getting the lens and camera to focus. The Canon M-series AF systems seem to be limited to about -1EV light, or -2EV in some of the very latest models. A Canon accessory EX flash can emit a subtle red "grid" that helps the camera focus. (Note: your built-in flash also can assist AF, but it fires a bright white strobe effect to do so, which is very distracting and would be a problem during a wedding ceremony... built-in flashes also are very weak, and they drain the camera's battery quite rapidly. I'd try to avoid using the built-in flash.)

A Canon 580EX/600EX is probably bigger and heavier than an M-series camera. It will feel unbalanced, I suspect (I don't yet use a flash on my M5). A smaller 420EX/430EX might be more comfortable to use... but I'd put it on a flash bracket. Also, is your M-series one of the models with built-in viewfinder (i.e., M50, M5)? If so, you're in good shape because the hot shoe is available to sue with a flash. If not, if your M-series lacks a built-in EVF (M6, etc.) and you use an accessory viewfinder with it, you'll need to choose between using that or using a flash. The hot shoe is filled whenever an EVF-DC2 is used, precluding using an accessory flash. With the M models that don't have a built in EVF, in order to use the hot shoe for flash, you're forced to use the rear LCD screen to compose and focus.

Speaking of focus.... Be sure to use AI Servo AF mode with moving subjects. You can also use it for stationary subjects, but only if you also use back button focusing OR if you avoid using focus and recompose technique. Without BBF, you may want to switch back to One Shot for stationary subjects.

In my experience, the vast majority of wedding photography is done hand held. About the only time I've used a tripod was during the formal portraits, which is only a small part of the event. While I would take a tripod to a wedding shoot, I probably could get by without one.

You WILL need extra batteries. M-series just don't get that many shots per charge because they use small lower capacity batteries to save size and weight, and their EVFs and LCDs put a hefty drain on a battery. Do whatever you can to minimize battery drain, such as setting the camera to go into sleep mode quickly, accessing the menu as little and quickly as possible, turning off GPS and WiFi, avoiding using the built in flash, and anything else you can think of.

Also be sure you have ample memory cards. Personally I make a point of NOT using too big cards. I don't want to "put all my eggs in one basket". I size my cards to hold 250 to 500 shots and take 15 to 20 memory cards to a large event. That way if one is lost or damaged or fails, I'm not out the whole day's work. Als BE SURE to write your name, email, phone number on every one of your memory cards. Also make sure your camera records your name etc. in your images (assuming it can). A while back on a photo forum someone posted about finding a memory card full of wedding pics lying in the street. No name or other identifying info on the card itself or the EXIF data of the images. They posted a few images in hopes for help finding the photographer... and fortunately someone recognized the church where the wedding took place. So it was just a matter of contacting the church to find out about weddings on the date the images were made, which eventually led to the photographer who was VERY happy to get her memory card back (so were the B&G!)

Honestly, weddings are extremely stressful shoots. You MUST be organized. It's a once-in-a-lifetime event and there are no "do-overs". You must work quickly and efficiently. In a sense, you might even become sort of a choreographer for the day, directing people when and where they need to be for the photos.

Planning is important. Talk to the B&G in detail way in advance to know what shots MUST be taken and what they'd like. Who do they most want to see in the images. Will there be time and desire for some formals or is it all candid stuff. Might want to talk with the mother of the bride, too... or anyone else involved in the organizing. You should then make a "shot list" from this... which you will take with you to check off the shots as they're made. Without this planning, it's way too easy to overlook something important. I would also highly recommend going to the venue days in advance (or venues, plural, if there are separate dressing areas and/or a reception afterward, etc.). Coordinate with whoever is officiating, too... they often have guidelines or rules about when and where you can shoot. Sometimes it's okay to shoot during the actual ceremony... sometimes not... other times it's okay without flash, but not with it. These are all things you need to know, to prepare for the shoot.

A little more brutal honesty.... I NEVER shot a wedding with less than 3 cameras, often with more. I also had double the flashes and lighting I needed, double the memory cards, double the batteries, as well as extra lenses. Something ALWAYS breaks or fails at a wedding, so you need backups of everything essential. I've had assistants drop gear and break it. I've had it stepped on or knocked over by drunk uncles. I even had a camera set on fire once at a reception (it was sitting on a candlelit table when someone spilled their drink, which briefly lit much of the table on fire... the camera survived and continued to work, as did I). I've even had gear simply stop working for no apparent reason, then begin working work fine again after the event.

Most wedding photographers today carry a minimum of two cameras, usually full frame. Probably the most "go to" lenses for wedding shooters (on full frame) are 24mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.2, 85mm f/1.2, 135mm f/2, 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8. A more "journalistic style" wedding photographer might use less of the large aperture glass and./or more crop cameras... you might research that and ask the B&G if that's okay with them, since you lack the kit to make for a "dreamier" style. A crop camera limits depth of field. In order to get a look similar to f/2.8 on full frame, you need to use a full stop larger f/2 lens on a crop camera. The same is true across the board. There is no way a crop camera can emulate an f/1.4 or f/1.2 lens on full frame, since there are no f/1.0 lens made for crop and the ones that are made for full frame that might be adapted are huge, heavy and expensive. Your lenses af f/4 will produce depth of field that looks like f/5.6 on full frame. Your f5.6 lenses will make shots that look like f/8 on FF. Work within the limits of what you've got, meaning a style like journalistic or almost street/candid.... possibly converting black & white? (Shoot in color though, convert to B&W in post-processing.)

The wedding shoot itself tends to go quickly. But that and the planning preceding it are just the first chapter of the job. The real work, and the most time, usually are in the post-processing. Now, I know some wedding photogs shoot JPEGs , load up a DVD with them and give to the B&G at the end of the day. Personally I think that's incredibly lazy, half-assed and pretty much guaranteed to disappoint the B&G and their families, which would put someone wanting to make a living with their camera out of business pretty quickly. You're not trying to do that, of course, but they are your friends and if you do the job, finish the job and try to make them happy. Do what you want and don't change things too much, but I shoot RAW-only because it gives me quite a bit more latitude in post-processing... and inevitably "stuff happens" during a shoot that needs some Photoshopping later.

I don't shoot weddings any more. They're just too stressful and demanding (and ruin too much gear!). When I was younger it was fun and challenging to do one occasionally, and I might get a free meal. But it's always been a lot of hard work and is HIGHLY competitive now. Today there are tons of wannabe shooters. The last time I counted, 720 wedding photog ads on my local Craigslist, which is the LAST place I'd ever advertise my photo services. Most of those CL photogs will be lucky if they stay in business a full year, but in the meantime they make a real mess of things, depress the market with their severe under-pricing, and sour the market with lack of training, skill and proper equipment for the job.

Cubanphoto

I once had the same request. I was honest and told them, I was no skilled enough to shoot the wedding. I helped find a semi-pro with better equipment than mine. They paid a flat fee and I brought my camera with a 24-27 f2.8 and also took additional pictures.
In the end the results were good. The lead photographer and I exchanged angle ideas and such. They were pleased.
One advice, if you decide to go through and I don't think I have seen it here (I hay have missed and you probably know it):
shoot in RAW (TRIPLE CHECK THE SETTING) and bring plenty of memory.
If the Canon allows it, used a back up memory card.
Good luck

cahale Loc: San Angelo, TX

Big bird speak truth.

Cameraman

[quote=mikec01]I have friends whose son is getting married. They cannot afford a professional photographer and, knowing that I mess around with photography, have asked me to take photographs. ...

Hi Mikec01:

Buy or borrow a flash - you will need it. Most church weddings have a rehearsal a week or two earlier. Select your camera and lenses, and a flash and attend it and try the equipment and also decide where you are going to be at every moment. Ask someone to help you - your son or daughter may be - and make sure he/she also attends the rehearsal.

Good luck.

Cameraman

Cheapshot Loc: California.

Very well said Drbobcameraguy!

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

If you are inexperienced with flash, get the equipment early and practice a lot or you will have a disaster!
Just Sayin'

PhotosBySteve

I used to do weddings, decades ago. Now, when someone asks me to do a wedding. I start off with. Can you afford me? Followed by, I will need a five thousand dollar deposit and retainer. That generally stops them there. I have only had one serious take out of at least 300 requests over the past few years.
I at one time enjoyed doing weddings. No longer. Too little reward for far too much work!
My advise is. RUN!

Stan Wieg Loc: Fair Oaks, CA

You’re going to do this, have fun with the project!
I just shot pictures of my son’s wedding and it came out fine. He is a photo hobbyist himself, so I just gave him the image files right out of the camera. A couple of things to think about:
- The groom and I both set up a GoPro to record the whole ceremony. It was unobtrusive and a nice addition, but test it - the little boogers are tricky.
- Definitely shoot the rehearsal!
- Spare Batteries; shoot three times as many as you think you need - duplicates cost nothing and may catch a gem.
- Everybody at a reception has a smart phone - give guests an email and ask them to send copies of candids.
- I think it was good advice to have a shopping list of shots to take.
Good Luck!

Dannj

In pre-DSLR days I received the same request from a friend...a second marriage for both people and a small reception venue. I took it on...reluctantly...and only had one problem. Between the last use of the camera and the wedding the camera was damaged and all of the outdoor shots were ruined. Lesson: check all your gear in enough time to get it fixed if necessary.
Manage the expectations. Make it clear what specific photos they want and how you’ll deliver them. Check out the venues before and take some test shots. Forget about being a guest at the wedding...you’ll be working too hard.

Pistnbroke Loc: UK

Set your camera to take 2 shots per second and take two of everything ///this will avoid blinkers