Impressionist

Am sure his sister knows what to expect from her brother. Recruit other family members and close friends to help. Have another small party after to put all together and maybe invite the new couple if they aren't on long honeymoon. Some of the best pictures are taken when the pressure is off. The real wedding starts when she says yes.

Impressionist

Am sure his sister knows what to expect from her brother. Recruit other family members and close friends to help. Have another small party after to put all together and maybe invite the new couple if they aren't on long honeymoon. Some of the best pictures are taken when the pressure is off. The real wedding starts when she says yes.

Erv Loc: Medina Ohio

Weddings are getting easier with digital coming out. But it is always good to have 2 cameras with you. Go on line and look up wedding pictures so you can get some ideas from what you see there. And take a lot of shots!!! More in this case is better!!!!

olsonsview

If the wedding is casual, and his sister is willing to roll the dice, then just go for it. I am not knocking the pro, as I am a retired pro photographer and shot many weddings. The biggest advantage of the pro is experience. And from that experience: he will have at least one backup for every piece of equipment he uses! And always two cameras ( I had three) with him, usually identical bodies, similar range lenses, flash idling and ready to fire, when the bride walks down the aisle. I have had to set one camera down and pick up an identical twin rig, missing only a couple steps of the bride and her Dad. You have zero time to reason out why one's favorite camera, which worked fine while you shot the church, guests, and the bridesmaids coming down the aisle only to have no flash as the bride herself began her journey! It happened to me. The real pressure pot is the ceremony, the rest of the wedding can reshot, set up again and have those beautiful times recorded for posterity.
But you get one chance during the ceremony, and you must remain a fly on the wall, the reverend grudgingly accepts seeing the photographer, but never wants to be distracted by you and your craft. The ceremony to him is religious, and the photography not so important.
So go for it, just be willing to accept the results, which usually will be fine. At least for a casual wedding. Formal full blown weddings, are you crazy?? LOL !

StanRP Loc: Ontario Canada

Some good advice given here. Getting someone else to do the photography and having the time to join in the family fun would be wise.

Years ago ( I am 80 :-) I went to a very large wedding that had a good professional photographer. He got over the problem of missing someone during the reception by putting a disposable P&S camera on each table with instructions for each to take a photo of the person sitting opposite - and to use the remaining exposures during the reception 'fun time'. There were some very good "informal" photo's among them as the guests were relaxed and having fun.

Fotomacher Loc: Toronto

I am a [primarily] landscape photographer. I have shot weddings as a tertiary shooter so that the family could have some images quicker than the pro could deliver. In both cases the pro brought a secondary photog, a truck full of equipment and assistants. My images are very good [as assessed by the pro] but i would NEVER EVER NEVER take on a wedding or other significant event alone. At a minimum, your friend needs to have a complete list of who is in the wedding party and a schedule of what images need capturing - bride with Dad, bride with Mom, be=ride with Mom and Dad, bride with siblings, bride with bridesmaids, etc etc etc. He also needs a spotter who can ensure that he's where the action is when it happens. The long lens will get him close to the ceremony without being obtrusive, but he will need off-camera light set up there. Good luck!

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

If he is smart he might pull it off. The zoom lenses will be fine. But here is a tip that will guarantee better results.

Shoot in Continuous High Speed mode, with the camera set to shoot a maximum of 3 shots per burst. Every time the shutter release is pressed you get 3 exposures... and while one or two may have eyes that blinked or whatever, almost always at least one of the three nails it. If shot in RAW and someone is good at processing it can help to set exposure bracketing too. Drop each shot by 1/2 or 2/3 of an fstop.

If using a flash the above has to be taken into account. The flash shouldn't be set higher than 1/4 power, and another fresh set of batteries needs to be available when the recycle time gets too long.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Aside from his lack of experience which will be a significant handicap, he needs at least N+1 redundancy for every piece of equipment he brings. That means camera bodies, flash units, SD cards, batteries, battery chargers, etc. Write up a list on equipment to bring, and check it off the night prior to the wedding. He should set the D7100 up to shoot in raw and the SD cards to mirror each other. Have him find out in advance if the church allows flash. If possible , arrange for a second shooter as insurance - he will absolutely miss some shots. Check autofocus throught the day. Maybe most importantly, set expectations with the bride and groom appropriately. There are so many things involved with successfully shooting a wedding, the equipment is the least of his worries. Although it may look easy, there really is no substitute for experience.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

You don't have to be a professional photographer to take pictures. Years ago, I was the "wedding photographer" for my sister-in-law's wedding. One camera, one lens, one big flash. No problems.

steinr98

With all of the above comments, I'm just glad it is not me!! He may have the wrath of God around his neck for years to come!!!

mikeroetex Loc: Lafayette, LA

Here's the danger of family shooting family weddings, mistakes last a lifetime! My dad was a part-time pro wedding photographer. Was quite popular and almost went full time. To save money, he agreed to shoot my wedding. Just one problem. In his haste, he forgot to get a shot of my grandmother (his mother) with bride and groom. I was first born and first married. Grandma didn't forgive him for years for not having a photo of her favorite grandson with the first "addition by marriage" to the family. He was never going to hear the end of it. .... Luckily for him, we wound up divorced, Grandma lived a long life and when I remarried 15 years later, he had a chance at redemption. The very first photo (taken 3 times and on 2 cameras) was me, new wife and Grandma!

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

I guess I am missing all of the uproar. I am not a professional photographer yet I have photographed three weddings in the past 40 years. The bride and groom were friends and asked me to take photos of their special day. They did not have the money to pay a photographer. The pictures came out fine even though the first time was with a Nikon F3 and the last two were with a cropped frame Nikon. All couples were happy with the photographs. Maybe someone can tell me why the bride and groom in the post just have to have a professional photographer. Why does it have to be a full frame camera with expensive lenses? If the bride and groom think her brother can do a good job then I fail to see a problem.

Dennis

Silverman Loc: Michigan

Another consideration is " Limited Command", required to organize, and capture those Family group shots. Meet with families pre-wedding, ask what they want, make suggestions. Families will be pre-ocupied with so many things. Patience, kindness, and understanding will also be required with the camera bag!

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Huh??? The 28~300 is all that's needed. The external flash unit will do quite well.
--Bob

LXK0930 Loc: Souh Jersey

As many others have noted, the equipment is just the tip of the iceberg, although I do think he will need a faster lens to control depth of field.

Aside from the technical know-how, there is a lot of "artistic" capability required. Can he determine the visual characteristics of the subject (long face or chubby face, long thin nose or short wide nose, etc., etc, etc), frontal or profile, should he shoot from a high angle or low angle? All of these make a world of difference on how people look.

If the couple can not afford a pro, I suggest at least some "trial runs".

Good luck!