Wedding shooting sugestions!

Hi,
I have this oportunity to start shooting weddings, but honestly i have no idea how this is done. Certainly i do not have the right lens for that. I have a 10-17mm a 35mm a 50mm and a 70-300mm.
Is the 17-50mm a right range for the job cause i am thinking od a used tamron? If not what range would you recomend?
Any other tips?
Every sugestion will be welcomed!

Thanks,
Petros.

I've removed the other thread, please only post one subject once.

Many thanks.

17-50 is not a bad start. A really good lens would be something like a Pentax DA*50-135, but that is expensive! However, it would give you a useful focal range and fantastic image quality. Coupled with a wider lens on a second body, you would have a decent setup, so I think you are on the right lines.

Regards
David

Then, you shouldn't start. A wedding is a once (generally) in a lifetime event. You clearly don't have the knowledge and the skill to tackle the job.

Try to assist a pro photographer for a while.

the best advice i can give is DONT DO IT!

You could shoot a wedding using the 18-55mm kit lens. Wedding photographers managed very well using TLRs with fixed lenses and twelve shots per roll of film, so we have little problem with equipment these days.

You need people skills first and foremost, along with technical skills with whatever equipment you use. You need to be totally, absolutely familiar with the kit so that under stress you don't make mistakes. You need an assistant to get people organised and assemble groups, find where the bride's disappeared to and all that sort of stuff.

When you say you have the opportunity to start shooting weddings, what sort of opportunity? How is this arising? Answers to these questions might help us to visualise what sort of postential problems might need addressing.

Are you doing this as the main photographer or as a 2nd remember its someones big day and there is no 2nd chance.

Ian

This is an excellent lecture from one of the best
in the business and you would normally have to pay
a lot of money to attend live ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMPcpZ7kR70

Takes about 1hr 30mins so it might be easier to
split it up into say 3 x 30mins. The first 15
mins could probably be skipped.

What is the opportunity Petros?

You can hire a Pentax 16-50 from SRS and you can shoot a whole wedding on that.

As long as the couple know who you are and what you have done before and what experience you come with then all is fair.

Ryan is an awesome photographer and a great sharer of knowledge.

The couple knows that i am not a profesional and that i am not experienced and they won't pay me (think wich they don't know yet). I have sent them some photos that i shoot from family events and they accepted to "hire" me! Moreover i have 3 months of preparation for this one.

Meanwhile, the possibilities are in favour of: me going to shoot as a 2nd photographer near a pro who liked my "everyday-scenes" photos. I am not a friend with the pro photographer so i'd like to ask as less as needed. If this won't happen, i will searh other photographer to go with. (without money at first).

I am not wheeling to destroy the digital memories of ones special day, that's why i have not yet answered yes or no to the couple. I want to make sure that i will gain some experince first.

Thanks for your answers, i remain with my eyes open to check the following (answers).

Regards,
Petros

Hi Petros,
John's comments are so right.
People skills are paramount:
No.1 Speak with the bride and groom as a couple, then with the bride on her own, then the groom on his own. They are the important people on the day. Understand what they want and expect, it is their day.
No.2 Speak with both the Mammas, understand what they require, could be totaly different ideas to the bride and groom. (The dads will most likely be at the bar!!)
Having said this, do not be afraid to include some spur shots as a suprise, as in the bride and groom in the Church with a slightly out of focus (Soft) Madonna in the background looking down on them.
Check out the Church for potential, shots of this type work..
Always remember.
You need to be precise in knowing what your clients want,(and don't want) not what you think they might want or not want.
Regards kit, John again, nothing new. Equipment that you are both happy and confident to use, and know it is reliable.
You will do all these things, planning, preperation, potential problem analysis etc., etc.
Then on the day it will P_SS down, thunder, lightning, gales, Uncle John with his instamatic pushing you out of the way to take his shot and all the rest. (Or the sun will shine)
Have faith Petros, you will succeed, and then,
Welcome to the world of the 'Wedding Photographer'

However Petros,
IF IN ANY DOUBT, DO NOT DO IT!!

All great advice here. I personally would not be confident to do a wedding on my own, so I am going to act as '2nd shooter' on a few weddings that are coming up. However, I think the thread has gone a little off-topic (despite John's best efforts to steer it back on line). The question that was posed was about 'which lenses' rather than whether or not the OP should take the plunge!

Regards
David

Kind of meaningless if you don't have the skill or the experience to do the job.

I'll stick to what I said earlier: go as second shooter or "go for" with an experience photographer for a while.