Judge Joe Brown knows his wedding photography...

...and can spot amateurs shooting their first weddings. When you get a second, watch this segment of Judge Joe Brown getting on to some wedding photographers that didn't know what they were doing. The bride ended up winning the case and rightly so. These "wedding photographers" had horrible attitudes, knew nothing about their gear, used low end equipment and Judge Brown knew more than they did about technical photography terms and lens apertures.

Originally Posted by shphoto32

I watched this video and it scared me: YouTube - Judge Joe Brown - Cheap wedding photographer

This video SHOULD scare all of you.

You should be scared to death doing a wedding for the first time: If you don't know what you're doing, if you're not covering your ass, if you don't have back ups, if you don't have somewhat professional gear, you haven't communicated with the bride, family and venue/church and if you don't have professional post (editing) software and computers.

The bottom line is, you can ruin your own reputation and the reputation of other photographers before you even get started and you can get your butt sued off!

If you've never done a wedding before, DON'T DO IT!
Do something else first:

• Be a 2nd shooter
• Intern for free with an established photog
• invent/create a fake wedding portfolio using models in wedding dresses and shoot scenes from weddings
• read every book you can find on the business of wedding photography and practice every chance you get

Get a portfolio together before you EVER shoot a real wedding where the couple is counting on you for capturing a ONCE IN A LIFETIME moment. A portfolio shot means that you have experience shooting "this kind" of shot and you can do it with ease and artistically every time. Each of these moments could be missed just because you:

• weren't zoomed in enough
• made the shot blurry or under-exposed because you didn't know how to shoot in low light
• weren't paying attention
• had gear that wasn't fast enough, powerful enough or didn't respond when needed
• had a bad/low battery.

You Are A Business

Get a business plan together. You will be presenting yourself as an independent contractor, a business person. Are you ready to start your own business yet? What do you know about LLCs? Insurance? Do you know about releases? Do you have access and use basic legal documents to cover your ass? Do you have enough capital to cover yourself if you get sued? (usually around $5000) (Its not IF you'll get sued, its WHEN you'll get sued). Do you know how to explain the value of professional photography to your client (why they should pay you so much, or anything at all?) Be VERY careful if you don't have some kind of insurance. I'm not saying it shouldn't be done, but just know that the above can happen.

Get to know your gear...

...and all of the manual settings like the back of your hand, like your camera is a cybernetic hand and each manual button is attached to your brain.

This is going to sound harsh to many but, don't use bottom of the barrel "pro-sumer" type gear (this includes Canon's Rebel series (XS, T1i is ok), Nikon D-40, D-50 (discontinued for a reason) D-3000, Pentax K-x, Sony A230). The reason for this is:

• most of the external buttons and knobs that you need to access essential features fast in a pinch are hidden inside software menus
• plastic camera bodies (easily cracked)
• smaller LCD screens
• smaller bodies are more awkward for hands

You can't make your camera part of you if you are always hunting and pecking through 3 nested levels of menus to find that manual ISO setting that you need for the kiss shot because the lighting changed.

And that's just the basics. I'm really not trying to crush anyone's dreams of being a wedding photog. Just wanted everyone to know the realities and the work that goes into being a wedding photog. Good luck to everyone and keep learning!

Essential Gear For Your Wedding Photography Business

Photo by THEMACGIRL* on Flickr
I guess everyone needs a basic gear list to start up your wedding photog business. So, I'm going to give you some minimum recommendations for camera gear that you need in order to begin your photography business and look like (or at least pretend) that you are a professional and have spent time and a little bit of effort finding gear that will get you and your clients professional results.

Camera Bodies

You need at a minimum two camera bodies. I would recommend two DSLRs instead of film SLRs or point and shoots, but if all you can afford right now is a film camera instead of another $700 DSLR then bring what you can get by all means. I myself am not to the point of two DSLRs just because I can't afford another right now. So, I'm using my old Nikon F-4s film SLR for my backup. I always carry a decent point-and-shoot as well, as a 3rd backup.
If you are going to go ahead and get two DSLRs, I recommend that your backup body have the same sensor size and lens compatibility as the primary - it's too easy to get tripped up by moving between different pieces of equipment. This is a risk you don't have to take. You also need something that has a high megapixel count (10 Mpxl or better) (for enlargements that the client might want), quick handling of knobs and buttons, good low light (high ISO) handling, and the ability to shoot in RAW (for easy post processing). Some minimum suggestions are below for a few different brands of camera bodies:

• minimum: Nikon D70 DSLR, or Nikon D80 10.2MP DSLR, recommended: Nikon D200 10.2MP DSLR or Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP DSLR
  , best: Nikon D700 12.1MP DSLR or Nikon D3 12.1MP FX DSLR
  (full frame sensor)
  
• minimum: Canon EOS 20D 8.2MP DSLR, or 30D, recommended: Canon EOS 40D 10.1MP DSLR
  , best: Canon EOS 5D 12.8 MP DSLR
• Great 2nd camera or backup: Sony Alpha A100K 10.2MP DSLR

As you can see most pros go with either Nikon or Canon. Both of these brands have the widest choice of options, lens options, flash and accessory options. They also handle better, last longer, and in my opinion are better made than the Sony, Olympus or Pentax bodies out there.

Lenses ("glass")

This is were most inexperienced photogs go wrong. They shell out the bucks for the body and then use the kit lens or buy the cheapest zoom that they can find. Do your own research but be sure to pick up some of the below lenses and know their characteristics and when to use them:

• 50mm f/1.8 - this is your low light (fast) essential lens that needs to be in everyone's bag. You can get close to macro shots with this (as close as 10 inches) if you don't have a macro lens, and the depth of field is amazing on a good one. Great for low light weddings where you can' use flash.
• ? - 300mm zoom - these usually start out at about 70mm so you can use them for your standard portraits and not get deformed faces then you can also use the 300mm side for your extra long shots in the church or from the balcony so your couple won't look like specks in the distance. Try to get the Vibration Reduction or image stabilized version to reduce camera shake.
  
• 10 - 24mm ultra wide - these are awesome for grabbing shots of the WHOLE cathedral if its a big church or outside in a large open area. These also allow some creative photojournalistic shots with their fish-eye effect.

Flash

At a minimum you want an iTTL flash that has fully configurable manual settings as well and buttons that are quick and easy to see in the dark. The i TTL will just make your life easier and you need to be able to do manual settings for creative effects. Here are some great suggestions that will last a while and won't totally break your budget.

• Nikon SB-600 Speedlight or Nikon SB-800 AF Speedlight
  
• Canon Speedlite 580EX II or Canon Speedlite 430EX II
• Gary Fong flash diffusers - these are essential for getting soft lighting with your shoe mount flash without using a softbox. They attach right to the end of your flash and deliver impressive results!

Tripods

A good heavy and steady tripod is also essential for your formal and family portraits to ensure nice tack sharp photos. Listing these could be a whole blog in and of itself. Get one that tightens up and head that is versatile enough for your needs (ball head, quick release for vertical shots). I use a Manfrotto 055XPROB Pro Tripod. I would spend no less than $100 on a good, tight, stable tripod.

Other than these essentials, I would consider anything else an optional enhancement or upgrade to save time. (Which is another blog also... ;-)

Renting is also an option if you are just starting out for your first or second gig. Most top of the line professional gear can be rented from local independent camera stores for $100 - $200 depending on what you need. That way you can get some great quality shots for your portfolio and then save up to buy that Nikon D3 (mmm... yummy!)

©Creative Commons 2009

What's The Best Photography Gear For The Money

What is your annual budget for buying camera gear? Mine is about $0. I have no budget for buying new gear. What I do is buy my gear piece by piece as I get paid for gigs.
So, if you are like me (limited income, limited budget, economic downturn, penny pincher), you might be asking the question, "What kind of gear can I get that is good enough to look professional and produce professional results without maxing out 3 credit cards?"

I would love to list off all the high end camera bodies and flash systems that the unlimited budget people use, but that's not going to help you. I'm also not going to waste time telling you about Wal-Mart super sales. To get professional gigs, you need professional gear, not the cheapest you can find. Here are some suggestions and reviews from my personal experience of gear that is in my camera bag (or lack thereof).


Nikon SB-600
I just got this flash recently and its been a great help to all of my low light photography. I would definitely suggest a shoe-mount flash for your SLR or DSLR. Don't ever use the pop up flash except for emergencies. The light from pop-ups are either way too harsh and shadow forming or not powerful enough when you need them to be (plus they wear your camera battery down alot quicker). The SB-600 is a great high to middle of the road flash and its made by Nikon so you know you're getting good quality. Some key features are:

• newest i-TTL system optimized for use with Nikon's Creative Lighting System (CLS).
• Flash Value Lock (FV Lock) allows photographers to change the composition or zoom of the shot while maintaining the desired lighting of the subject.
• High Speed Sync Mode available with Nikon CLS compatible cameras with high speed sync capability.
• Flash color information (sent to your camera) for more accurate flash control.
• Lens coverage of: (Auto) 24 - 85mm, (Manual) 14mm - 85mm
• Recycling time of Approx. 3.5 seconds (manual, w/R6 (AA batteries), 4.0 seconds (Lithium Ion AA batteries), 2.9 seconds (NiCd AA batteries), 2.5 seconds (Ni-MH AA batteries)

Price is right around $175 on Adorama and B&H right now.

I'm shooting a wedding next Saturday so this arrived just in time. I always learn new stuff at weddings so I'm sure I'll blog about what I learned this time here.

In the mean time check out my other blogs and stay tuned for more sage advice from ... me.