Your wedding and the next wedding reception are the most important days of your life. You'll need a professional photographer to capture the event in all its glory, so that your photo albums reflect the magnificence of the real day. To ensure that your memories are not marred by blurred images, red pupils, and poor lighting, it is essential to provide the right equipment for your photographer. The ideal setup for a wedding or event photographer includes two or three flashes and the ability to shoot off-camera with a light holder, an umbrella, and flash triggers.
My own wedding kit includes five flashes and an Einstein strobe light with a couple of different modifiers. I shoot with two Nikon D850 camera bodies, which are professional-grade full-frame cameras. If you're not sure what the difference is between a basic camera body with a crop sensor and a full-frame one, check out this practical article HERE.It is important to note that wearing two camera bodies with lenses in place during a full wedding of more than 8 hours can be quite tiring. During the first part of the day, when things are going a little slower, such as when I photograph the bride's details, I use only one camera body to save some stress on my back.
Then, when I felt like I had all the necessary lenses to capture a wedding day in the best possible way, I bought my second full-frame body. It is also common for photographers who are just starting out with weddings to have an assistant rather than shooting all day long. Achieving extreme blurring of the background (bokeh) at f2.8 is one of the hallmarks of most professional wedding photographers and is an important factor that differentiates you from everyone else who films at the event. The best thing to do is watch some YouTube videos that explain the settings and play with them at home beforehand so that you feel comfortable adjusting them on the wedding day. Although I may improve some of them in the future, I feel like I have all the lenses necessary for my style to cover the wedding day in the best possible way. It is important to note that you cannot photograph a wedding with a crop sensor or present yourself as a professional photographer without redundancies in your kit.
Any photographer you're shooting for (if you don't yet have references to having been a second photographer on a wedding day) will want to see a portfolio and know what type of equipment you're shooting with. Understanding light helps wedding photographers to capture technically correct photos and be creative with their images. Since weddings are one of the most demanding activities in terms of IQ, it's best to shoot with a team as similar to full-frame as possible - if not with full-frame itself - as this is your best option. When starting out photographing weddings next year, it is essential to figure out what equipment is necessary for your first wedding season. Ninety percent of my wedding images are taken with either my 50 mm or 85 mm main camera lens, while some images from each wedding are taken with my wide zoom 24-70 mm lens and macro 105 mm lens.
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