[cwood]

Life is a series of fleeting moments that will never be repeated. So not just wedding photogs need to get their act together...

true enough...

[CFWhitman]

If you want to become more comfortable with using flash in general, a good site for learning about it is Strobist. If you follow the Lighting 101 tutorial, and practice a lot with what it teaches, you will become much more comfortable.

One problem, however, is that while getting the flash off camera, as that site recommends, is really great if possible, it may not be possible at a wedding, especially if you have limited equipment to work with. Bouncing the flash, though, is often possible, so try to practice that a lot. There will be many times though, that even that is not possible, so you should experiment with diffusion methods as well. Any little bit that you are able to get the flash away from the lens is good, which is another advantage to a flash grip.

The one exception to off camera or indirect flash being better is fill flash for outdoor shots (although off camera flash can still be good for this), so practice with that would come in handy as well.

I have only shot a wedding as an unpaid second shooter (thank goodness). I would not even consider getting paid for it at this point. I'm not sure if I ever would consider it.

[jackbullet]

Are you limiting it to Pentax lenses? 17-70 is a good wedding range, imo, but the Sigma's a good bit cheaper than the Pentax.

I have a friend who's a deaf pro photographer,

Mmmmm....Why was it relevant to say your friend was deaf????

I would be more impressed if you said he/she was blind!!!

[Miserere]

Mmmmm....Why was it relevant to say your friend was deaf????

I would be more impressed if you said he/she was blind!!!

Then check this out.

[creoleart]

Thanks Charlie for your input on the flash!! I am going to try and practice with it! I do have a diffuser, but I have not tried it yet.

[res3567]

You take excellent pics!

[EricT]

Thanks Charlie for your input on the flash!! I am going to try and practice with it! I do have a diffuser, but I have not tried it yet.

Have you seen this site?
http://www.planetneil.com/tangents/flash-photography-techniques/
Strobist.com is great, but focuses more on elaborate flash setups. This site is more about on camera flash, and has lots of wedding photo examples.
The author also has a book coming out soon:
Amazon.com: On-Camera Flash Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography (9781584282587): Neil van Niekerk: Books

[CFWhitman]

Have you seen this site?
http://www.planetneil.com/tangents/flash-photography-techniques/
Strobist.com is great, but focuses more on elaborate flash setups. This site is more about on camera flash, and has lots of wedding photo examples.
The author also has a book coming out soon:
Amazon.com: On-Camera Flash Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography (9781584282587): Neil van Niekerk: Books

As I skim over that site, it looks very good. I know that Strobist does emphasize off camera flash setups, but the reason I like it is that it teaches the principles behind flash and how different sources of light relate to each other in a photograph very well. I recommend it for that reason, but for practical examples that apply directly to wedding photography with a flash setup like you will be using, the site that Eric pointed out is indeed more directly related.

What I mean to say is that in teaching the principles, Strobist will help you become more comfortable using flash. While Planet Neil will help you apply those principles to the actual type of situations you will encounter in the wedding. So by all means take advantage of it.

[creoleart]

Both of those sites will be helpful to me! I purchased a couple of strobe lights for my studio photography a couple of weeks ago and I am still learning about all of its potential. And that planet neil is perfect for learning situations in my outdoors or wedding photography!!
So thanks a lot guys!! These are great links!! I have some studying to do and practice of course!!