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05-07-2009, 11:05 PM   #1
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k20d questions.....

Hey everyone i am new to the site. I recently got a K20D and a 18-55 Pentax lense. Now i am looking at doing wedding and portraits. I have a in home studio but was wondering what lenses are good for shooting wedding and inhome studio shots?? Also what flashes should i be using. I am trying to learn new things as i go so help is apprechiated

05-08-2009, 12:15 AM   #2
Damn Brit
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A brand new camera, kit lens and enthusiasm is not the recipe for a wedding photographer.
If you are serious about doing that kind of work, you've got a long way to go from where you are now.
First of all, learn photography, read the manual of your camera, read books about exposure, lighting, composition. Look at Wedding Photographers websites, when you can produce that kind of work consistently, then you might be ready to go out and earn a living as a photographer.
Get friendly with a local wedding photographer and ask if you can assist with his/her work WITHOUT PAY (if the photographer is any good, it's you who should be paying).
The world is full of people who've have just bought a decent camera and think they can be a professional. The camera is just a tool, it won't do the work for you just because it's nice and shiny.
The world is also full of unhappy newlyweds who paid money to those professional photographers I just mentioned.

Now, I'm just making assumptions about you here. But I think those assumptions are pretty accurate based on the fact that you bought a camera with a kit lens and think you can go and photograph a wedding. You also make no mention of a website or any previous photography experience. You also have posted here first instead of introducing yourself in Welcomes and Introductions. That shows a lack of life experience (which happens to be something else you need to be a decent Wedding and Portrait Photographer)


Welcome to the forum.
05-08-2009, 02:47 AM   #3
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Search the forums here and you'll find many discussions of portrait and wedding photography, and how easy it is to SCREW UP (like I have). The kit lens is good for many purposes, but it's NOT suitable for paying work where customers expect professional results. Good portraits demand a faster softer lens. Weddings demand faster zooms and LOTS of experience. Get a job as an assistant in a portrait studio and/or a wedding photo crew. You need an apprenticeship, and some maturity. Trust me - you don't want a reputation as "a dork with a camera" - BAD career move!
05-08-2009, 04:09 AM   #4
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Gary,

I know we always have to give the benefit of the doubt, but a newby posting at the time of this post with the emoticon at the beginning of the title leads me to believe this fella is just messing with everyone.

GC

05-08-2009, 04:11 AM   #5
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I suggest starting with Amish weddings, they are much slower moving and easier to capture.
05-08-2009, 04:38 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rondec Quote
I suggest starting with Amish weddings, they are much slower moving and easier to capture.
Does the bride have to wear a reflective orange triangle on the back of her dress?
05-08-2009, 04:52 AM   #7
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Newb,
I'd agree with Gary's advice to you.
Wholeheartedly.

You could afford the finest equipment available - none of that means anything unless you've learnt the trades (both photography AND weddings).

Learn how to take photos. Learn your equipment. That in itself may take months to years.
If you're serious, you'd take courses (assuming you've not done this as yet).
If you're still motivated to do weddings, you'd join an experienced wedding photographer to do a number of unpaid weddings, learning closely how the photographer does the business of capturing a wedding, technically and socially.
And that to me would just be the bare minimum.

Lenses? Seeing as though previous posters stopped at the 'you need to learn the basics first' bit - I'll add in that weddings require FAST lenses at any focal length (I assume you know what this means), which means a significant investment.

If you already know all this, just stop us all in our tracks...

05-08-2009, 05:14 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by k20dnewb Quote
Hey everyone i am new to the site. I recently got a K20D and a 18-55 Pentax lense. Now i am looking at doing wedding and portraits. I have a in home studio but was wondering what lenses are good for shooting wedding and inhome studio shots?? Also what flashes should i be using. I am trying to learn new things as i go so help is apprechiated
Buy alot of liability insurance too........
I use 1 profoto compact 600 and a 2x3 softbox with pocket wizards,
but since my switch to pentax i have not shot a wedding yet, as i am waiting for some lenses to come in, you will need some fast glass for lowlight.

also check out the wedding shots here........
Gainesville Florida portrait and wedding photographers Susan and Stewart Powers

When i was in school they where guest speakers and this husband and wife team makes more in a year than i have in the past 20 yrs......
05-08-2009, 05:47 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by blind-bat Quote
Gary,

I know we always have to give the benefit of the doubt, but a newby posting at the time of this post with the emoticon at the beginning of the title leads me to believe this fella is just messing with everyone.

GC
That he has a studio but has to ask about lenses and flashes makes me think the same....either that or he has the cart waaaaay out in front of the horse.
05-08-2009, 06:40 AM   #10
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If he/she can actually convince someone to let him/her shoot their wedding they're all going to need all the help they can get
05-08-2009, 09:46 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by Robert S Donovan Quote
If he/she can actually convince someone to let him/her shoot their wedding they're all going to need all the help they can get
I think thats where the Insurance might come in handy~!!!
05-08-2009, 10:26 AM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mike Cash Quote
Does the bride have to wear a reflective orange triangle on the back of her dress?
Then there are the [ethnicity deleted] weddings, where you can tell who's the bride because her underarm hair is braided. But I digress...
05-08-2009, 10:57 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mike Cash Quote
That he has a studio but has to ask about lenses and flashes makes me think the same....either that or he has the cart waaaaay out in front of the horse.
Maybe he's just new to K20D but not in photography. He might have a background in film from a different system. One question you might want to ask before going shooting a wedding is, Would you've want someone like yourself to take photos of your wedding? If yes then go for it and hope that your client has lower expectations than what you've wanted from your wedding.

As far as glass goes, fast glass zooms f2.8 (16-50mm, 50-135mm, 70-200mm from Pentax, Sigma or Tamron) and/or faster primes. Browse around lens discussion for more info on each lens. If you can use flash, I don't doubt that its possible to use a kit lens.

I don't personally do wedding and don't plan to; unless the client really make my times worthwhile, say $5k worth. But come to think of it, I wouldn't want someone like me to shoot my wedding. I might bring my camera to a friend's wedding and take couple of snaps but wouldn't be their main photog. Best of luck to you!
05-08-2009, 05:51 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by blind-bat Quote
Gary,

I know we always have to give the benefit of the doubt, but a newby posting at the time of this post with the emoticon at the beginning of the title leads me to believe this fella is just messing with everyone.

GC
Actually, you should try going to a weekend digital photography workshop. They are full of people who've just bought a DSLR and think they can get some business cards printed then go out and be a wedding photographer.
05-09-2009, 09:22 AM   #15
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You'll want lenses that have a range from 20mm - 60mm (30mm-90mm film SLR equivalent). You can do a whole wedding without anything wider or longer than that. Your 18-55mm is the perfect length for this and studio shots, so you really won't need another lens.

You'll want a flash with a big guide number, especially if your taking shots across a large banquet hall or church. I would say the 540FGZ (or non-Pentax brand equivalent) is a must. Get a Lumiquest pocket bouncer and attach it to the flash, pointing it straight up. This will eliminate any red eye whatsoever, and it bounces the flash right onto the subject, instead of just up at ceilings of diffused into the air like you see some wedding photographers doing. Here's a photo of the pocket bouncer and you can even get gold inserts to warm up the flash or silver inserts to raise the flash output slightly.
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