Advice on christening

[mcgee9t2]

at a christening at the weekend, and been asked to take the DSLR and take some pictures, also got another christening which ive been asked to do the photography for and also a wedding soon.

after some tips.

what lense would you use. 50mm?18-50mm?
and any general tips as ive only ever really done a few model shoots and car shoots so pretty new to this type of thing.

[ajmoir36]

I have to admit my best wedding photos have came from my 70-200mm F2.8L

[Diamond Hell]

35mm prime.  50mm on crop will be too long.  You need the low F-stops of the primes for the low-light.

Alternatively 24-105mm F4L or 24-70mm F2.8L will serve you very well in this circumstance.

[mcgee9t2]

don't have a 35mm prime, in the process of saving for one. only ones that would I would really be able to use is my 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 (i think, cant remember off top of head) or my 50mm f1.8.

i think the 18-55mm would be the best option but just thought ide ask as ive never really done anything like this before.

[Ridg]

for round the font 18-55 will probably serve you better than the 50mm

You'll really want something longer for the party / reception after though as both of those are too in your face.

[mcgee9t2]

well the three lenses I have are 18-55, 50mm and 70-300. cant really see me being anymore than 5ft away from anything im taking apicture of (maybe in the church so possibly use the 70-300 in there depending on where im stood, but unsure of whether you can take pictures in the church?) so I was thinking the 18-55mm would be best for the most part of the day i.e the get togeather after and outside the church?

also any tips from anyone whos shot any christenings/weddings etc.

[Diamond Hell]

Your kit lens really isn't going to let enough light in.

Why not rent something for the Christening?

http://www.lenslocker.co.uk/canon-ef-24-70mm-f-2-8l-usm.html

[DubFan]

Your kit lens really isn't going to let enough light in.

^ This.
It will also be a problem with your 70-300.
If it's a traditional church building, it can get very dark, so you'll struggle to get enough light without either upping the ISO or sacrificing shutter speed (hello blurriness)

You haven't said, are you being paid for this?
If you are, then you should put some/all of the cash to either renting a good lens or buying one. Buy a decent wider prime and it will serve you well for the next event and on into the future.

Or you could buy a replacement for your kit lens, ie an 18-50mm f2.8 (constant). I have one made by Sigma, and it's great. So much better than the standard kit lens, constant f2.8 is very useful. And 18mm at the wide end is wide enough to use close up or to get groups of people in shot.

As for the party afterwards, you either need the prime because it'll be dark, or a flash.
Your 70-300 (remember that will be 105-450 on a crop sensor) will be too long for use in a party. And it certainly won't give you a wide enough aperture to be useful.

Are you going to be doing these events as the main/solo photographer? In which case you could probably do with a back up camera (borrow from a friend), spare batteries, cards, etc.

I shot a wedding last year, but only as backup to the main guy. I took my full (small) kit, Sony DSLR, 50mm f1.7 prime, 28-70mm f2.8 and 70-210mm f4. But it was outdoors, in the summer, so we had no problems with light. See some of my shots here

[mcgee9t2]

nope, not getting paid for it that's why I don't really want to buy/rent purely for this.

might look into doing it as a small business on the side in a year or two but at the moment its just because its one of my mates sons christenings, im already going to be there and his uncle is, both into photography so he asked us both to get some shots.

[ajmoir36]

My very first shoot was using an 18-55mm with IS and the only thing I came away thinking was I need a flash.