Is Canon EOS 400D a presentable tool for a freelance wedding photographer?

[Snowcrash]

Hi All,
Thanks for your valuable advice. It's great to have a community like this to trade experiences and advice. I picked up photography again about a year or so ago when I bought a Nikon Coolpix 5400 for the casual social shoots. This is my first digital camera. Formerly, I used to shoot in film with my EOS-RT and used mainly zoom lenses for their economy and flexibility, of which 1 of them was the 70-300, but that was really ages ago. Somewhere down the road I got distracted by work and other commitments and eventually left my camera and lenses to mold in the box. By now all 3 lenses and camera body must be quite soggy keke. I'm still keeping them as a memorabilia of my youth. I lost my job recently because I resigned. My good wife gave me her full support and allowed me the grace of a year to settle with God what I want of my life. I thought whilst doing so, I could venture into wedding photography to bring in some income. I have shot for a couple of weddings before and had fond memories of those experiences, maybe because I met very happy people those few times. Anyway, I think I'm sharing too much un-photographically keke, but guess no harm being more forthcoming in a sharing la, maybe can even make some friends. Ok, I think I'll most likely buy the 400D or 350D. I'll build up my lenses gradually, and perhaps like some of the harsher critics have expressed, I should really polish up my knowledge and skills some more before opening shop keke. Ok, thanks for all your help again guys!

Thanks for sharing and welcome to Clubsnap. Based on what you shared, I assumed you had not shoot a wedding with a DSLR.

Things to note on your questions on your first post:
1) any DSLR is good enough for wedding shoot. I had friends using 10D for weddings.(good to get second hand to try out compare to 400d/350d new.)
2) regarding clients - there are those who 'mind what you use' and those who don't. So don't worry to much on that. Important is see if Clients can value your portfolio (you need to build one done with DSLR with proper post processing.)
3) regarding lens - most usable range 17-70 (you can use 2 lense or one 17-50). some do recommend 85mm for Church weddings (no right or wrong answer, you have to find the range you use most by.... shooting?

Other things to note:
1) If you use canon EOS-RT before, you will find 350/400d viewfinder too small. 30D will be better. I still like my film eos5 (brightest viewfinder so far).
2) Shooting with DSLR on actual day is not the end of the story. Learning post processing regarding Photoshop (getting a good white balance etc.) and the RAW/JPEG question with it own supporters.

And I agree with Zplus to go get a job to bring bread home, as the above takes time.....

Alternatively, shoot film and find a good lab, but you have to convince your clients on why you think film is better than digital

 

[zaren]

Dear All,
I'm in a dilemna now as to which model to choose from - EOS 400D or 30D? The main reason is the cost of course. I plan to work as a free lance wedding photographer soon, and am thinking of getting a camera for this purpose. I have scanned through the specs sheets of both models and find 400D rather competent as a photography tool. However, I wonder if my potential clients might not be very impressed with it when I fish it out from my camera bag on their big day. I appeal to all the freelancers out there with more experiences to share your thoughts on this. Could you all also recommend me some good useful lenses for wedding photography. I hope to provide my clients the best pictorial memories for their once-in-a lifetime event, so I hope the lenses I own could serve well in capturing the sharpest moments. Please feel free to advise. Thanks All.
Frank

Hi Frank,

What's your budget?

Cheers,
Zaren

 

[calebk]

Usually for church weddings, choice of lenses would include a standard zoom (24-80 or so), and a short/medium tele (maybe up to 200 at the most). You might need a fast prime or wide angle but it largely depends on the situation.

For wedding dinner group photos, WA will be needed (17mm or so).

A speedlite is essential to most wedding photography (unless you are very confident that everywhere you shoot will be well-lit)

 

[Tipha]

For PAI TAU? Might as well get the MARK series.

 

[Stoned]

Hi All,
Thanks for your valuable advice. It's great to have a community like this to trade experiences and advice. I picked up photography again about a year or so ago when I bought a Nikon Coolpix 5400 for the casual social shoots. This is my first digital camera. Formerly, I used to shoot in film with my EOS-RT and used mainly zoom lenses for their economy and flexibility, of which 1 of them was the 70-300, but that was really ages ago. Somewhere down the road I got distracted by work and other commitments and eventually left my camera and lenses to mold in the box. By now all 3 lenses and camera body must be quite soggy keke. I'm still keeping them as a memorabilia of my youth. I lost my job recently because I resigned. My good wife gave me her full support and allowed me the grace of a year to settle with God what I want of my life. I thought whilst doing so, I could venture into wedding photography to bring in some income. I have shot for a couple of weddings before and had fond memories of those experiences, maybe because I met very happy people those few times. Anyway, I think I'm sharing too much un-photographically keke, but guess no harm being more forthcoming in a sharing la, maybe can even make some friends. Ok, I think I'll most likely buy the 400D or 350D. I'll build up my lenses gradually, and perhaps like some of the harsher critics have expressed, I should really polish up my knowledge and skills some more before opening shop keke. Ok, thanks for all your help again guys!

It's great that you've decided to take the plunge to venture into this line. Great things always begin with little steps. However, until you get a sizable amount of fame, the first year is likely going to be very tough as the number of jobs you get will be rather few even if you are actively looking for them. You may even have trouble putting bread on the table. Might this cause trouble with your wife? What about kids? Bills? Existing Loans?

Furthermore, you had solely great experiences because you were doing only a small volume of jobs. If you do decide to venture into this full time, you have to be prepared for nasty clients, including some totally unpleasable clients, which I'm afraid will mar your "experience". Shooting for friends and for strangers is totally a different thing because on occasion you can be treated like dirt, to the point where you have totally no desire or will to keep on shooting such a "happy" occasion.

Eventually when the volume does build up, the work load can also get to the point where it's extremely strenuous, given the uncertain working hours and the tons of time spent in front of the computer processing afterwards.

Just do give it some thought, it may look like being paid for having fun, but you can potentially crash and burn really really hard. There's a lot more to professional photography than it seems at first glance.

 

[+evenstar]

Dear All,
I'm in a dilemna now as to which model to choose from - EOS 400D or 30D? The main reason is the cost of course. I plan to work as a free lance wedding photographer soon, and am thinking of getting a camera for this purpose. I have scanned through the specs sheets of both models and find 400D rather competent as a photography tool. However, I wonder if my potential clients might not be very impressed with it when I fish it out from my camera bag on their big day. I appeal to all the freelancers out there with more experiences to share your thoughts on this. Could you all also recommend me some good useful lenses for wedding photography. I hope to provide my clients the best pictorial memories for their once-in-a lifetime event, so I hope the lenses I own could serve well in capturing the sharpest moments. Please feel free to advise. Thanks All.
Frank

it's how you present yourself and the final product rather than the camera.

i know of a professional who used a powershot G2 for a ~$1k studio shoot for his client.

 

[kkhh]

Dear All,
I'm in a dilemna now as to which model to choose from - EOS 400D or 30D? The main reason is the cost of course. I plan to work as a free lance wedding photographer soon, and am thinking of getting a camera for this purpose. I have scanned through the specs sheets of both models and find 400D rather competent as a photography tool. However, I wonder if my potential clients might not be very impressed with it when I fish it out from my camera bag on their big day. I appeal to all the freelancers out there with more experiences to share your thoughts on this. Could you all also recommend me some good useful lenses for wedding photography. I hope to provide my clients the best pictorial memories for their once-in-a lifetime event, so I hope the lenses I own could serve well in capturing the sharpest moments. Please feel free to advise. Thanks All.
Frank

Both are good cameras...so doesn't matter which one you use.
I started out freelancing using 300D, 420EX and the kit lens to cover wedding shoots.....
and I slowly upgraded to my current setup of 30D, metz hammerflash and 17-70mm.

Most clients will only ask you
-> what brand is your camera?
-> How many megapixels one?

Learn to use your camera well and a 400D can perform as well as a 30D, with a little bit of limitations in terms of frame rate and buffer but that shouldn't hinder you from getting the shot you want. The kit lens is also a good lens if you know how to make use of it.

A wedding shoot is tired but fun, and you need the experience to know what's going to happen next. You got to be there b4 things happen and not run to shoot it. So better to follow along on a few shoots first to gain some experience and portfolio.

 

[EiRiK]

buy a cheap 2nd hand dslr 1st,
practice and polish up your skills, coz event photography is not as easy as it looks.
after gaining some experience, u might not like wedding photography, or might loose heart in photography altogether, then u would not have wasted too much $.

so dont spend too much time and $ on hardware.

if the pictures suck, your clients wont be impressed even if u r using a 1ds mk2 and L lens.

 

[canturn]

Time to time, I do get emails from potential weddin couples who ask a long list of questions, right down to specific model, lenses, flash, etc. Makes me wonder if they're requesting for wedding photography services or just fishing out survey data

In the first place, people should be noticing what's happening during a wedding than the photographer. 400D or 5D or 1Ds 2, all my cams are gaffered tape right down to the lens cap so that people stop asking questions.

Apart from the DSLRs, I've been shooting weddings with a Leica MP with a 35mm summilux asph, even with a $8500 set up like this, you won't want to know how many times people asked what kind of old camera is that. Easiest thing to do is to just smile politely and walk away.

Anyway, some of the wedding photographers here are using Nikon D50, Canon 350D and charging $250-300 per hour. Friend of mine shoots with a canon 350D and Holga for weddings and charges $4K per wedding and he gets like 3 bookings a month at least. It's what you deliver at the end that let you command the price, unless the wedding is going to be broadcast over national TV so much so that it should scream "PRO GEAR HERE".

 

[user111]

Dear All,
I'm in a dilemna now as to which model to choose from - EOS 400D or 30D? The main reason is the cost of course. I plan to work as a free lance wedding photographer soon, and am thinking of getting a camera for this purpose. I have scanned through the specs sheets of both models and find 400D rather competent as a photography tool. However, I wonder if my potential clients might not be very impressed with it when I fish it out from my camera bag on their big day. I appeal to all the freelancers out there with more experiences to share your thoughts on this. Could you all also recommend me some good useful lenses for wedding photography. I hope to provide my clients the best pictorial memories for their once-in-a lifetime event, so I hope the lenses I own could serve well in capturing the sharpest moments. Please feel free to advise. Thanks All.
Frank

yes it is presentable. usually the client knows little about equiptment so u can save cost and impress them with the picture quality which is good enough on the 400d

 

[Belle&Sebastain]

the next time any wedding clients ask about your gear, ask them if they know what brand of brushes the MUA (make-up artist) uses and how many times have he change the brush, which brand of cooking oil the chef uses to fry your food.

Why i ask, , how many faces has the brush come in contact before if reaches the bride, is this a more important question than what lenses you use?

What cooking oil is used? the couple and guests are going to eat these stuff right? is it more important than the 400D or 1Dsmk2 camera you used?

if all that is important is that the food taste good and the bride is pretty, explain to your clients all they need are beautiful pictures to remind them of their day.

to be honest, i did not have any sign up couples that ask these type of questions, all my signed up couples care about are the pictures, will they turn out as good as the ones i shown them.

 

[canturn]

to be honest, i did not have any sign up couples that ask these type of questions, all my signed up couples care about are the pictures, will they turn out as good as the ones i shown them.

Exactly. Which is why I just give them a oneliner, ask them if they would like to make an appointment to see the albums. So far none of the equipment snoppers have replied :bsmilie:

 

[canturn]

End of the day, get whatever gear you think gets the job done for you and if it justifies the cost. Whether you've taken your images with a Nokia phone, Panosonic F30 or Canon 1Ds MKII, just remember that you're ultimately responsible for work that you produce.

Frankly, most of the couples who signed up for wedding photography with me could have spent the same money to get their own canon 400D + 17-40 f4L and get a relative to shoot them - they acknowledge the fact that the hands that uses the camera is far more important.

 

[nooby0]

What's wrong with the 400D?

 

[Hoky]

What's wrong with the 400D?

In the eyes of some, it not expensive enuf... :bigeyes:

 

[Deadpoet]

...
I lost my job recently because I resigned. My good wife gave me her full support and allowed me the grace of a year to settle with God what I want of my life. I thought whilst doing so, I could venture into wedding photography to bring in some income. I have shot for a couple of weddings before and had fond memories of those experiences, maybe because I met very happy people those few times. Anyway, I think I'm sharing too much un-photographically keke, but guess no harm being more forthcoming in a sharing la, maybe can even make some friends. Ok, I think I'll most likely buy the 400D or 350D. I'll build up my lenses gradually, and perhaps like some of the harsher critics have expressed, I should really polish up my knowledge and skills some more before opening shop keke. Ok, thanks for all your help again guys!

You are unemployed, your wife is gracious enough to let you graze and find yourself, in another words, you will be a burden, and you are thinking of throwing in a good $3K-$5K for camera and computer equipment, thinking you will bring in an income. Nice try!

How much are you charging per wedding/job? How amny a month? In a year, can you even cover the cost of your new camera, lenses, PC, and all the rest to make a profit?

Btw, I haven't even touch on the fact that you are a rank amateur in wedding photography, so, why do you think you will be hired ... oh, ok, you are charging less ...

 

[JediForce4ever]

Yes I agree with DP's statement.
You will have to include covering your initial cost before you make a profit, with the kind of price that you charge, I think that will take a while.

Take into consideration these factors that will incur expense too:
extra batteries
equipment maintainence
transport cost
extra memory cards
photo editting software(original)
CD-R/RW

 

[StreetShooter]

Assuming you're NOT trolling based on the recent hooha about cheap photographers, and are sincerely trying to start out in this line, this is what I would recommend:

Buy a secondhand 20D and a few cheap secondhand prime lenses.
Beg the wedding pros to allow you to hang around and assist, for free if necessary.
Watch and learn.
Do this for at least 2 months. 6 months would be better.
In the meantime, learn photoshop and photography. Read and practise as much as you can.

Then go out there and prosper.

 

[mustdoit]

Dear all,

Please give the man a break.
A Tiger will help .
Ok let me put some good words for you brother.
I long to be a wedding photographer.
However, passion alone will not get you through.
Whatever camera you use is still the photographer that counts.
Initially, I do not agree with some of the PROS in the site.
But after a couple of shooting outing at friends weddings and functions (of course for fun), I realise that there is more than just clicking away.
One very kind photographer taught me a lot duing my buddy's wedding.
From there, I got to learn a bit here and there but BUT, it is still not enough.
If you intend to be serious about this whole shooting experience, my honest advise is to learn from some REAL PROS and seek their advise (only if they are keen to share).
If not, I guess you will still have to do it the hard way.
Hit and hope everything goes well.
Finally, this is not to discourage you but to say a few word of gratitude to those that made it happen.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS are seriously wonderful people. They are not called pros for nothing. The moment they capture will last a life time. Hence, THANK YOU PROS for making things happen.

Cheers

 

[canturn]

Dear all,

Please give the man a break.
A Tiger will help .
Ok let me put some good words for you brother.
I long to be a wedding photographer.
However, passion alone will not get you through.
Whatever camera you use is still the photographer that counts.
Initially, I do not agree with some of the PROS in the site.
But after a couple of shooting outing at friends weddings and functions (of course for fun), I realise that there is more than just clicking away.
One very kind photographer taught me a lot duing my buddy's wedding.
From there, I got to learn a bit here and there but BUT, it is still not enough.
If you intend to be serious about this whole shooting experience, my honest advise is to learn from some REAL PROS and seek their advise (only if they are keen to share).
If not, I guess you will still have to do it the hard way.
Hit and hope everything goes well.
Finally, this is not to discourage you but to say a few word of gratitude to those that made it happen.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS are seriously wonderful people. They are not called pros for nothing. The moment they capture will last a life time. Hence, THANK YOU PROS for making things happen.

Cheers

Even the pros are learning from each other.