little help and insight from experianced photographer's please

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

In my opinion, photography is an art. Your images and how they are captured are dependent upon the person behind the lens.

When I was in school for photography we spent a lot of time learning about juxtasposition as well as the golden rule of thirds. Amazing photographs are created by artists who see our world in a different way.

For this reason, I believe a good photographer is well worth his fees.

[robert]

Well, after viewing Kien's website, very nice btw, I think you should hire him and pay with frags He does fabulous work.

Cheers!

[Kryptic4L]

$2500 just to get him down there, not a chance.

ive looked into the pakages they offer at the resort

$1200*
B(36) 5x7 prints

(6) 8x10 prints

Large ivory & gold matted album

(42) Digital negatives

sounds like a great deal

28 dollars per photo .....

[RuGlu6]

holy sh*te, i did not know the price range of these beach "pro's"
I just based my opinion onthe "local" prices.
Obviously research goes long way.
In that case i guess make sure you get a good lens with your new slr
and good luck with the wedding, have fun !

[TheMikey]

If you decide to go the DSLR route instead of hiring a photographer, I'd recommend buying a smaller body and adding some decent glass.

For portraiture, I'd say go with a 50mm fixed lens with an aperture of at least 1.8. They go for about $150 from both Canon and Nikon (the 1.4 lenses go for $350-400, iirc - though the $150 should be good enough). There will probably be little telephoto shooting going on as well, so I'd suggest picking up nothing more than probably a 90mm lens, if you're looking.

One of my favourite lenses is for Nikon, it's the 60mm Micro lens. Shooting with a 2.8 aperture, you'll get some nice depth of field as well as a very fast shutter speed, especially if it's on a beach. You can use it for macro shots, obviously, but it also converts to a decent portrait lens if need be.

You might also want to take advantage of some retailer return policy. London Drugs has a 15-day no hassle return (so long as you don't break the item). So if you want to pick up a very nice lens for the wedding alone and then return it, you could probably do that as well.

Best of luck and congrats!

[sphelps]

Unless you have seen and like the work of the resort photographer you're better off buying your own dslr and having someone take the pictures. Make sure they have lots of practice and tell them exactly what you want. This way you pay about the same but get a free camera out of it.

I would not suggest multiple lenses or primed lenses. This adds complications and additional requirements to the less experienced. A general lens kit like an 18-105mm will work great and the guy or girl won't have to swap lenses on a sandy beach or use impressive footwork for zoom

Prime would give sharper pictures and more control over DOF but I doubt this is something most would pick up quickly. The softer effect won't be noticeable to most and could be somewhat preferred since wedding photos generally have a softer feel to them.

[TheMikey]

To me, the whole point of an SLR is to take advantage of features that normal point and shoot cameras just don't have - namely to be able to adjust depth of field, shutter speeds, and other similar features to improve the quality of the photo.

Simply buying an SLR camera and a decent lens while keeping everything on Auto is not going to substantially increase the quality of printed photos. They'd be better off purchasing a nice P&S camera instead of an SLR.

Luckily though, with the advent of digital settings and metering, simply flipping the dial to Av or A (Aperture priority/value) can give you a good deal of depth of field while making the camera work to accomodate your settings. Giving even a mediocre camera user an afternoon of playing with different settings and lenses might be all one needs in order to get a feel for those features.

That said, I should also note that if you go with teh SLR-purchase route to BUY AN EXTRA BATTERY. I'M PUTTING THIS IN CAPS BECAUSE IT'S FREAKING IMPORTANT. YOU DON'T WANT YOUR WEDDING PHOTOS COMPROMISED BECAUSE YOU'VE RUN OUT OF JUICE.

(Sorry about that)

Additionally, make sure that you know what kind of power source your resort will be using (i.e. North American 110v vs. UK/Europe style 220-240v) and get the required adapters if needed.

[untamed]

Originally Posted by TheMikey

You might also want to take advantage of some retailer return policy. London Drugs has a 15-day no hassle return (so long as you don't break the item). So if you want to pick up a very nice lens for the wedding alone and then return it, you could probably do that as well.

I don't think that is really the spirit/intent of the policy... I would have some trouble doing this myself if I knew in advance that I was going to return it. Yes, I know people do this all the time but that doesn't make it right.

Yes, the SLR on fully automatic mode will work fine. However, if you can't get past full-auto then the benefit you get from the SLR is going to be fairly small. You might as well just pickup a decent point-n-shoot if that is the case.

Years in the business makes me technically proficient with a camera (SLR or otherwise)...but I've never thought that I had a particularly good "eye". That's what you are paying for if you hire a pro. Besides, you won't be able to do it because you're going to be pretty busy!

[globaldesigns]

I agree with the others, and as a photographer... Yes, I even use to do weddings with the ole 35MM SLR and Medium Format cameras... Now I have a Canon 30D, don't do professional work anymore, but enjoy that hobby also.

A DSLR is all dependant on the quality of the gear, especially lenses... An entry level DSLR probably will give you a good pic, but from someone that has been at a beach wedding in the Tropics, using the Resort Photographer will probably be a better choice. I have found these guys to use OK equipment, by no means professional, but what they can offer is that they should know their environment. What I mean is that they should know what settings to use for daylight, sunset, water refraction/reflection and so forth. So they most likely will give you a far superior photo's. And they are not usually that expensive.

Lastly for those candid shots, take some disposable's for people to just point and shoot... They won't be great quality, but would add some fun to your wedding album.

Have fun in the sun!

[Alex350]

I am Canon fan, XSI is great one to start with.

But as most pointed photographer is the key to capturing your memories.
The way I see it, good cookware helps to cook, but don't make you a chef.

Congrats and best wishes.

Regards,
Alex