I just want to say I’m sooo happy I found your videos today!! We’re shooting our first wedding this weekend. And we shoot with a Nikon Z6II. You’ve made me feel so much more confident! Thank you!! 🙏
Thank you for your time and put a big value in your videos. I never taken any wedding in US yet(I did some in Japan and Turkey), but I want to try it soon and your videos always make us more confident and prepared.
If you're interested in going deeper and being fully prepared to photograph your first wedding you can check out my ebook "40 Things You Should Know When Photographing Your First Wedding" You can find in my store here: www.lukecleland.ca/product-page/photographing-your-first-wedding
Highly agree on having a 50mm 1.2 and a Zoom (I use Canons RF 50mm1.2 and RF28-70 f2.0) and covers everything I need, and although it would be nice to have the occasional 200mm, its not worth carrying all the gear and changing lenses.
When I do weddings I bring my wife along to shoot as well, two lenses is great but an extra photographer is better imo. Plus it helps with explaining why it’s so expensive.
Suggestion for a future video: Stories are suggestions on how new photographers should handle inevitable issues, such as change of venue, change of shooting date, shooting in bad weather, cancellation of the wedding, etc
Thank you Thank you Thank you for your videos on flash. I'm a headshot photographer and was asked to shoot an engagement party which turned into a surprise wedding (shoot me). I watched 2 of your videos on flash, I have a Godox too, and I was actually able to capture good images using your technique! You made it really easy to understand and made using flash less intimidating for me. I especially love that you gave me license to just shut the flash off and use my ISO in some instances. I don't do weddings but will continue to watch your videos to pick up tips. :)
I've started using only prime lenses. But last time I took my 24-70mm and it was awesome ;-) I used my 50mm prime lense as "special" lens and 24-70mm as all purpose. Outdoors the light is almost always good enough (during the day time). They took their vows very close to a fencing so I couldn't really get any more distance if I wanted to shoot them... a 35mm would have been already difficult. It's all possible with prime lenses, but I discovered that the zoom lens brought more flexibility to it without any sacrifice. For indoor/evening I switched to the prime lenses but yeah... Gonna take my 24-70mm again next time, together with 50mm and for the fun of it I'll be trying my 12-24mm ^.^ And you are right, with a prime lens you can "zoom" with your feet. But sometimes you might miss a shot either because your zoom is too slow (haha) or because other people (and just stuff!) is in the way... So for some situations I'll put on my 85mm. Which is another lens I can really recommend, as even indoors you can make great use of it. Also: I really enjoy your videos! Thanks for sharing!
Hey Luke, big fan of your work. Your preset is beautiful. I'd started shooting weddings, and I have a hard time choosing between moody vs light/airy edit. Could you do a video of why you choose to edit this way?
No, I have a story that makes me cringe when I tell it now. 2 years ago my second shooter went to my backpack and I put his card full of almost 4 hours of work where I put all my empty cards, which I always format before starting, yessss that happened. After the wedding was over I told him give me the card and he said I put it in your backpack I said what? At that moment I felt a sense of anxiety like never before in my life, and I got quite angry but at the same time I tried not to blame him for anything and understand what mistakes happen but it was a very difficult situation, I waited for days to regain my senses. information and I never could, thank God the photos I took were enough,
Great video 👏🏻 I often get asked by guests at weddings to take their photos and they always give me their phone number and ask me to send the photos directly to them ! So would you send photos of them to them free or without consent from the wedding couple? I think it’s rude of them to take advantage of the photographer and I normally say you’ll have to ask the wedding couple for the photos .
Im concern with how to set my camera in an inside church setting. I'm thinking on taking my canon 5D mark iv with L 35mm lens and Canon R6 mark 11 with L 2.8 mark 11. What's your thoughts. I do have a 50mm lens but not prime. My 35mm lens is prime. What do you think of the 24-70 prime lens
Got red wine on one of my body ( I mean a bunch of red wine...) that killed it by the time I was able to dry it out properly. Also got an a7iv that overheated so much during the peak of summer last year that it had to cool down for a good two hours... I was so happy to have my second body in both cases. And even if it's not mandatory it's a peace of mind well worth the extra price.
A backup cam cannot be understated. 1 incident is enough to scare us from never again. I had that moment my shutter just broke 15 mins in. Thank god for the backup camera. 😆
If you're shooting any event, purchase good quality memory cards and batteries. Also, if you can carry a laptop to the event that it is a good idea to back up the memory card as soon as you're finished shooting. The best advice is to hope for the best and prepare for the worst!
Luke, I will like to ask you, you think shooting vertical pictures with a 35 mm will create distortion, im wondering if you shoot vertical with that lens! Thanks!
Hi, I love this video, you mention great points. Your face is going in and out focus constantly though, I suggest you use small area focus and place it on your face to avoid that.
Hey Luke, I’m curious, has an SD card ever actually failed on you? Is that REALLY something that happens in modern cameras and cards? I almost feel like the 2 card slot redundancy is something the camera manufacturers made up to charge more for a mirrorless camera to bump up the price. I know so many people online that won’t buy an amazing, small, full frame camera because it only has one slot (Sony A7C). Do you think a Nikon ZF which has a secondary micro sd slot is sufficient?
hi - just to chime in, as a former wedding photographer and now photojournalist - while I do think having 2 SD card slots is actually reasonable and useful, I can see why a lot of people think it’s just brands up charging. Personally, I believe you can never be TOO safe - if you’re shooting something as important as weddings or once-in-a-lifetime stuff. I’ve had exactly 1 SD card fail in my career, very early on. I would def trust something like a CFExpress card more, but most cameras that take that form of (very expensive) storage usually have a second slot anyway. Now that I own a ZF, I’ve just put a fast 512 MicroSD card inside and treat it like internal storage. Maybe having two slots isn’t worth the price in a majority of shoots, but for the one where things might go wrong - I’d say it pays itself back in spades!
@@JeremyJ4K thanks for responding, also, TOTALLY jealous you have a ZF… and your argument is one I always hear and I think it’s valid. If I was a wedding photographer (I’m not) I would enjoy the peace of mind that having a backup provides. However, we could also say the same thing about a LOT of things in any job. I think the professionals and consumers should be putting more pressure on the camera manufacturers so that having two slots shouldn’t feel like a necessity. The conversation shouldn’t be, “continue to give us this backup option (2 slots) because you all are making hardware that everyone has a fear will end up in a failure and we don’t have enough trust in you as a manufacturer to give me something that won’t fail” to “we demand slimmer and lighter full frame cameras that are guaranteed to not corrupt your files. Also, it’s 2024 and we demand cloud services for our pictures for a device we’re paying $2500+ for.” People are way too easy on these camera companies. They’re still recycling menu systems from the late 90’s. We should have had smart cameras on the market 8 years ago. I don’t want to have to settle for having a camera half an inch larger because these companies are making unreliable products.
Hey! Good point. Yes I've had SD cards fail on me. Showing an error on my camera, and not working. It's only happened twice and thankfully not during a wedding. I've also had the side of my camera open accidentally, and one of my cards got popped out halfway (also thankfully not at a wedding). And in my mind the safety is not just about the card corrupting, which I think it pretty rare for SD cards to your point, it's also about having another physical copy for after the wedding. Even if I stop to get gas, or something after a wedding, I'll take one of the SD cards out and put it in my pocket. The point is not that it's a likelihood of happening, but I will take any tool that will lessen the .00004% chance that something does happen. Because I would rather flee to south america than to tell someone I lost their wedding photos. So I'll do whatever I can to make sure that never happens.
You're an amazing teacher! Thank you so much!
I just want to say I’m sooo happy I found your videos today!! We’re shooting our first wedding this weekend. And we shoot with a Nikon Z6II. You’ve made me feel so much more confident! Thank you!! 🙏
What a coincidence, I will shot my first wedding shooting on Saturday. I’m so nervous 😬
Hope it went well!
Oh man the bonus tips at the end are exactly what I need right now, I am so glad I found you 3 days before my first wedding shoot. Thank you for this!
Thank you for your time and put a big value in your videos. I never taken any wedding in US yet(I did some in Japan and Turkey), but I want to try it soon and your videos always make us more confident and prepared.
Love your channel!
If you're interested in going deeper and being fully prepared to photograph your first wedding you can check out my ebook "40 Things You Should Know When Photographing Your First Wedding" You can find in my store here: www.lukecleland.ca/product-page/photographing-your-first-wedding
Highly agree on having a 50mm 1.2 and a Zoom (I use Canons RF 50mm1.2 and RF28-70 f2.0) and covers everything I need, and although it would be nice to have the occasional 200mm, its not worth carrying all the gear and changing lenses.
Great timing! Photographing a wedding on Saturday!
How did it go?
When I do weddings I bring my wife along to shoot as well, two lenses is great but an extra photographer is better imo. Plus it helps with explaining why it’s so expensive.
Suggestion for a future video:
Stories are suggestions on how new photographers should handle inevitable issues, such as change of venue, change of shooting date, shooting in bad weather, cancellation of the wedding, etc
Thank you Thank you Thank you for your videos on flash. I'm a headshot photographer and was asked to shoot an engagement party which turned into a surprise wedding (shoot me). I watched 2 of your videos on flash, I have a Godox too, and I was actually able to capture good images using your technique! You made it really easy to understand and made using flash less intimidating for me. I especially love that you gave me license to just shut the flash off and use my ISO in some instances. I don't do weddings but will continue to watch your videos to pick up tips. :)
Thanks a lot 👍 Will shooting my first wedding on saturday 😮
I've started using only prime lenses. But last time I took my 24-70mm and it was awesome ;-) I used my 50mm prime lense as "special" lens and 24-70mm as all purpose. Outdoors the light is almost always good enough (during the day time). They took their vows very close to a fencing so I couldn't really get any more distance if I wanted to shoot them... a 35mm would have been already difficult. It's all possible with prime lenses, but I discovered that the zoom lens brought more flexibility to it without any sacrifice. For indoor/evening I switched to the prime lenses but yeah... Gonna take my 24-70mm again next time, together with 50mm and for the fun of it I'll be trying my 12-24mm ^.^ And you are right, with a prime lens you can "zoom" with your feet. But sometimes you might miss a shot either because your zoom is too slow (haha) or because other people (and just stuff!) is in the way... So for some situations I'll put on my 85mm. Which is another lens I can really recommend, as even indoors you can make great use of it. Also: I really enjoy your videos! Thanks for sharing!
Hey Luke, big fan of your work. Your preset is beautiful. I'd started shooting weddings, and I have a hard time choosing between moody vs light/airy edit. Could you do a video of why you choose to edit this way?
Am I wedding photographer? No
Did I watch the whole video? Yes 😂
hahah nice
Wish I had watched this before last weekend 😂
Do you use your 50 mm lens for indoor ceremony too? How about if location for the ceremony is dim light? Would you use a flash?
No, I have a story that makes me cringe when I tell it now.
2 years ago my second shooter went to my backpack and I put his card full of almost 4 hours of work where I put all my empty cards, which I always format before starting, yessss that happened.
After the wedding was over I told him give me the card and he said I put it in your backpack I said what? At that moment I felt a sense of anxiety like never before in my life, and I got quite angry but at the same time I tried not to blame him for anything and understand what mistakes happen but it was a very difficult situation, I waited for days to regain my senses. information and I never could, thank God the photos I took were enough,
Great video 👏🏻 I often get asked by guests at weddings to take their photos and they always give me their phone number and ask me to send the photos directly to them ! So would you send photos of them to them free or without consent from the wedding couple? I think it’s rude of them to take advantage of the photographer and I normally say you’ll have to ask the wedding couple for the photos .
Im concern with how to set my camera in an inside church setting. I'm thinking on taking my canon 5D mark iv with L 35mm lens and Canon R6 mark 11 with L 2.8 mark 11. What's your thoughts. I do have a 50mm lens but not prime. My 35mm lens is prime. What do you think of the 24-70 prime lens
have you ever in all your years broken one of your two camera's and been like 'oof, good thing I have a backup camera'? I'm really curious
Got red wine on one of my body ( I mean a bunch of red wine...) that killed it by the time I was able to dry it out properly. Also got an a7iv that overheated so much during the peak of summer last year that it had to cool down for a good two hours... I was so happy to have my second body in both cases. And even if it's not mandatory it's a peace of mind well worth the extra price.
A backup cam cannot be understated. 1 incident is enough to scare us from never again. I had that moment my shutter just broke 15 mins in. Thank god for the backup camera. 😆
Yes!
Yup. I have multiple backups for all bodies and lenses, because they’ve been needed a few times.
If you're shooting any event, purchase good quality memory cards and batteries. Also, if you can carry a laptop to the event that it is a good idea to back up the memory card as soon as you're finished shooting.
The best advice is to hope for the best and prepare for the worst!
Luke, I will like to ask you, you think shooting vertical pictures with a 35 mm will create distortion, im wondering if you shoot vertical with that lens! Thanks!
Batteries, shesh I have a Nikon Z6II and I went through at least 3 batteries on a full day. And had a battery charging in the background.
Hi, I love this video, you mention great points. Your face is going in and out focus constantly though, I suggest you use small area focus and place it on your face to avoid that.
Which camera have you used for filming yourself? In this video I mean.
Most likely it was his Nikon Z6ii, he uses that for most of his stuff (both for photography and his yt vids)
that is correct! the Z6ii
Hey Luke, I’m curious, has an SD card ever actually failed on you? Is that REALLY something that happens in modern cameras and cards? I almost feel like the 2 card slot redundancy is something the camera manufacturers made up to charge more for a mirrorless camera to bump up the price.
I know so many people online that won’t buy an amazing, small, full frame camera because it only has one slot (Sony A7C). Do you think a Nikon ZF which has a secondary micro sd slot is sufficient?
hi - just to chime in, as a former wedding photographer and now photojournalist - while I do think having 2 SD card slots is actually reasonable and useful, I can see why a lot of people think it’s just brands up charging. Personally, I believe you can never be TOO safe - if you’re shooting something as important as weddings or once-in-a-lifetime stuff. I’ve had exactly 1 SD card fail in my career, very early on. I would def trust something like a CFExpress card more, but most cameras that take that form of (very expensive) storage usually have a second slot anyway. Now that I own a ZF, I’ve just put a fast 512 MicroSD card inside and treat it like internal storage. Maybe having two slots isn’t worth the price in a majority of shoots, but for the one where things might go wrong - I’d say it pays itself back in spades!
@@JeremyJ4K thanks for responding, also, TOTALLY jealous you have a ZF… and your argument is one I always hear and I think it’s valid. If I was a wedding photographer (I’m not) I would enjoy the peace of mind that having a backup provides. However, we could also say the same thing about a LOT of things in any job.
I think the professionals and consumers should be putting more pressure on the camera manufacturers so that having two slots shouldn’t feel like a necessity.
The conversation shouldn’t be, “continue to give us this backup option (2 slots) because you all are making hardware that everyone has a fear will end up in a failure and we don’t have enough trust in you as a manufacturer to give me something that won’t fail” to “we demand slimmer and lighter full frame cameras that are guaranteed to not corrupt your files. Also, it’s 2024 and we demand cloud services for our pictures for a device we’re paying $2500+ for.”
People are way too easy on these camera companies. They’re still recycling menu systems from the late 90’s. We should have had smart cameras on the market 8 years ago. I don’t want to have to settle for having a camera half an inch larger because these companies are making unreliable products.
Hey! Good point. Yes I've had SD cards fail on me. Showing an error on my camera, and not working. It's only happened twice and thankfully not during a wedding. I've also had the side of my camera open accidentally, and one of my cards got popped out halfway (also thankfully not at a wedding). And in my mind the safety is not just about the card corrupting, which I think it pretty rare for SD cards to your point, it's also about having another physical copy for after the wedding. Even if I stop to get gas, or something after a wedding, I'll take one of the SD cards out and put it in my pocket. The point is not that it's a likelihood of happening, but I will take any tool that will lessen the .00004% chance that something does happen. Because I would rather flee to south america than to tell someone I lost their wedding photos. So I'll do whatever I can to make sure that never happens.