I need to buy a camera to shoot weddings with. Does anyone know what kind of camera and lenses i can get....?

Question

for a cheap price but that have good quality.

Answer 1

These wedding questions make me shudder.

Who's going to be the first " lucky" victim....oops, I mean bride.

Of course, every wedding photographer has to have a first wedding shoot. Hopefully, that first one won't be two weeks after asking the Yahoo forum what cheap camera you need.
The equipment matters, of course. But not nearly as much as the skill of the photographer.

The best way for a beginner would be to take their portfolio and find a professional mentor who would let them assist for a couple of seasons. I will assume you are a novice, or nearly so. Otherwise you would have a ballpark idea what sort of equipment you might need to get started. You will need at least 2 of everything, camera bodies, fast lenses, flashes, brackets etc etc etc. A decent tripod. Flash diffusers. Pocket wizards. Sync cords. Professional film or gobs of memory. A pro lab, or if digital, Photoshop and a fast computer and a RAW workflow. Contracts. Liability insurance.

Unless you are particularly gifted, or have several years serious photography experience with the knowledge that goes along with it, then you are not ready to shoot someone's wedding. At least, you are unlikely to get any thing other than mediocre snapshots.

If you are already an accomplished photographer, then assisting at just a few weddings might be enough. Weddings aren't brain surgery, but they do call for some special skills that not every person (or photographer) possesses. Weddings move fast, and there are no second chances to get it right. You have to think on the fly, and sooth ruffled nerves. You have to be able to put camera shy people at ease, You have to take control without being overbearing. The ability to herd cats comes in useful. These skills can be learned, but learning at the expense of the couple's "special day" isn't the way to approach it.

I'm not saying never plan on shooting a wedding. I am saying, take into careful consideration your expertise level before you start taking clients. Then plan on taking whatever steps necessary to get to the point where you can produce decent (at least) imagery for someone's wedding.

Answer 2

I agree with everyone above. There is a LOT more to shooting weddings than buying "good quality, but cheap" equipment.

This is just a supplement to someone else's best answer. Get a "cheap" digital SLR and learn to use it. Take a class or two or read a book on wedding photography or research it on-line. Shadow a photographer at a wedding. If it's in your family, you can probably take some pictures, too, just to see how they come out as you are learning. A real wedding job is probably at least a year down the line for you.

Answer 3

Are you going to shoot weddings professionally? If yes then what is cheap for you? $100 or $1000 or $10000. Your budget will determine the bodies (yes more than one body) and lenses, yes more than one lens that can be considered)

Something tells me that if you are asking such a question you may not be familiar with SLR photography in general. If that were the case, you might want to learn photography and then specialize in event/portrait photography (by assisting someone) and then venture out on your own. If you took that route you would see first hand what other pros are using and what they feel about it and how much it cost and you would have your answer.

If you doing this as a one time deal and you are not being paid for it then ANY camera will do fine (coz you are not being paid for it and no one will hold you to your pictures).

Answer 4

By the sound of your question- you haven't a clue as to what you're getting yourself into. It's not the camera, it's the photographer. The first thing you should do is, perhaps, apprentice with a local wedding photographer. Get experience on how to handle people, set up shots, how they use lighting, poses and such.

For the posed shots, synchronized external flash guns in light boxes to create a soft lighting look are nearly essential.

For casual snapshots- nearly any DSLR will do, but you'll want, at a minimum, a good, tiltable external flash with a diffusion hood.

er... good luck