Mel - I really respect your business practices! I, too, have the nifty-fifty/plastic fantastic. It does the job.
Also - it sounds like I'm not going to die without that 16-35. I think I would prioritize that focal length over the 135 focal length, but I would definitely go for the Tamron first. I'm feeling pretty good about my equipment right now.
Oh -- tony -- I would like information on how you made your own equipment bag. That's something I haven't gotten yet. Everything is in a rolling airline suitcase. I want to add some foam.
Ooh, coffee-- thanks for the advice on designing my own purchase site! I may fiddle with that. Hmmm... I'm still trying to figure out the who FTP thing. And I use to Code for crying out loud! When did I get so computer illiterate??
I have to agree with the original SmugMug Pro account decision. If you don't use it to host and sell, please use it as an off-site backup, as you will have access to nearly unlimited space for high resolution final jpegs. That is what I do currently, and trust me you never want to lose client files, esepcially weddings.
I don't think you'll really need a light meter unless you're doing a lot of off-camera flash and/or studio shooting.
A used 5D at ~$1000-$1400 is an awesome deal. If I was starting over right now, I would buy two without question. The 1D3 is overkill, but nice to have sometimes.
A lot has been covered here. Lots of good advice. I'll speak just for your flash, lighting setup. I wanted a very minimal carrying set up. I use 4 580exII and 5 pocket wizards. 3 umbrellas and 3 battery assists for the flashes.
Yes it is expensive but priced equally with any other large softbox, battery setup, (vagabon, Paul C. Buff etc.) I however will carry a lot less and the equipment is very overlapping throughout the day. Just a thought.
I am in my first yer of business. I booked two weddings at my bridal show sunday. I have a 30D, Nifty Fifty, 24-70mm (sigma) Tamron 70-200 2.8. I am going to buy the tamron 16-35 for my wide. I have just purchased an AB800. I have an expo disc (never use it) I decided that I don't need a light meter. I am going to practice with what I have. Pick up my 16-35 lens first. Then use the profits from this years weddings to purchase an used 5D.
I would look at your marketing and album design to go along with the amazing images I have seen on your site. Consider collages.net. I use them for prints, hosting, event sites and for all my album design. I found them in one of my photography books and they came highly recomended by Clay Blackmore.
Bottom line is that I am a gear junkie, but I am only on the look out for stuff that is going to make me money so I can buy more gear later. Get the stuff you NEED to build more amazing portfolio images and the other stuff you WANT will come later.
16-35 gives you different looks than other lenses. 16mm is CRAZY wide on a FF Camera.
Get a 5D for yourself if you can, otherwise keep borrowing dad's.
Sometimes equipment does make a difference, especially if you're going from "OK" to "top of the line". It also allows you to do things you otherwise can't.
I use the ebay triggers, $30 for a transmitter and receiver. Just as reliable as the PW's (smaller range and not as physically rugged though) and I even have backups, all for less than one PW transceiver. If you were a sports shooter or newspaper PJ, I would recommend the PW's, but for just weddings, use the ebay triggers. BTW someone I second shot for 6 times this last summer was having more trouble with the PW than I was with my cheapos.
Deb Brundage wrote: Two I'm not sure I need:
--Sekonic Light Meter -- Necessary? Can I live without it for a while?
I'd like one, but not the highest priority unless you use a lot of off camera flash.
--Expodisc -- I have a horrible time with WB and would love a tool that would make editing easier. I could go the pringles-top route. Does that actually work?
I bought a WhiBal, and I think it works pretty well. Honestly though, I set the camera to RAW and the wb to cloudy and roll with that. I chose the WhiBal over the Expodisc because it's easier than setting a custom white balance.
[Decisions coming up:
--Ditch 30D and get used 5D
I love my 5D, but I carry a 30D as a backup. I'm saving for a 5DII, but I'd consider a 1DIII.
--16-35 vs 135L?
I'm considering trading my 24-70 for a 16-35, but that's a tough one. Rent!!! I often do to try things I'm considering or if the venue has special needs. I own a 24-70, 70-200 f/2.8 IS, 85 1.8, and the 50 1.8 (plastic fantastic). Those seem to get 90% of any shots I need. I have rented/borrowed the 35L, 50L, 85L, 24-105L, and 135L. I tend to shoot from a little more of a distance, so I feel comfortable with what I have on the wide end. Both the 85L and 135L are stunning lenses, but so is the 70-200 f/2.8 IS. Also know this, the difference between 28mm and 24mm is significant, but the difference in wide angle performance between a 30D and a 5D is life changing.
--Extra 580EXII flash
I hate flash, but I have two.
--Extra PW(s)
I would personally prioritize this low if you have PWs and a backup!!
I also hate debt, so I don't have much. I have developed a budget in MS Excel where I enter the gross sales for the month and the spreadsheet assigns a percentage of the gross to different accounts for gear, cost of sales, travel, education, etc. When you're not making much those percentages are really small, but I also don't spend too much money I don't have!!!
Gear is essential, but invest in growing your business. Invest in education.
We decided teh highest priority was on education and I'm invested in two workshops in March. Hopefully those will be good for the year. I'm also hoping to second shoot this year, so I need to contact some local photogs. Just found out the guy who was one of my number one picks is leaving town, so it's back to square one. Can't beat learning by doing it.
Ok, for gear I'm thinking:
Whibal card or what mel mentioned. Hoping to get editing down. Cant' guarantee when.
5D when I can get it and need it (ie if I don't book any weddings through April, I can probably wait until after my first or second 2009 wedding to get one)
PW or two - I have a few shoots where I need more than one. There are a few things about my cheapo ones that I don't like. This is probably more urgent than the 5D. But these are on the same time line
580 EXII - I need a backup for mine, and I don't always have access to the 550. It's nice to have two flashes that fire at the same power. I have a few shoots already in mind. I'd consider the Metz flash, though.
Tamron 17-50 - need this before a workshop march 30. Hopefully will have money by then or it's a rental for me.
135L - in my dreams. Definitely in my dreams. This is at the top of the wish list and bottom of the priority list. =(
Thanks for all the advice! I'm prioritizing and we'll see what I can do. Will collect very slowly as money comes in.
Deb Brundage wrote:
...
5D when I can get it and need it (ie if I don't book any weddings through April, I can probably wait until after my first or second 2009 wedding to get one)
...
Tamron 17-50 - need this before a workshop march 30. Hopefully will have money by then or it's a rental for me.
...
FYI the tamron is for cropped only. I didn't see anyone post about it it, just wanted to point it out. I'm in the same boat... I have that lens and it's great, but I bought it fully aware that it'll only go on my 40D when I upgrade to FF.
yeah -- that decision may have to change depending on what we do with the 30D. We'll know before I have the chance to buy it, though. It would be perfect to have a WA on that camera since I can't increase the ISO as much as my 5D. But it seems counterintuitive.
For gear make a dream list - everything you think you might want or need.
Then kind of prioritize it and come up with a budget for the year for gear. Buy what fits. Buy used to make your dollar go farther when you can.
What do you need first/most? Depends...what shortcomings do you feel need addressed first when you shoot weddings? Need shallower DOF for shots? Need IS lenses? Need cleaner high ISO?
My first couple of years I spent about 20% of every dollar that came in on gear. Last year I bought 50 1.2, 24-70 2.8, and a 135 2.8SF (for second shooter/backup) and lensbaby. Not cheap, but I used them at 16 weddings and it's paid off - my work is better, my style is evolving, etc.
I now feel I need cleaner high ISO ability, so i got a 5D used, a 16-35 used (needed for FF body) and plan to get 15 fisheye and 5D2.
4 years ago it was studio lghts and pocket wizards. Not cheap then, but i'm still using them several times a week and never had an issue - quality gear is worth every penny.
Debt isn't a bad thing either, for a business. It's called leverage - using other people's money to grow your business. You get the gear you need now and pay for it with the work you'll use it for. If you have booked weddings you KNOW the money's coming in so paying the bill shouldn't be an issue.
Remember, this a very cheap business to get into. If you wanted to drive a cab you'd need a $30,000 car to get started, or if you wanted to open any store the lease would be $1000+ a month for 3 years ($36,000) for an empty space, so $15,000 in camera and lenses is really cheap, even if you have to put it all on a credit card.
If you don't have the confidence you can generate the bookings to pay for the equipment, then what makes you think you'll be in business in a year or two anyway? (just sayin' that if you don't have confidence in yourself, why should anyone else?)
Two I'm not sure I need:
--Sekonic Light Meter -- Necessary? Can I live without it for a while?
--Expodisc -- I have a horrible time with WB and would love a tool that would make editing easier. I could go the pringles-top route. Does that actually work?
Decisions coming up:
--Ditch 30D and get used 5D
The colors are different and I need the higher ISO capability with my telephoto lens; I generally borrow my dad's 5D for weddings, but that was when I was doing just a few a year. If I book any more I want full access to two 5Ds. And there are some for just over $1000 right now. Then once I book a few more weddings, I could go for the 1D3.
I know it's not about the equipment -- but how I use it. So I'm using most of our funds to do some workshops. I plan to purchase very slowly.
The light meter is essential if you use manual flash, otherwise you really don't need it if you use the histogram on the camera.
The 30D and 5D have the same ISO on the hi end (the 5D just goes down to 50 ISO where the 30D does not - both reach 3200 ISO). The 30D rocks and I would not get rid of it unless it is for the full frame. The 30D's 1.6 censor is also great for getting in close with a 200mm during ceremonies as well! It is definitely an amazing camera and we use it for half our stuff!
I know we chatted about this before, but if you are having trouble with wb, then an Expo disk should be a simple buy to fix that problem.
tdl2920 wrote:
just my quick $0.02...so it's like $0.016USD. anyway
5D+135L is to die for. you will never regret it.
Whibal for WB issues.
skip the light meter.
PW's never hurt...as budget permits collect em up!
If you are going with any manual flashes, then a light meter is essential and will speed up your lighting. If you are not into lighting ratios, then you may want to pass on it.
deepbluejh wrote: Deb Brundage wrote:
I have a list of things I need/want to buy this year. I realize that as a photographer I will never feel like I have enough equipment, so I want to be careful. Unfortunately I only have two weddings scheduled for 2009 as I haven't been in the game for very long. That, and I've had three requests for 04/04/09, so I've turned multiple clients down. I really want to prioritize and plan my purchases. Let me know, in what order, you think I need:
Two I'm not sure I need:
--Sekonic Light Meter -- Necessary? Can I live without it for a while?
Not necessary and you could live without it indefinitely.
--Expodisc -- I have a horrible time with WB and would love a tool that would make editing easier. I could go the pringles-top route. Does that actually work?
Yes it works, no its not necessary. Its usually not difficult to find something close to white to base WB off of in a photo.
If you use off camera lighting, then you HAVE to have a light meter unless you can guess how much light is coming out of the flash. An in camera meter can't tell you that. That mentality with shooting is exactly why so many wedding photographers have such bad technique and need Photoshop to fix everything. Because they do not have a basic understanding of shooting a photo right to begin with. Not that you don't, but I don't want Deb to think that you can just fix everything later after you shoot some garbage at a wedding. Learning how to take a photograph the right way is pretty important if you want your work to stand the test of time and not be uncool in 2 years because your Photoshop action went out of style. You know?
-Zach
Decisions coming up:
--Ditch 30D and get used 5D
The colors are different and I need the higher ISO capability with my telephoto lens; I generally borrow my dad's 5D for weddings, but that was when I was doing just a few a year. If I book any more I want full access to two 5Ds. And there are some for just over $1000 right now. Then once I book a few more weddings, I could go for the 1D3.
Definitely get at least one 5D. Its not absolutely necessary to have two, but at least one FF camera is well advised.
--16-35 vs 135L?
I haven't felt the need to have something wider than my 28 on my 5D. But I CAN see the advantages. On the other hand, I regularly wish I had a prime that was longer than the 85, but not quite 200. I use my 70-200 when I need it, but it doesn't get that much use. Too heavy and large for portrait sessions. I will need to rent a 16-35 in March -- I'm wondering if I should just buy it instead.
Get them both. If not sooner, then later. As for which one to get first, if you already have a 70-200/2.8, then get the 16-35 first.
--Extra 580EXII flash
I have a 580EXII and I regularly use a 550 as well. But I want another backup. Is this dumb? Should I go for the 430? I think I would regret it if I did. I could go for another 550 -- they're pretty hard to find.
I would say two backup flashes isnt necessary. I've never even needed one backup flash (but carry one anyway). Two extras seems unnecessary at this point.
--Extra PW(s)
I have two transceivers. My backup system is my cheapo radio triggers. They work better than my flashes do. But it would be great to have a backup PW. If I had two more I could do a lot more, but there is something to be said for working with just one light.
Very expensive transmitters are not something I would directly back up. One reason is because they arent vitally necessary anyway. Another reason is that PW are extremely reliable anyway. If someone suggested I carry a backup of my 300/2.8 IS, then I would just laugh at them. I would put backup pocketwizards in roughly the same category for wedding photographers.
I know it's not about the equipment -- but how I use it. So I'm using most of our funds to do some workshops. I plan to purchase very slowly.
Using a 5D without any on camera flash I would get a 2nd 580 unit ASAP.
The light meter is nice but you can do without and for me a gray card is all I need for perfect WB all the time.
