equinox_code wrote:

You are fucking talented, Matt. Exciting times ahead for you.

Thanks man.

Just got told that some of my work will be shown at an exhibition soon and took my first ever wedding booking last week.  Can't say that I want to be a wedding photographer for the rest of my life but it's good money and I need money!

So yeah, it feels like things are just getting started.  Here's hoping.

Good stuff. I'm using a Nikon big standard 70-300 1:4-5.6 today at a strongman comp. Its rubbish. Wish I could afford the (heavy) f2.8 70-200.

Really? My 70d's video is gorgeous.

I've been long term loaned a nikon d90, could somebody tell me where is a good place to read up on the basics of taking a decent picture with it.

Matt_82 wrote:

equinox_code wrote:

You are fucking talented, Matt. Exciting times ahead for you.

Thanks man. Just got told that some of my work will be shown at an exhibition soon and took my first ever wedding booking last week.  Can't say that I want to be a wedding photographer for the rest of my life but it's good money and I need money! So yeah, it feels like things are just getting started.  Here's hoping.

Well done, you are good. Wedding photography terrifies me. It's like street/documentary work with portraits and still-life thrown in. Did you capture the magnificence of the church? The dynamism of uncle Fred on the dancefloor, lit only by the shitty mobile disco lighting? Did you get grandma crying at the speech? Can you make out the comedy figures on the cake? If not then you've ruined my day.

You took a wedding booking and its in 2017?! Wow. That's a big delay.

What kind of lens you gonna be using? 70-200 f2.8 works well I hear for most shots.

Haha I take what I can get just now, though that's not particularly uncommon.  There are local photographers here, in a smallish town, who are all booked out for 2016 and are running low on space for 2017.   

Who knows what equipment I'll have by then.  But yeah the 70-200 is standard wedding photographer equipment, along with a 24-70.

On the plus side you can really pretty pictures of next years gifts when she gets them so she'll have more memories of them

The trick to buying lenses is that there's probably an older, cheaper alternative out there (unless you bought a Sony lol).  I have various cheaper primes that give me better image quality and cover the focal ranges.  They obviously lack the convenience of the zoom, though.  And when I'm shooting weddings, I'll want the convenience.  Until then however, I'm fine.

£1000 is a lot to spend on a lens.  Especially if it's unlikely to bring that money back in through sales and whatnot.  I'd only consider spending that amount if I could properly justify it or was loaded enough that I could spunk that kind of cash on a hobby.

Buying Sony is a rich man's game!  

Mirrorless will one day rule the world.  Probably.  They've still got a few things to overcome before then though.  I prefer the look of the Fujifilm or the Olympus, myself.

I have/had more money than sense. I bought 24mm f1.4 for my landscapes and 85mm f1.4 for portraits. It was a waste of money cos I barely go out and take shots. Sold them recently as I need the cash (to pay towards bad CC debt from bad spending habits) at a but if a loss so even more waste of money.

Both lenses were amazing though. Sharp and fast. Keeping my 24-70 as that's what I pretty much just use and it's great for video too. Was thinking of 70-200 f2.8 (£1000!) once I can afford it; my cheap f4.5-5.6 is piss poor. Limited me a lot at a recent event that I was shooting away at.

Surely all composition books are mainly pictures. I got one called "The Photographer's Eye" which seems alright. Probably better off watching B&H videos on YouTube though.

Just read the post properly. I reckon avoid Freeman if the guy is dyslexic.

hylian_elf wrote:

Just read the post properly. I reckon avoid Freeman if the guy is dyslexic.

I bought a ...Freeman book. Had a look on Amazon at a few pages and seemed the same/better than any other book.

Here's hoping.

I click on this thread in the hope Matt has posted.