Few professional photographers would even think about showing up for an important event (let’s think wedding here) without quite a bit of equipment.
Sure, it’s possible to take wonderful pictures of a wedding with only a single camera and lens. But doing so dramatically increases the risk that some wonderful moments will be lost. Kathy and I generally bring at least four cameras and at least six to eight different lenses. Why so many? There are some who believe that a single variable lens that can move smoothly from wide angle to telephoto (usually called “zoom” lenses) can provide all the flexibility that’s needed. But here’s the deal. Single focal length lens are optimized to produce the best optical results at their designed focal length. So a 28 mm wide angle lens will always give a better result than a 28 mm – 200 mm “zoom” lens.
You’ve probably seen “fisheye” pictures where the scene is increasing distorted towards the edges but the field of view (what the lens can see from side-to-side and top-to-bottom) is enormous. Such extreme lenses can’t be had in zoom models. And a fixed length medium telephoto is ideal for portraiture in a studio setting but at a wedding ceremony it just isn’t possible to move in close then back away to obtain photos that capture the image in the optimum way. That’s when the zoom lens can be particularly useful.
Changing lenses also brings with it problems. Today’s digital cameras can collect dust on their sensors – which are momentarily exposed when changing lenses. The sensor replaces the film and actually converts light from the lens into digital information for the camera’s computer Dust on the sensor means spots on your images. In addition, the action of changing lenses can be far more distracting to wedding guests than simply changing cameras. Most photographers avoid changing lenses at critical times like the ceremony and prefer to change cameras, having mounted the most useful lenses on their cameras while in a safe and dust free environment ahead of time.
As wonderful as digital can be, images can be lost through failure of the memory card or a malfunction of the camera’s computer. Today’s professional digital cameras often cost $5,000 or more – and that’s without the lens. Lenses can cost thousands more for just a single lens. But as with anything, they can and do malfunction on occasion. Having multiple cameras available can provide assurance that, in the event of a malfunction, a quick switch to another camera can save the day. So when your photographer shows up with bags full of equipment, it isn’t really because photographers are gadget freaks but, rather, a well thought out plan to insure that she/he will have the equipment at hand that is essential to record a once in a lifetime experience.
One of the most traumatic problems that can arise is the failure of a memory card after irreplaceable images are already captured. It’s happened to us as it happens to every professional sooner or later. Often, the images can be rescued by a recovery service just as you would recover data from a hard drive crash on a personal computer. But it’s not a guaranteed thing so the need for two photographers at an important event is even more obvious. Don’t settle for just a “roadie” who carries equipment and sets up reflectors – you want two capable professionals who can back each other up for those critical moments in your magnificent day.
OK. Enough about equipment. You’ve chosen your photographer, planned every detail of your photo shoot and everything went even better than you’d hoped. It’s time to look at those marvelous photos and ponder the most misunderstood question in photography , , ,
Who owns “your” photos?
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