# Advice......NEVER..EVER...



## kathyt (Dec 1, 2012)

NEVER EVER SHOOT (or book) a wedding if you do not intend to have 2 camera bodies of the same quality READY to go at any MOMENT during the wedding!!! I recently bought a Canon 5D Mark iii, and I also have 2 Canon 5D Mark ii's that I have been previously using for weddings. I was planning on selling one of my Mark ii's once I have some extra time, but that just hasn't happened yet. 

Anyways, I had a wedding yesterday and another one today. I know shoot me right! Well, as I was right in the middle of the wedding, my BRAND NEW cameras shutter button would not engage at all and then it just started running through all of the menu options like it was a robot that was out of control. It was the craziest think I have ever seen! (still doing it even now) I think my heart just stopped. Luckily, I had ONE of my Mark ii's with me and just continued the wedding with that and things were just fine. If I had not had a backup camera, I would have been SCREWED! Also, another good thing to know for others who are new to weddings is to have that camera directly by you and READY TO SHOOT. If this would have happened during the ceremony I would have had to go get everything ready and then I would have lost alot of really important shots. So, I hope someone learns from this the importance of having a backup camera. THE END of my public service announcement.


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## e.rose (Dec 1, 2012)

YUP.

That's all I have to say about that.


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## Rwsphotos (Dec 1, 2012)

Always my first piece if advice for wedding photography along with a backup flash.


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## John27 (Dec 1, 2012)

The photographer at my sister in laws wedding had two, lens mounted, ready to go 5D Mk II's with him all the time.  Seems like a good idea!


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## Derrel (Dec 2, 2012)

Not that big of a surprise, really... Antarctica 2009 - What Worked
[h=3]Failures[/h]       " In a summary session on the last day at the Peninsula I asked everyone to report on any equipment failures. Here's the tally.
The top LCD on a 5D MKII spontaneously cracked; Another 5D MKII had a jambed on lens caused by a loose screw, a 1Ds MKIII reported intermittent problems; a 1D MKIII kept reporting Error 99; one Hasselblad reported electronic lens connection problems; two Canon G9's failed (no G10s had any reported problems), and a Nikon 80-400mm lens came apart. No Nikon bodies (mostly D700s) failed in any way.

The largest group of failures through were among the Canon 5D MKIIs. Of the 26 samples of this camera onboard, one quarter (six) failed at one time or another, and while three recovered, the other three never did. In all cases it appeared to be water or humidity damage. Of particular concern were two cameras which stopped working while completely protected within Kata rain covers during a light rain ashore. They came back to life the following day though and were mostly fine for the rest of the trip, but one died permenently just before the end of our voyage.

Several people noted that when returning to the ship after working in light rain 5D MKIIs with vertical battery grips tended to collect water in between the grip and the base &#8211; something that may have been the cause of some of the failures.

I should note that the 5D MKII's are not rated as weather resistant, but then neither are the Sony A900's"


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## CCericola (Dec 2, 2012)

So did you find out what happened to your M3?


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## runnah (Dec 2, 2012)

If for some reason both of my bodies stop working I always have my iphone if things get that desperate!


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## kathyt (Dec 2, 2012)

CCericola said:


> So did you find out what happened to your M3?



I am shipping it back and they are sending me a brand new one.


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## 12sndsgood (Dec 3, 2012)

I saved my D3000 to keep as a backup just in case. the one wedding i did a few months ago I pulled it out to try it and. realised with the poor low light abilities it was going to be garbage (i should have known better before hand) but it is now sold and i'm looking at purchasing something better to have as backup. It's funny how people think it;s so cheap to start a photography business and here I am about to drop cash for a camera I hope I never have to use lol.


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## jwbryson1 (Dec 3, 2012)

At my brother's recent wedding, the pro had 2 Nikon D700 bodies hanging from him with different lenses.  They were attached to his body with this cool "bib" looking thing.  From memory, I think it went over his head and he wore it almost like a bib on a baby...it come down his body a bit in front and the cameras were attached on the left and the right side of his body with straps.  It was pretty cool.


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## fjrabon (Dec 3, 2012)

Yeah, at events I actually tend to use my backup and main body with different lenses, but the primary reason I have the 2nd body is as a backup.  If I'm going to have it with me at all times, it might as well be taking pictures too.  I'll generally have a 70-200 on one body and a 17-40 or 24-70 on the other.  Or sometimes I'll have a fast prime on the 2nd body like a 35mm or 50mm.

In fact, I've done events where I had 3 bodies hanging on me at all times: telephoto, fast prime, normal zoom.  that wears you down.


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## John27 (Dec 6, 2012)

jwbryson1 said:


> At my brother's recent wedding, the pro had 2 Nikon D700 bodies hanging from him with different lenses.  They were attached to his body with this cool "bib" looking thing.  From memory, I think it went over his head and he wore it almost like a bib on a baby...it come down his body a bit in front and the cameras were attached on the left and the right side of his body with straps.  It was pretty cool.



I've seen 'em with just two lens-mounted bodies on neck straps, slinging them back and forth for different shots.  I imagine that would also be really useful for prime shooters as well.


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## Awiserbud (Dec 6, 2012)

I think it puts things into perspective when you consider what can be charged for a wedding photog compared to an event or portrait photog, you only get one chance to get it right, so i think its critical to have at least 1 back up camera and lens ready to go, anyone that agrees to shoot a wedding with only 1 camera either has a whole lot of faith in his/her equipment or isn't takin the job seriously enough.


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## John27 (Dec 6, 2012)

Awiserbud said:


> I think it puts things into perspective when you consider what can be charged for a wedding photog compared to an event or portrait photog, you only get one chance to get it right, so i think its critical to have at least 1 back up camera and lens ready to go, anyone that agrees to shoot a wedding with only 1 camera either has a whole lot of faith in his/her equipment or isn't takin the job seriously enough.



And rentals are cheap!  You pointed out what wedding photographers charge...  Well, just figure in $150 to rent a 5D Mk III and an L lens!  Then you've got a backup.  You could view it as 'insurance', because if your only camera fails halfway through the ceremony and you don't have any of the important shots?  Good luck getting paid!


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## CCericola (Dec 6, 2012)

I still have my film cameras loaded and ready to go at weddings. backup for the backup. When I started shoot weddings (Way back in 2001  )I borrowed a second medium format body then also had my 35mm as backup to my backup. Sometimes you can't be too careful. My second shooter even drives separately just in case one of us is in an accident.


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## Awiserbud (Dec 6, 2012)

I assume all of you wedding photogs have insurance should the unthinkable happen? assuming you do are the premiums a standard cost across the board depending on level of cover or do the insurance companies delve a bit deeper and look at experience / equipment etc?


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## pixmedic (Dec 6, 2012)

Awiserbud said:


> I assume all of you wedding photogs have insurance should the unthinkable happen? assuming you do are the premiums a standard cost across the board depending on level of cover or do the insurance companies delve a bit deeper and look at experience / equipment etc?



For liability insurance they base it off your average monthly income, and whatever level of coverage you want to get.  It isnt based om experience or equipment.  Insurance on your equipment is based on an itemized list of all your gear.


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## Awiserbud (Dec 6, 2012)

Ok, so i assume if a wedding couple wern't happy for whatever reason and decided to sue, your insurance would cover that if you opted to include it? ( i don't want to open a can of worms, i hope it has never happened to anyone here, i realise it could be an unmentionable subject)


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## John27 (Dec 6, 2012)

I'm not a professional photographer, but I am a professional in another field and have dealt with insurance, and indirectly with lawsuits.

On the subject of insurance, do yourself a favor and get *AT LEAST* one MILLION dollars of commercial liability insurance.  The thing is, it's not about losing a lawsuit.  Let's say you've got a strobe setup on a stand and someones kid runs by, trips on it, and falls over and skin their knee.  Or, lets say you just bomb a shoot (in the eye of the client) and they sue you for some sort of 'emotional damage' for not having wedding photos that they approve of.  AND, let's say you WIN the lawsuit.  Expect the suit to drag on and cost you around $100,000 (that's the *AVERAGE *for a WINNING commercial lawsuit)  And if you lose?

Also, make sure the deductibles are something you can afford! 

Just my $0.02 here.

Edit:  Just noticed the question that was posted.  As I understand it, yes, Commercial liability insurance will protect you in the case of a lawsuit.  Make sure that you and your 'company name' are both named insured, because any decent attorney will sue BOTH you and the 'company'.  (It's also a good idea to have the 'company' filed as an LLC which will prevent them from being able to also sue you).  Your insurance will cover your legal representation and, if you lose, cover any losses.  (But remember that representation is going to cost a TON of money even if you win.)

Edit 2:  Anyone else who might be an 'agent' for you, needs to be named insured under the same policy as well.  This includes a second shooter, an assistant, etc.  Usually this can be 'blanketed in'.  Otherwise, if they have a seperate policy or get their own representation, then the other side is going to try and blame it all on you.  If you and your second shooter both get sued, and have seperate insurance policies and attorneys, then both parties are going to try and pin it on the other, because their only job is to reduce the liability felt by THEIR CLIENT, not everyone related.  Being under the same policy and thus the same representation prevents this from happening and will make sure that all interests are covered and equally represented.


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## Awiserbud (Dec 6, 2012)

I am at the stage where i am beginning to think about doing photography full time and quitting my day job, Liability insurance is deffinatly on my list of priorities, Its just too damn scary thinking about what would happen if something went wrong and i wasn't covered.


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## John27 (Dec 6, 2012)

Awiserbud said:


> I am at the stage where i am beginning to think about doing photography full time and quitting my day job, Liability insurance is deffinatly on my list of priorities, Its just too damn scary thinking about what would happen if something went wrong and i wasn't covered.



Don't quote me on this, but someone told me that weddings were the number one source of major lawsuits for professional photographers.  It makes sense, you can always re-do a senior portrait, and how much does a newborn really grow in one week that can't be re-shot?  A wedding, however...

Although I imagine personal injury claims are the same in that industry as with any other.  Tripping over cords in a studio, getting into a fender bender in your parking lot (yes, that will get you sued believe it or not.  Some money-grubbing lawyer will determine the lighting was inadequate or the parking lot wasn't in pristine repair), can all garner a lawsuit.  Some of it is genuine, people make mistakes.  If you drop a piece of equipment on someones foot and break their foot, then it wouldn't be unreasonable for them to ask your insurance to cover their injury.  But there are also a lot of sue happy people out there.  You've got to be protected from both!

FWIW it's really not that expensive.  I'm a Pastor of a church and we have $3M in liability and personal injury, and another $1M in an aggregate limit, and various other coverages most at $1m or $500k, and we only pay a couple thousand a year.  Much of that premium is for the 'premise', that is, the church itself and it's owned properties.  If you are a freelancer not working in a studio, I imagine it gets even cheaper as you don't have a property to insure.


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## CCericola (Dec 6, 2012)

Also, some venues require you to have liability to take photos on their property. Some request to be added for that day (same as second shooters and assistants) I just email my agent the info and they email me back a dec page for the venue.

So when you book a wedding you have to contact them to find out if you need to give them anything before hand.


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## Steve5D (Dec 8, 2012)

I've shot a total of one wedding, and I did it with one body. It was a success, but I wouldn't dream of doing it again.

I shoot a lot of concerts and, at one time, would use two 20D's so I wouldn't have to deal with changing lenses. Well, I shot one show like that, and vowed I would never do it again. I bought a 40D (which I still use) three days later.

Anyone shooting for more than just an enjoyable hobby should have two bodies...


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## 12sndsgood (Dec 8, 2012)

Even if your shooting part time you should have insurance. I made sure I was insured before I ever took a paying job.  Some say if your doing free shoots you should be insured as well.


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## camz (Dec 8, 2012)

Amen! Not to mention a back up for lenses, flashes, triggers, cards, stands, back up second shooter, timeline, etc etc... the list goes one. Glad it worked out =)


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## Mully (Dec 8, 2012)

Keep extra gear in your trunk out of the way but just in case you are covered. When I go on location I take 3 camera bodies.


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## Tony S (Dec 9, 2012)

And people always look at me funny when I am slinging two cameras around.... but they sure like it when I get a "variety" of images they want to buy.  I almost always have two of everything on a hired job, or a replacement of some kind that can take the place of something that goes wonky.


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