Shooting my first wedding I quickly learned that I have to have a plan, a map when shooting on a wedding day.

Last week at a wedding I had a chance to use Tamron AF SP 24-70/2.8 Di VC USD for Canon lense

Renting gear is OKAY.

A lot of people think that if you start your own business as a wedding photographer, you should have at least two camera bodies, and a lens range that will cover everything on a wedding day such as; large groups of people, portraits, candids, walking up the aisle photos, details... and some people want a little bit extra for creativity. This is a lot to carry in your bag as a starter kit, especially when you have a lot more expenses to think about besides your gear.

The amount of gear that you will have to carry in your bag on a wedding day is not the issue. Changing lenses can become a nightmare. Not knowing which lense to use at what point in time, can become a nightmare number two. It is stressful, so start off simple.

Some people can shoot a wedding using only two lenses. For example 35mm for large groups of people and details, and 70-200 for the rest. That will be a great range that will cover you from portraits, to details, to walking up the aisle, to candids. I've done it! Other photographers have done it too!


Before you start booking consistently there is no point in investing a huge amount of money in gear. I promise, the size of your gear bag will grow along with your business! Be patient :)

Instead of going through the risk of buying an expensive piece of gear that can possibly turn out to be a huge mistake because it doesn't reflect your style of photography, you can rent it. When you are comparing the cost of a purchase and it's risks, renting out gear, is a very small price to pay.

There are some great rental shops in Dublin that can be of interest to you if you are looking to try your gear out before you buy.
CameraKit Dublin 6W 
ISS Dublin 8

Don't rush into purchasing it. It may only seem like it will make you more of a professional but you might not exactly be able to afford it.

Don't be ashamed of renting out gear, be proud of it. You will see how much it will pay off later in your business.

...You're simply extraordinary...

When starting out in your photography business or even hobby you will probably need to know what this word means: "Exposure".

It took me so long to learn how to properly use it! I still can't believe how hard it was for me to understand what it means.

Knowledge about correct exposure and how to set it up in manual mode, is essential for shooting weddings. My advice is, learn how to do it right away.



A few days ago one of my friends asked me how to take nice photos of her work at an exhibition she was going to and explain to her what settings would she need to use. To explain that to her I would nearly have to teach her a beginners course in photography.

Exposure consists of three things: ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture.

1. ISO

If we go back to the film, you would have had different film sensitivity for different lighting. If you were out on a sunny day, you would use a low sensitivity film or if you were in a dark room or at a concert high sensitivity film would be used instead. You had to buy and change that film manually.

In digital photography sensitivity of film is measured in ISO. The lower the number of the ISO the less sensitive it is. The bigger the number of the ISO the more it picks up on light. You have to remember that the Higher that sensitivity is, the Lower the quality of your photo will become. It will be covered in coloured grain, making the photograph look dirty.

To shoot outside on a Sunny to Cloudy day you will probably have to use low ISO between 100 and 500. It depends on the time of the day and the density of the clouds.

To shoot inside, in a room, your ISO will probably start from 200 and higher. This also depends on how bright the room is.

2. Shutter Speed

When you press the button on your camera you are opening it's shutter like a lid of a jar. You do that to let the light in and record it on your camera sensor.

To control for how long you want that lid open, you use the speed. That speed is measured in eg. 1/200th of a SECOND. Yes it's that quick! It opens and closes slowly eg. 1/30th of a second or quickly 1/200th of a second.

To document moving human beings I usually try not to go lower than 1/200th of a second on my shutter speed.

3. Aperture

I already spoke about Aperture and Depth Of Field in my previous post. It has everything to do with exposure. It controls the amount of light you let into your camera through your lens. Read that post for a detailed explanation of what Aperture means.

Where are all these symbols on a camera?!


Number 1600 indicates ISO.
Number 200 indicates the shutter speed at 1/200th of a second.
Number 2.0 indicates the aperture.
Symbol M on the other side of the camera means Manual Mode.

Now let's have a look at some examples:

Under exposed photographs = Not enought light!


Over exposed photographs = Too much light!


Optimum Exposure for a photograph = light and dark parts of a photograph have correct amount of light. Always compare the picture to the live object that you are photographing.

Depth of field.

Two weeks ago I was approached by my friend who said that his dad was wondering how do I make my subjects sharp while the rest of the photo is blurry.... About eight years ago when I started taking photos, I asked someone the same question.

Every lens has a certain aperture (indicated by a letter 'f'... followed by a number. In fact you can see it in description of lenses all the time. Like Canon 135 f 2.0). 

Aperture is a hole in the lens that lets the light in. The more open it is (eg f 2.0), the bigger the whole, the more light comes in. The more closed it is (eg. f 8), the smaller it is, the less light comes in through the lens. Simple as that.

If you are wondering how is it that sometimes the whole picture is in focus and sometimes only certain parts of it are in focus leaving the rest of it blurry... then the word you're looking for is the depth of field which comes hand in hand with the aperture. 

If your aperture is open (eg. f 2.0) the zone of sharpness between the subject you focused on and the rest of the photo will be be very small. This will allow you to make that creamy blurred background that most people love to have in their photos.

And vice versa. If your aperture is closed (eg. f 8) the zone of sharpness on your photograph will be greater making it mostly sharp.

Have a look at this:




In this photo the depth of field is indicated by a sharp line that runs across the mat where the flowers lie. The actual area around the point where I focused, before and after, is approximately 1.5 - 2cm wide altogether. It's quite a small area! This means that all the subjects in the photo that are out of this depth of field (the sharp area) will be blurry. In this particular photo I had an aperture of  f 2.0.

I don't shoot at closed apertures such as f 8, but if in this particular moment I did, my whole bouquet of flowers would have been in focus. I would also be able to see the background clearer.

Closed apertures (bigger f stops ... from around f 5.6 up to f 22) are mostly used in interior photography and landscapes, as well as studio photography.

So in order to have a nice blurry background giving your photo some volume, you can shoot at low apertures. Most of the lenses that have low apertures are quite expensive. Because remember... Photography is all about the light and the more light you can let through your lens, the higher the quality of the picture you will get.

Practice it, compare it and find your own preference of depth of field because it can be quite subjective.


Please leave your thoughts, comments and questions below... lets engage and be friends :)

... you're simply extraordinary ...

When I first started doing photography I often asked myself the same question. What is better? Fixed or Zoom lenses?

Zoom lenses are far more functional and easier to use. There isn't that much thinking in terms of dimensions of the room or the size of family portraits. Family portraits can be BIG.

For quite a long time I only had one fixed lens that was Canon 135mm f 2.0. It's the greatest long lens I know. It creates magic portraits and great candids. With this lens you always have to bear in mind that you need a lot, and I mean it, a lot of space to take portraits. And I'm not even talking about group shots.

Then around the same time I had an opportunity to shoot with Canon 24-70 f 2.8 and Canon 24-105 f 4.0. The first lens is great for portraits and larger groups of people. It really is great in it's quality and functionality. It is much faster to focus than Canon 135 f 2.0.
The second lens... Personally, I never understood it :) The quality of the picture is always dirty and grey... And there really isn't much I can say about it.



It is at that time when I had the two types of lenses to compare, I realised that using your feet as your zoom is far better than twisting the ring on a lens. It makes you think, it makes you create and it keeps you focused.

Choosing a lens is like choosing a style in photography. You either feel it or you don't.

And remember, always try it out first, compare it and make your conclusions based on your experience :)