Brian

Sidenote: You have ISO 100-6400 to play with. The lower the ISO, the less noise you will have to deal with in Post and the better the Dynamic Range. I find that ISO 400 is a good place to start with for a "General" ISO with a Wedding. It's sensitive enough to keep that shutter speed up, but doesn't create noise that can't be fixed in Post. Now, ISO 100 is technically "Better," but "Your Mileage May Vary." It all depends on the current lighting conditions. It's another one of those, "It depends..." answers that I give. Sometimes ISO 800 works better. Sometimes ISO 200 is what you want. Or not. Speaking of ISO, and Flash...here is the Golden Rule of Flash: Aperture relates to Flash Power Shutter Speed (and ISO) relates to Ambient Light. One of the things that ISO will do, when using your flash, is include or exclude the background. So if you want to capture photos of the Dance Floor and not have where people sit in a black void, you can raise your ISO to something like 1250 and lower your Shutter Speed to 1/80th or even 1/60th. Normally, I will tell you to set your SS to 1/200th, which is the maximum sync speed of your camera with a flash. You can not set your camera to 1/500th or whatever and expect to use the flash. Now, if you are thinking, "...but I need to keep my SS speed up, to keep things sharp, right?" the answer is yes and no. When it comes to flash, the "FLASH!!!" and it's quick duration "Freezes" your subject. This is why the backgrounds are dark with a low ISO and fast-ish Shutter Speed (1/200th in your case). If you slow the SS and increase the ISO, you are letting more Ambient Light into your photo. This is a Artistic Taste. If you want to make your photos less "Flashy-Looking," include more of the background or learn how to bounce the light off of something. (i.e., Ceiling, Walls, etc.) I try to avoid wood, as the stains used usually create a color-cast that I have to deal with in Post.

Thank God. Now your camera won't make decisions on its own. Yep! I'm so glad I brought this up! You can't get that close with lenses, unless you are using a Macro Lens! Now each lens varies, but a rule of thumb is to be no closer than 3-4 feet to your subject. My Gawd...1.5 Feet. No wonder!! That's TOO CLOSE with any of your lenses!! It won't focus well at all...period. I'm surprised that the camera took the photo at all. (Probably because it was on a Auto Focus Mode.) Yeah, the "Pro" stuff is actually easier to use! Why? Because the Pros do not have the time to be digging through menus and letting the equipment make decisions. That's how you miss shots...those stupid "Auto" modes. The better the camera body, the more external controls you will have at your fingertips. So if you are going to do keep doing stuff like this, start saving for a new camera body. We need to get you to Full Frame. Since you have a 50mm and 85mm, that's a good foundation to start with. The 24-70 and 70-200 can come later if you go that route. But that's a whole other discussion. You have no idea of what "Heavy" is. When I have my D4s, 70-200, SB-5000 and my Flash Rig combined (It's a device that keeps the flash stationary while I flip the camera to a vertical position,) I'm holding / carrying around 7-8lbs of gear. I'm warning you now, you will probably get "The Claw" at the end of the Gig. This is where your hand looks like a Lego Miniature's hand; I know this very well. Your arms will also hurt. Remember when I said the 70-200 is 3lbs all by itself? I wasn't kidding. Just think, the 17-55 is about half of the weight of a 70-200. There is a difference between a Professional Grade piece of equipment and a Consumer Grade model. Likewise, there is a difference between a $200 zoom lens and a $2000 zoom lens. Now you see how I spent so much over the past 14 years. The problem is, I now have all of the "Good" stuff for what I shoot, the next step for me is $10,000 - $14,000 lenses and I don't expect to purchase those anytime soon. Yep, that's typical. Pinterest and Lists from The Knot / Wedding Wire are annoying. But since you are starting out, they can be helpful. Most of them, it's common sense stuff. You are there to document the day, not be a guest. That's the thing that trips up newbies. For example, I knew of a Photographer's Second that would get fixated on the Couple cutting the cake for the 1st time. She was like, "Get your head in the game and start photographing!!!" Yes. Avoid Miller's like the Plague. Why? Because they are stuck in the 1990's and their photos print too warm. They are nearly impossible to get your monitor calibrated against, which is why Damien and I really don't like them. Yes, we know...their customer service is AMAZING. We get it. But what shade of orange/yellow do you want your skin tones to be in prints? Most monitors out of the box are too cool, so you might think Miller's is awesome because they are compensating for you not having a Calibrated Display AND know how to edit properly. Once we get you fully straightened out, you will understand why. But if the prints match your current screen now, I'm not about to tell you to change things, at least not for this Gig. Stick with what you know and like I said, we will get you straightened out. I'm going to do the 4fps / photos in the next comment box...

This is the part where you need to LEARN YOUR GEAR. You tell me. Can you keep the menu settings the same forevermore? Quick answer is "Yes." Long answer is "It depends..." For me, I have found that Continuous Focusing mode works better for my style. When you are on AF-C Mode, when you press the button half-way, the camera continues to focus. Inside or outside, it really depends. Again, short answer is "Yes." The person who I shoot with, she can't stand "Continuous" and prefers AF-S (Single Mode). Remember, YOU as the Photographer make the final decision. Don't think for a second that since "You have a nice camera!" that you can be lazy and let it do all the work. Remember, you are shooting with Consumer Grade equipment. Your camera body has limitations and I want to see these "Blurry" photos you are talking about and what Shutter Speed | Aperture | ISO was used. I need this info, no excuses. What shutter speed are you at? What focus point? What Focus Mode? I'm very concerned. There is no way editing out a missed/blown focus photo. So let's see these current shots, pronto...tonight if at all possible. I won't be around tomorrow and you have the gig on Saturday. You can't be e-mailing me then. Also, when it comes to lenses there is a Minimum Focusing Distance AND a Maximum Focusing Distance with each and every lens. When it comes to a Minimum Focusing Distance, this is self-explanatory. If your subject is too close to the lens/camera, it won't focus well. Likewise, lenses perform their best in terms of sharpness if the subject is within a certain amount of feet before the image starts to fall apart. The Nikon 17-55 lens that you rented is one of these lenses. This next paragraph you need to pay attention! When it comes to the 17-55 f/2.8, subjects that are physically between 5 feet and 15 feet away from the camera/lens are TACK SHARP. (Well, should be, this is a Rental Lens after all and people tend to abuse rental gear.) Subjects that are between 16 feet and 20 feet away are "OK" Sharp. Any subject that is 21 feet or more away, and I'm using my 70-200 lens. So your assignment for tonight is to get a tape measure, one of those 25' ones, and have one of your twins help you. You stand in a spot outside and have them walk away 15 feet from you. Make a mental note where they are standing. Then memorize this. This way you will know come Saturday when you need to physically move in closer to your subject. How do you figure out the Min/Max with each lens? You use them. You shoot with them. Each lens has it's own personality and quirks. No two lenses are identical, they have minor variations. When you purchase a lens, that new lens SHOULD LIVE on your camera. You shoot EVERYTHING with it. You learn what it will and what it won't do. Then when you see a scene unfolding before your eyes, in your mind's eye you can picture which lens you need to take the shot. It takes practice and experience and something you can't learn overnight. You need to fiddle and play. Not watch YouTube Videos; physically pick up the camera and shoot with that lens. Eat - Sleep - Breathe with the 85mm. Then do the 50mm. Then the 35mm. Then each and every future lens / camera body. Bring the photos into your computer and Pixel-Peep. This is how you learn. There is no recipe that I can give you; it's not that easy and I don't care WHAT you have seen on FB or YouTube. This is reality and not some schmuck trying to sell you something to "Take Your Photography to the NEXT LEVEL!!" Those things are usually total Bullshit. As far as high ISO, again...you tell me. Most modern cameras should be fine up to ISO 1600 and "OK" around 3200. When you go higher it really depends on the camera body/sensor. Some perform better than others. I think you mentioned that the Church doesn't allow flash, so fiddle with some test shots tonight. Use the 17-55, set it to f/2.8 and ISO 3200. Then ISO 6400. Then go higher if you need to or can. Some camera bodies max out at 6400, or less. Fiddle and play, bring the images into your computer and see how noisy the images are. Then you will know. That is what you want. I don't think you have many choices for the type of Raw as my cameras do. The Pro-Level stuff has A LOT more things in the various menus. My D4s...I can change WAY more than my other cameras. As long as you are Raw and the WB is set to Auto, leave them there. One last thing before I forget, what AF-Area Mode are you set to? You need to set your camera to SINGLE-POINT AF. If you are on the wrong AF Mode, that can screw with things. Here is page 42 & 43 in the reference manual: Page 42: Page 43: SEE THIS ON THE LCD WHEN YOU GET TO THAT SECTION? The very top one, THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED TO SELECT!!! This way YOU pick the AF Point and the camera uses that to base focus on. Any other modes are Auto Modes and to be brutally honest, the D5100 isn't that smart. You need to be on Single-point AF. If you are on 3D or any of the other focusing modes, even though you choose the AF-Point, the camera will interject and choose a focus area that it thinks it's better. Often, it's wrong and you will blow focus constantly. To get into this area, you it the ~ i ~ button on the back of your camera and use the directional pad and arrow down to the area. Then select the Single-point AF and press OK. (Usually the center button in the directional dial is the "Enter" button.) Now try taking a few test shots. Move the AF point to different areas, from the center to the outside edges and take a few test shots. Try to be at a Shutter Speed of 1/250th or higher. Post your results here.

I have a late Wedding to shoot tomorrow that’s 2.5 hrs away. 3-11 PM East Coast Time. So if you have questions, better hit me up by this evening because I won’t be around Friday.

Did the rental equipment arrive yet?

Since I’ve been a 2nd shooter (by choice) for the last 5-6 years, I haven’t been good at posting my own stuff. I have the Raw images, but since I’m a “Contractor,” the photos are technically owned by the woman I shoot with. That said, I should get off my lazy butt and post a few of my favorites over the years. I just checked the website that my photos are on. My friend Jacki has a few of mine in her main portfolio/sample gallery. Like the guys with the truck, the 1st one. Basically anything you see with the guys or a wide landscape/environmental shot is probably mine. SilverPixels.com. Our styles are similar and are growing closer as each year passes, and it’s getting tougher for me to remember who’s shot is who’s. That’s actually a tip. If you do end of with a second shooter, your goal is to not be able to tell who shot what. The styles should blend, and as the customer is concerned all the photos were taken by the same person. Basically, I try to give Jacki a whole Wedding minus the Bride. If she needed me to, like if something terrible happened, I can become the Main Photographer in an instant without skipping a beat. Here is the FB Page: https://facebook.com/pages/category/Design---Fashion/SilverPixels-Photography-120921633317/

Yeah, kids aren’t going to be a good idea. You can try, but won’t get much accomplished. Besides, during the day you will be running and gunning. You won’t stop. Any “Plans” you make on Friday night will go out the Window on Saturday. That’s a Wedding. Something always happens. For now, set your camera up and get used to shooting in AF-C Mode @ 4fps. Use what you have, and shoot at f/2.8 - f/4. That is the typical range that I’m at during weddings. Sometimes f/5.6. For the amount of photos, a typical Wedding 8-hr should yield 600-800 photos delivered to the client. Sometimes less, sometimes more. It really depends on how much stuff is happening and how many people are attending. If there are less guests and not much going on, you could have 300-400 delivered to the client with an 8 hour Wedding. Or you can be an amazing $10,000 photographer and deliver 75 photos that are completely amazing and could be featured in an Art Gallery. But this is all very subjective and varies from wedding to wedding. My goal is for 500 photos delivered to the client across the board. That’s why I say a 8 hour Wedding is 40 hrs of editing on the back-end. Figure 3-5 minutes for each photo edited and you work out the math. Today’s Brides want photos on their phone. They want to Humblebrag on FB and make all of their single female friends jealous. LOL!! Modern Brides look for lots and lots of photos. They want pictures of EVERYTHING. My best guess is you are probably looking at 200 photos delivered. Yep, that’s right…suck-it-up-buttercup. Between the getting ready, Bridal Portraits, Formals, the ceremony, first kiss, entrance / announcement of the B&G, table shots of all the guests, detail shots, plus the various other things that happen during the ceremony, 200-300+ photos should be easy to do with a 6 hour wedding. No cheating and just converting some to B&W. At least 200 different and edited photos is your goal. Welcome to shooting a Wedding! It’s no wonder that Photographers charge as much as they do. This isn’t a family session at the park where 50 photos is more than enough, it’s a Wedding that you are documenting.

When this is over, you are going to take Kim's Learn to Shoot in Manual course. She has all of this stuff written out and I just don't have time. I can give pointers and tell you what to buy, but I have a day job and won't be around much. Plus I have my Weddings to shoot, with one this coming Friday.

That is not an unreasonable number, especially since they now want a "Typical Wedding." (6-8 Hours.) It's one thing to have a Ceremony and some Formals afterwards, it's really a glorified family session at the local park, it is entirely a different thing with "Getting Ready," First Look, Ceremony, Formals, Reception and all of those photos. PLUS!! You have all of the Post-Processing on the back-end. That can be 30-40 hours of work just in itself! You make more money working at a Fast Food Joint. So in the end, you are shooting this thing for free. Man, you love giving away the farm. Now it's one thing that if these are your friends or you are looking to build a Portfolio; these kind of gigs suck but are necessary. But there is a line that you really shouldn't cross and $500-$600 is reasonable. You need to practice now. No excuses. Set your camera up and get out there!! You just bought a 85mm lens. You need to fiddle with it and learn how it behaves. Shoot everything from 1.8 to f/22. Pay attention to your shutter. You have today and tomorrow to practice with it. Then Wednesday will be a whole other thing. Flash Photography is so different than the natural light stuff. Controlling your Shutter Speed is your top priority for today and tomorrow. Then work on Aperture Stuff with the 17-55 / Flash when it arrives.

You then can crank your ISO to 400, Set your Shutter Speed to 1/60th and set your Aperture to f/5.6. Boom! You should able to do Table Shots of everyone at the Reception. Or you can bump up your ISO to 1250. It really depends on the Venue and lighting conditions. Keep in mind, this is only one way to set your camera up. It may not work for you. This is why you need to fiddle Wednesday - Friday. Did you get extra SD Cards yet? How about the AA batteries?

Sometimes I will reverse the Flash Head It twists) around and set it one-click backwards during receptions.

Again, typical Wedding. It-is-what-it-is. You will be using your flash A LOT, probably during the whole Reception. Here are a couple of ways I use my flash during a Reception: i use the Wide Angle Thingy which force the flash to shoot wide and then use the built in bounce card while it’s point to the ceiling: Thiw is what it looks like during the gig. It helps to avoid direct flash and people looking “Icky.”

Yep. This type of thing is a bit out-of-the-ordinary, but not unheard of. That's why I disagreed with Kim about visiting the Venue 1st. While in certain situations it can help, but honestly? Things never go the way you expect to on the day of the gig. ESPECIALLY when they change the venue at the last minute. I'm not going to come down on you with the wrath of all photographers. The truth is, you aren't the first person to go through this and certainly will not be the last. Professionals make things look so easy and with today's cameras/technology, you can get "good enough" in a short amount of time. This is completely different when I first started back in 1986; way back then you didn't have a LCD, Histogram...there wasn't ANY AUTOMATIC FOCUSING SYSTEMS, and you either had 24 tries or 36 tries to get it right!! But I'm digressing here. You need confidence right now and me getting in your head isn't going to help the situation. So let's make the best of things. "M" is always the "Best" mode, IF you have mastered your camera and know what it will and won't do. It is also needed when you disagree with the settings that your camera will be requesting/recommending. Sometimes my camera will practically be jumping up and down saying I'm either way over-exposed / under-exposed, but I'm not. It takes time and experience to figure out your own recipes which results in the images you are trying to create. But for you, Aperture Priority might be your friend and that isn't a bad thing. Turning on Automatic ISO might be another. You also might want to put your camera in M Mode, Turn on Auto ISO and keep your Shutter at 1/250th or better and use f/2.8 - f/5.6 with the 17-55. That's also another recipe. It's all subjective and that's the hard part. The cool part is with having a Crop Camera, you can "f/2.8 All the things!" This is due to that pesky Angle-of-View change and it will help you this coming Saturday. You can't get away with shooting everything wide open on a Full Frame camera, in fact the over-all look that f/2.8 produces on a crop body is more like f/4 on a Full Frame Camera. Likewise, if you are used to shooting at f/1.8 with your 50mm, you are going to be in a world-of-shock when you find out just how razor-thin the DoF is when you shoot at 1.8, let alone 1.4! Knowing your limitations is a good thing, it allows you to have a goal to overcome them. I can say this, Compositional-wise, your photos are "OK," but your posing and such need improvement. This takes time and experience. I will give you a tip that I learned from Jerry Ghionis himself / in-person: Never Broad-light a Broad. Women want to look pretty/beautiful (I call this Prettyful) and Guys just want to look cool in photographs. That's it. For example, the bride sitting in the chair, that was a bad pose for her. You never want to make a Bride look large in the photos, especially when shooting with a wide-angle. It's not a joke that the camera adds 20lbs. We live in a 3D world, the camera is 2D. All of that "Pudge" needs to go somewhere and it is your job as a Photographer to minimize it. She is in the "Masculine" or "Standard" Pose and the Groom is in the "Feminine" Pose. You have them backwards! LOL!! There is a reason that the "Feminine" Pose exists; you've seen the photos, the light source is pointing at the bride but her back is pointed towards it. Then she looks over her shoulder and towards the light. Boom! She is in the Feminine Pose. From what I can tell, you are not paying attention to the shutter speed being used. This photo screams it: See the background? It's like you are panning a Racecar shot. Here is one of mine that I'm talking about: So learning you shutter speeds and focusing on your hand-holding technique is what you need to do this week. Your camera needs to live in your hands. The good news is, your shots aren't completely terrible; you just need A LOT more experience and practice. I mean, yeah...they are out of focus which leads me to the next section... Your Gear. While it's true that "The Best Camera is the one in your hands..." Your equipment is lacking. You not being in the correct modes with your camera, and not just shooting Manual, but using the correct Autofocus Mode, and not having a complete grasp on the Exposure Triangle is a bit unsettling. But since the Bride has seen your work and is OK with it, you might be able to pull this off and I hope that you do. The good news is, a 17-55 is on the way and I'm hoping you get a good copy. Your lenses are holding you back. The 55-200 just isn't a good lens and you will get a taste this week of what I'm talking about. As far as Kim's Course, I don't think you have time. She has assignments and such to help you get better and I'm thinking you taking her course won't help you this week, but you still need it. So do sign up for it. Master Manual Mode. Learn your gear before you go buying stuff. I can say this with authority...I have all sorts of fancy and expensive equipment. All I do now is take crappy photos with expensive equipment. It's not about the gear, but your Technique and Craft that matters. As I've stated above, Professionals make it look easy, but they are also consistent in producing quality photos again-and-again. That's the difference between a Pro and a Amateur. Just because you have fancy shit doesn't automatically mean that you will get immediately better. Well, they will be "better," as better glass is better glass, but It really just means that the shots you are after will be easier to take. For example, you will be surprised on the focusing speed and how a pro-grade lens locks on and doesn't hunt in low-light conditions. There is a difference between a $200 lens and a $2000 lens. Believe me. Indoor Photography is all part of shooting Weddings. You will be indoors at some point during the day. It frustrates me to no end when a Photographer says, the "Specialize in Natural Light" or only "Shoot Outdoors." That just screams lack of knowledge and technique. You need to keep an eye on your shutter speed at all times. Your ISO too. When photographing the Bride getting ready, you will be using that flash. Try bouncing it too. Get creative. Oh, there is something called Flash Exposure Compensation. You will be adjusting this up and down during the day. usually -0.3 to -1.0 on the average when using TTL. Sometimes you are at 0.0 with the Flash Exposure Comp. So look at the SB-5000 manual and figure out how to change this. Why? I'm so glad you are wondering... TTL Mode is a Auto-Mode with a Flash. Believe it or not, the camera's built-in meter is completely worthless when it comes to Flash Photography. The reason is, the Meter is a Passive one; it takes a reading of the Ambient Light and gives you it's thoughts of what a "Proper" exposure would be. The Flash hasn't fired yet, so the light isn't present. So how do you get a Auto-Mode then? You create a algorithm that takes 1000's and 1000's of photos that are supposed to be "Properly Exposed" and create a formula that gives the Camera a "Best Guess." So right before the shutter opens, the camera sets the flash power. Sometimes it gets it right, other times it doesn't. That's where Flash Exposure Compensation comes into play. If you need the Flash to be less/more powerful, you adjust the flash accordingly. Make sense? Yeah, at this time of year, the Sun hangs around, which you can use to your advantage. In a small venue like that, a 70-200 isn't required. You can photograph the whole Ceremony with the 17-55. You will just be standing in the Aisle. Speaking of Aisle, here is another tip: Tell the Bride to "Float" down the Aisle. The reason is, most women do not like being the center of attention and they have a tendency to MARCH AT A BRISK PACE when walking down the Aisle. Since this is a small wedding, you probably won't have that issue, but it still could happen. Meaning you aren't ready for her walking down the Aisle and before you know it, you've missed the shots. Now for the Checklist: It's your typical Wedding. For me, I'm rolling my eyes. For you, STUDY IT. Believe it or not, the hardest part will be you working by yourself. You will be arriving 2-3 hours before the ceremony. Why? Not only for the Bride getting ready, but if she wants shots of the Groom getting ready, it's only you!! So you will need to plan time accordingly to go from where the Bride is getting ready to where the Groom/Groomsmen are, if there are any. You might get lucky and they just meet up at the Church. Or not. It really depends. Welcome to Weddings! See how a "Small Wedding" is going to turn into a 6-8-hour gig? I'm sure you are probably charging $300 or so. Which is fine, due to your experience. But think about this in the long run, $300 for 6-8hrs of shooting and then 30+ hours on the back-end. For $300. Let that sink in. See why you need to stand up for yourself and say, "NO!" when it comes to answering the question, "Do you shoot Weddings?"

It's definitely something you should try today. Set your camera to "A" Mode (Aperture Priority) and mount your 35mm 1.8 lens. Set the Aperture to f/2.8. Now, just take a few generic photos. I have a question, it has been over 11 years since I had a consumer-grade camera with a pop-up flash, does the pop-up flash automatically pop up and fire off while in A Mode and low light? We need to make sure now, this way it doesn't accidentally fire while you are in the Church. This in turn will probably freak you out, and then you will be in your head / camera's menu screwing around during the gig and... Let's not go there. So we need to find this out today. The reason that I ask, is that since your camera has a built-in flash, and it's a consumer-grade model, it assumes you don't know much about photography and wants to "help." So the stupid pop-up flash will often kick on in low-light settings. The D5100, like the D3100 is meant to be a "Bridge Camera." Just enough technology-wise to get you hooked on DSLRs and away from Point & Shoot Cameras, but not so advanced so that you buy a more advanced and more expensive camera. See how that works? What I want you to do is put your camera in Continuous Shooting Mode so that it takes 4 photos a second. (Page 35 of the Reference Manual). If you are on Single Frame it just takes one photo at a time. If you set it to Continuous, as you lay on the shutter button, it will take multiple photos. You can just fire off a single shot on Continuous, you just have to let go. It takes a bit of practice but it's easy to get the hang of. Now, I want to make sure you are shooting in the Continuous "AF-C" Focusing Mode and not "Single." (Page 39 of the Reference Manual.) You know what? Post some of these blurry photos, along with the settings that were used. I need to see. Aperture | Shutter Speed | ISO | Lens Used. Something may not be set correctly in your camera, as many people never take the time to RTFM. (READ the Fucking Manual.) Then they wonder why their photos don't turn out well. For instance, you are set to the wrong focusing mode and your subject is moving. Or your shutter speed is to slow, you need to either bump up your ISO to get that faster or open up to a larger Aperture. Stuff like that. It is depending on the lighting conditions and time of day. I once photographed a Wedding on Top of a Mountain (Well, nothing like you would think of as a Mountain, it was at a Ski Resort) at 1PM. FULL SUN. No clouds in the sky what-so-ever. No shot looked "Good." Everyone had "Panda / Racoon Eyes" if I didn't use my flash for fill. Hopefully your light will be better. That's what I'm here for. I will warn you, I'm VERY GOOD at spending other people's money. It's a Gift / Talent. Even in the real world, I can be quite convincing. But to be honest, I live by the "Buy it Right-Buy it Once" Philosophy. I HATE-HATE-HATE wasting money on this Shit. It's not worth it in the long run. I always tell people to resist an impulse-buy, save up and get the item that you want, as you save money in the long run. No sense forking out a $1000 now only to blow $2500 on another camera body because the $1000 didn't do the job. In the end, you spend $3500 and not $2500. Understand? So when I say to expect to pay around $5000 to "Switch to Full Frame," I mean it. It's better than wasting a few grand with an impulse buy. This is where you scare the hell out of me. You should know this stuff if you are shooting a Wedding. The short answer is "Yes." The long answer is, "It depends..." Both are basically saying yes. Once you get the 17-55 f/2.8 Lens this week, I want you to mount it and shoot the hell out of it. You will be amazed on the quality difference between a pro-grade and consumer-grade lenses. I will warn you, that lens is a solid one and the weight will throw you at first. Hopefully it will come with the lens hood. USE THAT LENS HOOD, EVEN INDOORS. As I've stated before, remove the UV Filter that is being used for "Protection." Just remember to mount it before you send the lens back. Oh, why am I telling you to not buy a 17-55? Because it's a DX Camera Body only lens. It's not meant to work on a Full Frame camera, that's what the 24-70 lens is for. Since you have a DX camera, that's why we went with the 17-55. Got it? The only lens that you really shouldn't be using is the 55-200. Now, you can use it, but the widest Aperture when zoomed out will be f/5.6 and that's not enough for dark environments. That's where f/4, f/2.8 and the other wider Apertures come into play. You either "Open Up" your Aperture, or bump up the ISO to compensate to get that Shutter Speed Higher. If you haven't figured out the "Exposure Triangle" by now, I'm really worried. That's Photography 101 type of stuff. You should know this before shooting a Wedding. But let's not dwell on that, you have a Gig in less than a week. You can take Kim Howell's Learn to Shoot in Manual Course here in Ask Damien, or you can do a crash course with a YouTube Video or two. I do hope you take Kim's LTSIM Class. I think you will get more out of it than a YouTube Video. BTW, that link goes to her website, but the course is hosted here in this forum/website. When you are approved for the class, it will appear in the list along with "Ask Brian." Ah the dreaded list. Every Bride usually has one, but in this case I think you will benefit from it. After you do several Weddings, you should know to take photos of the "Bride getting ready," "The Bride posing with her Bridal Party," "The Groom & Best Man," "Walking down the Aisle," "Cutting the Cake..." stuff like that. LOL!! I will say this, and I learned this the hard way: If they are present, make sure you take a nice portrait of Grandma & Grandpa or the B&G's Parents. Both together and by themselves. A single nice head-shot is what you are after. Something that will work as a 5x7 or 8x10 Photo. Why? Because sooner or later, one of them will die and the family will be scrambling for a photo for the Funeral or to put in the newspaper. Trust me. My Mom died unexpectedly last year, and nobody thought to take a single photo of my Mom when I got remarried a few years ago. Fortunately, I was able to look through an "Outtake" where my Wife & I had weird looks on our faces, but my Mom was just far enough away and had a nice smile to crop her out. That photo was destined to be deleted or never seen. So my advice to you, is unless you have completely blown the shot, keep those outtakes, you never know when you will need source material from them. This is why I jump up-and-down about not shooting a Wedding until you are ready. Weddings sound so easy to do. "You have a nice camera!! You must take awesome Photos!!" I hear it all the time. Especially when I walk around with my huge Nikon D4s and 24-70 lens mounted: To give you an idea of scale, that's a 27" iMac. The Nikon D4s is WAY bigger & heavier than your D5100. Weddings combine all sorts of photography, Photojournalism, Macro, Sports & Action, Event, Portrait, Family/Groups Photography...it all intermingles & intertwines. You need to be a Jack-of-all-Trades type of Photographer, be really good at one or more of them, and be really decent at the others. Even to this day, I'm still working on my "Detail Shots." I'm used to capturing emotion and drama, shooting wide...not small and precise. My Ring Shots are a little better, but I still need work in that dept. That's a form of Macro Photography. Instead of Bugs or other small things, you are photographing Rings and trying to make them look interesting, which is harder than you think. So I can give you pointers, but in the end, you are in the hot-seat. I won't be there shooting next to you. That's why I'm telling you to "Shoot what you know." as you are used to Photojournalism. Don't worry about the list; well worry...you don't want an un-happy Bride, but tell the story of the day. Beginning to Middle to End. Every good story has each of those. Right now what concerns me is your "Blurry Photos." Actually it downright terrifies me that you don't know why. When you shoot Raw, and you should, there is a certain degree of wiggle-room to save your Ass in Post. If you blow focus or have subject movement, there is nothing for you to recover from. That shot is lost...for good. So let's concentrate on these blurry photos that you speak of. I think that will help you out the best at this point. Saturday is coming quickly. Yep! Actually, these setting that I've recommended you will probably end-up using the majority of the time. Or not. You need to fiddle with them in place today and tomorrow. Even if it's just a photograph of your Coffee Cup. Photograph SOMETHING. You need to fiddle and practice. I want to see well exposed and in focus photos. Take your kid to the park or go to one. Photograph running kids and make them Tack-Sharp. Pay attention to what Aperture, what Shutter Speed and what ISO you were at. All that stuff. Photograph moving Cars, flowers if it's windy...ANYTHING. These shots aren't meant for IG or other social media, they are for you to learn and pick-apart. Hell, photograph a lamp against a lamp on a blank wall and try to make it interesting. I'm originally from NJ, which partly explains my bluntness and honesty (other part is genetics.) I currently live just outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. If you want to see more of my photos, I'm on IG: @jennie.brian.seetheworld

Probably not in the sense that you are used to. This isn't a family session at the park where you can set your 50mm lens to 1.8 and blur the hell out of everything. f/2.8 will give nice Bokeh, but you can play with that Aperture Setting now. Mount your 50mm, set it to f/2.8 and take a few test shots. Zoom lenses typically don't go beyond f/2.0 and the reason is the size and weight of the lens. If you were to have a f/1.8 Zoom Lens, that sucker would probably weight 7lbs or more. You probably couldn't get your hands around it. But f/2.8 is better than nothing. You will get decent subject isolation with f/2.8, but not the buttery blurry backgrounds that so many are used to. Especially ones who shoot with Primes. Subject placement, distance between the background and subject AND between you and the subject will affect how much blur. If you move the subjects further away from the background, set the lens to f/2.8 and Zoom in, Compression will help with the Bokeh. This was taken with my 70-200 at f/2.8 zoomed into 200mm. She was a good bit away from the grass in the background: Typical shot of what to expect with f/2.8. Also taken with my 70-200 and I was a good distance away. Compression is your friend when it comes to zoom lenses. (BTW, I didn't edit this photo, but I did take it. I just realized that her dress is blown out and lost detail.)

Been there, done that. You are fucked. Inform the Bride. There are reasons that I shoot with the professional bodies. They can deal with High ISO's pretty easily. Chances are, you are going to be at ISO 6400 or more during the whole ceremony. Hopefully they have big windows. GET CF CARDS OUT OF YOUR HEAD!! Your camera doesn't take them. The CF Cards were for another camera that you aren't buying. You want to purchase a couple of 32GB SD Cards.

If you are used to shooting in M Mode / Full Manual, keep using it. Aperture Priority just helps make things a bit faster in where you pick the Aperture and the camera picks the Shutter Speed to match as best as you can. Personally, I shoot in Manual Mode 99% of the time. The only time I switch to Aperture Priority is if I'm bouncing back and forth between a really bright area and then immediately spinning around and shooting an area that is dark. Sometimes an "Auto" Mode like Aperture Priority makes things easier since rotating dials can open the proverbial door for you to miss a shot. I don't think this Wedding with be like that for you, so stick with what you know. Uh, yeah! You will be adjusting your settings all day long!! Speaking of settings, your camera's Sync Speed is 1/200th of a Second for a Shutter Speed. So set your camera to 1/200 (the camera will do this automatically if you set it up correctly in the menu). Here is the D5100 Manual in .PDF Format. Now we need to set up your camera to work with the SB-5000. First, I want you to turn to Page 38 and follow the steps. The Flash Mode that you need to set in your camera is Rear Curtain Sync. From Nikon: Rear Curtain Sync is A LOT more forgiving than the other Flash Modes. It fires the flash just before the shutter closes. What does this do? Your subjects will be "frozen" with the quick Flash Duration, but things in the background might be a little blurry. This is perfectly normal. If you are on Front Curtain Sync the Flash fires when the shutter opens and this can lead to your subjects being blurry if they are moving, like walking down the aisle and things in the background sharp. THIS IS VERY BAD. It's much better to have a frozen and in-focus subject and a blurry background than a blurry B&G and sharp background. Got it? I just read the User Manual of your D5100. Holy Smokes! I forgot just how Consumer Grade that camera is!! I actually just found the real manual and this is the one you need to read Cover-to-Cover. Nikon D5100 Reference Manual. I want you to start on page 149 and go through each of the settings. In fact, on page 151 is where we need to be. You want setting A1 to be set to Focus and not "Release." This makes sure that the camera only takes the photo when it thinks things are in focus when using AF-C Mode. Chances are the AF-C mode will be the one you use the most during the day. As you press the shutter halfway down, the camera keeps focusing. You might be used to the other mode, AF-S which is single focus mode. This is good for subjects that are standing still, like for Portraits. That said, if someone moves just a little bit, the focus can be off so I'm always using AF-C for Weddings. BTW, I don't bother with AF-A mode. You want setting D2 set to On to display your current ISO in the viewfinder instead of shots remaining. Menu Setting E1: SET THAT TO TTL. This is Through-The-Lens Metering, which puts the Flash in a Auto Mode. You do not have enough time to learn how to properly control Full Manual Flash. Seriously, you need like 6 months or more of practice. USE TTL Mode! The F1 Menu Setting, I'd switch that to ISO. This way all you would have to do is hold the FN button and rotate the Rear Control Dial. This makes adjusting your ISO a breeze. Setting F4. This by far, is one of the most important settings on Nikon Cameras. You should set this option to RELEASE LOCKED!! Why? If you set it to Release Locked, the camera will only take a picture if a Memory Card is installed in the camera! You don't EVER want to take the risk of taking a photograph and not having a card in the camera, because as soon as you power off the camera, those photos in the camera's buffer are permanently gone. Again, Menu F4... "RELEASE LOCKED!!!" Now we should be in the Setup Menu, the "Wrench" Icon. Monitor Brightness. I'd set that to -1 or even -2. Photographers get caught in the trap of using the Camera's LCD to judge exposure. THIS IS VERY BAD. As I've stated before, the Camera's LCD Display's the JPEG Preview that is embedded in the Raw file, and not the RAW File Image itself!! Always remember, your camera's LCD is a lying and cheating Whore who will sell you down the River if given the chance!!! The camera's LCD brightness is adjustable, which causes you to think you have obtained proper exposure, but you haven't. So by setting it to -1 or -2, will help ensure better focus, because it's really hard not to view the LCD and not judge exposure. People do it all the time. Other settings! I would change the "Info Display Format," page 168 to "CLASSIC." This mode is much easier to read and allows you to get to various settings without having to dig through the menus. In fact, Page 169 has a breakdown of what all the settings are. Memorize them!! You should shoot RAW. If you can, select 12-Bit Uncompressed. But I don't think the D5100 has that option. I think it's 14-bit only. Oh well. Regardless, SHOOT RAW.

Yep. That is the one. Umm...with the switch on the back of the flash? You attach it the flash on the Camera's Hot-Shoe. I will be you have the protection cover still on top of the camera. Slide it backwards and you should see something like this: See this thing on top of your camera? Slide it off (Backwards.) It's just the contact cover. That's where the flash mounts to: Now, here is the Manual for the SB-5000. I want you to download it right now and READ IT.

SB-700 is fine. It should work for your situation and with things not being in stock, you may not have a choice. 70-200 / 24-70...technically you need it all. The main problem is, you are going to be "Performing on-stage" within a week and you know how to play Heart and Soul and can play a C Major Scale on a Piano. People think Weddings are easy, they've all been to at least one in their lives, well at least by the time they are adults. It's a completely different experience when you are the one documenting the day. It just is. You can shoot an entire Wedding with a 24-70 lens. You can get creative with a 70-200 lens and things like the first Kiss are much easier with a 70-200. But like I said, a 24-70 will cover an entire Wedding if you think outside the box. Since you are on a Crop Sensor, you need a Nikon 17-55 f/2.8DX lens for this Gig. That lens compensates for the Angle of View Change with a DX Sensor and gives you the equivalent focal range as a 24-70 would on a FX Sensor. Understand? Bring your 35mm and 50 and 85mm. You might be able to pull this Wedding off without a 70-200. Most of the time, my 70-200 gets used for when I'm on the outskirts and the Woman that I shoot with is in the middle aisle during the Ceremony. Often she has a 24-70 mounted and I have a 70-200. I also zoom in like a Sniper for the "Ugly Crying Groom's Face," or to get in a tight shot of a Mom in tears. Then for a Reception, the 70-200 also helps me capture the emotion while the couple is on the dancefloor for the 1st time. One lens is simply "better" than the other when it calls for a certain situation. It is also based on what look you are going for. Blurring out the backgrounds and using compression to your advantage makes for easy and creative B&G Formal Shots with a 70-200. But shooting the Formals with everyone in the Wedding Party? Heck no, you are standing too far back with a 70-200. You use the Right Tool for the Job you are doing/Photographing. That's why I have a 14-24mm, 24-70, 70-200, 85mm 1.8 and a 50mm 1.8, Main Camera Body plus a backup camera body and a SB-5000 Flash with a SB-910 Flash as a backup for each Wedding Gig. In the car I have another 24-70 and 70-200. But you aren't there yet. I'm not going to tell you to spend $16,000+ in the next week for this mess you have gotten yourself into. That wouldn't be fair. So let's keep things simple. You have so much to cram in the next few days you can not afford to have a major "Brain-Fart" during this Gig. You need to figure out how to bounce your flash!! That's on Wednesday. As for the 85, I said it's great on a Full Frame Sensor, but it "Too Long" to be of really any use on a Crop Body. But that is based on my shooting style and I'm more of a Zoom Person. You might find that 85 is the "Bee's Knees" and prove me completely wrong. I hope that you do! I want you to blow this Gig out of the Park and have a happy client!! Bottom Line: Head to LensRentals.com, rent a 17-55 f/2.8G DX and a SB-700 for the week. Hold off on the 70-200 unless you feel like forking out the cash. The 85mm that you purchased might work in place of the 70-200. Sometimes my 70-200 sits in my bag all day if the venue is small. The 24-70? Hell No. It's my most used lens during a Wedding and that's why you need to rent the 17-55. Got it?

The SB-700 should work "fine." It's a good flash and I bought one for my Brother as a Christmas Gift to work with his D5200. I'd check to see if another site has a SB-5000 or a SB-910. With any of those flashes, it will be WAY BETTER than any pop-up flash. At this point, you really don't have time, you need something by the middle of the week. I've used Borrowlenses.com and LensRentals.com. Getting setup with them is a bit of a PITA, as they need your Driver's License and other Documentation to prove you are you, which is understandable as they are sending things to unknown parties on the internet. So plan on jumping through a couple of hoops today to get your accounts setup. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM YOU ARE GOING TO RUN INTO IS YOUR D5100 AND THAT CROP SENSOR. You don't have "Wide." 35mm is kinda wide on a Full Frame, but not on a crop sensor. Small churches, getting ready shots in people's bedrooms...all of that stuff you need wide. For a Crop Sensor, that's around 16mm to get a 24mm equivalent's "look." In reality, you need the Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 Zoom Lens as that is the "24-70" for a Crop Sensor Camera Body. Holy Shitballz!!! I FOUND ONE!!! Lensrentals.com has a Nikon 17-55 f/2.8G DX lens in stock!! I know you like your Primes and you seem to be a Prime shooter, but honestly? You need a Zoom for this gig. So ignore my recommendation for a 24-70 since you bought the 85mm and rent that damn Nikon 17-55 f/2.8G DX lens. Don't argue. Trust me. Here is a photo taken with my 17-55 f/2.8 when I shot with my D300s for a Wedding years ago: https://www.instagram.com/p/BKJ_RUVDlnZ/ I was standing about 6 or so feet away from them with my SB-600 camera right on a lightstand. (Off Camera Flash.) Just before I took the photo, I told the Groom to "Grab her ass!" and he happily complied. Her reaction is genuine. You are working in uncharted territory and it's not going to do you any good standing on a ladder in a corner or in a closet trying to get further back because you aren't "wide" enough. I've been there, it sucks. I've missed shots due to not being "wide" enough because of a damn Crop Sensor. Getting ready shots almost always require a 24mm lens, and with your crop body, that's going to perform like a 35mm would on a full frame. I know I'm going on-and-on about this, but I'm trying to save you a headache & heartache. You have no idea of what you got yourself into. As I've stated on FB, being a Guest at a Wedding and Photographing it is Romantic, being a Vendor Documenting the Day is a Pain in the Ass. Honestly? Stuff like this is completely normal when it comes to a Wedding. You think it's just a small ceremony in a Church, and a simple Reception. HA! Then the "Oh, by the way, I'd like you to take photos of...." starts to happen and then it blows up in your face. This is the reason that Wedding Photographers charge as much as they do! But you will get through it, you have no choice and at least you know to expect the un-expected. CF Cards are just different and is one of the older formats for Digital Cameras. Going forward, new cameras are XQD / CFExpress Type B and SD cards. It really depends on what your camera body takes. The only reason that I recommended CF Cards was if you were going to purchase a used D700 body; that camera ONLY takes CF Cards and I think your D5100 only takes SD Cards.

Finally!! OK, the cool part on how I setup this forum is only you and I can talk back-and-forth, so others won't be chiming in to "Help." This keeps the discussion simple and to the point. I also want to warn you before I recommend anything, I am a Nikon OEM Snob. Meaning, I like the good stuff which tends to be more expensive. Very rarely will you have me recommending a Kung-Pow! 3rd party flash for $95 or something along those lines. I do not fuck around when it comes to a Wedding, and I certainly need for my gear to WORK and not question it. Period. Those off-brand / cheap flashes are fine when you want to learn and fiddle...and you do not want to be learning during something important, like a Wedding. As YouTube people say, Let's get into it... With any gear purchase question, I will always ask, "What is your budget?" Followed by "What will you be shooting?" Since we've gone over what you will be using this for, photographing Weddings, that's out of the way. But...how much are you willing to spend? What am I working with here? Ultimately, I will recommend a Nikon SB-5000. That flash seems to be out of stock in a lot of places and it also costs $600 all by itself. But it's meant for Professional Gigs and has enough power to handle a Wedding. If that price is a bit too high, then you can head to KEH.com and purchase a Nikon SB-910 Flash in "EX" Condition for $221.53. Which isn't bad and I think is your best option at this point. If you want to buy something new, and it will work perfectly with your D5100, the Nikon SB-700 is the one to get at $326.95. Speaking of prices, Nikon controls the prices. So if the reseller is authorized to sell Nikon products, the prices should all be the same between Store A - Store B & Store C; within a few dollars. Adorama might have a SB-5000 flash for 599.99 and B&H might have it for $596.95, or whatever. If you see anything "New" for a lot less, like several hundred less, those products are known as "Grey Market" and DO NOT COME WITH ANY TYPE OF WARRANTIES. In fact, Nikon will not touch any Gray Market that is sent into them for repair. So you MUST be careful to avoid "Grey/Gray Market" or sometimes it's labeled as "Imported." Here is an example: See that "Imported?" This means it's "AS-IS" and no warranty from Nikon what-so-ever. Avoid these items at all cost. Got it? The 85mm lens is great on a FX body, and will work fine on your D5100. That said, with the "Angle of View Change" you get with your DX Sensor, it really doesn't perform well. Let me explain. Since the physical size of a DX / Crop Senor is smaller than a full-frame one, it causes a magnifying effect, similar to "Cropping" a Photo in Photoshop. With DX Camera Bodies, you take the focal length of the lens and multiply it by 1.5 to get the "equivalent" focal length on a FX Camera body. In this case we are talking about an 85mm focal length: 85mm x 1.5 = 127.50mm So what does that mean? That 85mm will act closer to a 135mm lens would on a FX body. This is why so many Photographers who shoot with Crop Bodies use a 50mm f/1.8 for Portrait work. The 50mm focal length acts more like a 85mm would on a FX body. (i.e. 50mm x 1.5 = 75mm) That's why you are using a 35mm lens and a 50mm lens. In reality if you switched to a FX body, you would replace the 35/50 with a 50mm lens and 85mm lens. Make sense? Why am I bringing this up? Because 85mm acts more like a short telephoto lens; it's a bit too long for my taste on a Crop Body. Since it's a Prime and you are going to be moving all around during a wedding, it just doesn't make sense to purchase that lens now. You can't zoom in-and-out, it's a Prime. Weddings are not laid-back affairs, even small ones. You will be running-and-gunning and since this is your only 2nd Wedding, your style hasn't developed yet. Should you buy it? Absolutely! But when you are upgrading to FX, and if you are shooting Weddings, FX / Full-Frame Format will be in your near future. So even though $290 is a very good price, I'd rather you take that $290 and rent something like a 70-200 lens for this gig. I wish you would have posted this question months ago. COVID-19 has really fucked with the supply chain and many products are sold-out and have been for months. Where is this venue? Is it outdoors? How much room will you have to work with? The reason I ask, is it has to do with your Crop Camera. It's that stupid Angle of View Change, it just messes with everything. We don't have a lot of time here, you need to rent equipment for at least a week and it needs to be in your possession at least by Wednesday for your to practice and fiddle with. Pro-grade lenses that are required to shoot Weddings are quite large and heavy. While I recommend a 70-200 f/2.8 lens, that sucker is 3lbs all by itself. So find a 5lb bag of Sugar and hold it like you would shooting a camera, that will give you an idea of what you will be dealing with. You have no idea of what the Pro-Grade stuff is like. Your 35mm and 50mm will feel like toys compared to a Pro-Grade lens. Anyway, what I'd rent is a Nikon 24-70 f/2.8G lens and get a SB-910/SB-5000 Flash. I will warn you, due to that stupid Angle-of-View Change, 24mm isn't that "Wide" on a Crop Body. You'd need a 16mm Focal Length for that. So the Bouquet Toss / Garter Belt Toss will be damn near impossible if you can't back up far enough if it's a really small venue. That said, 90% of your other shots you can pull off with the 24-70 and D5100. The lens is heavy, but not as heavy as a 70-200. Honestly, you have no idea of the difference between a Consumer-Grade "Training Wheels" Camera Body and a Professional Grade one. Same thing goes with the lenses. Night and Day difference!! I will warn you, the 24-70 is addictive. I borrowed that lens from a friend once 11 years ago...and that lens has caused me to spend over $16,000+ in gear. LMAO!! The focus speed, clarity, contrast, sharpness, the lack of blown highlights is something you aren't used to. That lens wants to SHOOT. It's like a Dog pulling on a leash wanting to run. When I first used that lens, I thought it wasn't working properly. It seemed to be not focusing, even though my images were clear when I checked them. It's only when I purposely made the lens out of focus by turning the ring then letting my camera Auto-Focus. A split-second after putting my finger on the shutter button the damn thing locked on. I had NEVER experienced a lens that focused that quickly!! So be forewarned. Oh, but since this lens will be a rental, it may not be up to par as a brand new lens would, as people use-and-abuse rental gear. Hopefully you will get a good copy of the lens to use. As I've stated above, a new camera...FULL FRAME FORMAT, aka "FX," is in your future if you want to shoot professionally and/or shoot Weddings. Period. So yes, start saving up. Now here are some drawbacks to switching to FX: As I've mentioned above, in my humble opinion, a DX Camera is a camera with "Training Wheels." Why? It's because the sensor is physically smaller than a full frame one. I know, big-deal? Right? Well, since the sensor is smaller, it uses the center-most portion of your lenses, which often is the best part of the lens. So it's VERY EASY to take a good Photograph and have all sorts of Hearts / Likes / Swoons when you post images on FB or other Social Media. It gives you a false-sense of ability. When you upgrade to FX, you are using the WHOLE LENS, including all of it's flaws along the sides. This will show you all sorts of quirks with your lenses that you weren't aware of and you will find your technique will be weak in some areas. Why? It's due to that Angle-of-View Change! Since the FX sensor is physically larger, it affects so much on what you see. FX bodies have a shallower Depth-of-Field, well...not really in the technical sense, but in the real-world, it forces you to stand in a spot that you normally wouldn't which affects the Depth-of-Field. Clear as Mud? Think of a Analog Clock and stick your arms out. 9 & 3 = Medium Format 10 & 2 = FX / Full Frame 11 & 1 = DX / Crop With that Magnifying affect gone with Full Frame, you will end up being closer to your subject than you would with a DX camera. This in turn, changes your Depth of Field. The main things that make up your DoF are: Focal Length Used Aperture Setting Distance between the Subject & Background Distance between the Subject & Film Cell Sensor / Film-Cell Size Here is some comparison shots of what I'm talking about from an old friend who shot the same subject with a D7000 & D700: D700 & D7000 Comparison Shots #1 - Lily Sawyer D700 & D7000 Comparison Shots #2 - Lily Sawyer OK, I do have a point to all of this, and it's getting to my "Bottom Line" Paragraph on what you should do. Right now, stick with the camera that you have. You do not have time to learn how to produce photos with a FX Camera body. You do not want to be learning during a gig and I don't care how much practice and YouTube Videos you watch, switching formats takes a little practice and a good month to get used to if not more. Especially when you find that your technique needs improving and finding out that your existing lenses suck. I've personally gone through this as well as everyone else. I'm just trying to warn you and give you realistic expectations of what is in your near future. I'm sure you are almost at the point of asking what camera do you buy next? This is a tough one to answer. Why? Because Nikon is slowly abandoning the F-Mount DSLR Cameras and is switching to Z-Mount / Mirrorless Bodies. That's good news and bad news... The bad news is the F-Mount that has been around since 1959 is being replaced. So no new lenses will be produced for the existing DSLRs. The good news is that the F-Mount is a Mature System and has all sorts of options to choose from. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has screwed around with the Supply Chain and so much is Out-of-Stock or is on Back-Order. Which leads me to believe that certain lenses will never be in-stock again. That usually leads people to think that Mirrorless is "Better" and the "Future." While that might be true to a certain extent, it's still a brand-new format and the choices of lenses are limited. Well, at least they have the main zoom lenses that the majority use (14-24, 24-70, 70-200) released. It's the exotic primes that haven't been released yet, but things are slowly getting better. Again, we still have COVID-19 to deal with and even though they have announced certain lenses, they might not be available until 2022 or even 2023! This is why I can't tell you to save up and go and buy ____________. I can say you should save up at least $5000 for whatever path you take. (Or more.) But right now, you have much bigger things to worry about, that Wedding is in a Week! Bottom Line: Stick with your D5100. You know that camera and how to use it. Bring extra memory cards and batteries. Bring at least a pack of 8 AA Batteries. Energizers or Duracell. (Ones that have a little more "Umph" for flashes and other electronic devices.) Hell, bring two packs of 8 AA Batteries. Rent a Nikon 24-70 f/2.8G Lens and a SB-910 Flash. Rent them for 7 days and have them delivered by this Wednesday. Then practice with them ASAP. Set your flash to TTL Mode and use Aperture Priority on your D5100. Remove the stupid UV Filter that is used for "Protection" on the day of your gig. Those UV Filters can produce all sorts of weird colored blobs when using flash. JUST REMEMBER TO PUT IT BACK ON THE LENS BEFORE YOU SEND IT BACK or else you will get charged. I wouldn't worry about a 70-200 f/2.8 for now. Unless you want to go ahead and rent it. But again, that lens is quite large, so if you do rent it...be prepared.

Sony and Nikon are better in the AF department when it comes to Mirrorless. But things might have changed. I really haven’t seriously looked at Mirrorless; I have enough crap and the thought of rebuilding a whole other system…I have other stuff to buy and Credit Cards to pay off. Why not use my F Mount Lenses and the FTZ Adapter? Because in order to take full advantage of the Nikon Z system and all that it offers, especially when it comes to stabilization, you need the “S” lenses. So buying a third 24-70, a third 70-200 and then a second 14-24… “Meh.” I personally can’t stand Canon’s menu system and prefer Nikon’s. It’s just the way my brain works; I need menus and letters instead of tiny symbols and numbers. You might want to download manuals of the bodies you are interested in and give them a read. See how easy they are to operate. Even though the AF system might be “better” for now, it won’t do you any good fumbling through the menus and missing the shot. Take a look at some YouTube reviews with animal eye focus and certain camera bodies as some websites might be getting kick-backs for promoting a certain camera body. Remember, Mirrorless and Animal Eye Focus is brand new technology-wise. Don’t fall for the Marketing, glass is what matters, not some gizmo that you think will take your photography “To the NEXT LEVEL!!”

I was watching this video shortly before answering your question. He shoots with a R5. GIve it a watch:

No. That's just marketing trying to convince you that more is better. It also gives fodder for the "Measurebators" to argue / start flame-wars in online forums. LOL!! While it's true that you will get more detail the higher the Megapixel Count of the sensor, you have to consider where those images will be viewed. FB or Instagram on a Smart Phone? Maybe Flickr or 500px? You really don't need THAT MUCH in terms of MP. What more Megapixels do is allow you to crop in Post. Sometimes this works to your benefit, but most other times it allows people to be lazy and not move themselves to a better spot and re-compose. One of my biggest regrets when it comes to a camera purchase, is my Nikon D850 and it's stupid 45.1MP. You see, the more Megapixels you have, the larger the Raw files, which means the more resources from your computer will be required to support said files. Let me clarify... I bought the D850. I used my existing 24-70 f/2.8G and 70-200 f/2.8G lens. Turns out the D850 is hungry for the absolute best glass and my trusty old lenses really couldn't keep up. So add a new 24-70 f/2.8E and 70-200 f/2.8E. That's about $4000 or so after the D850 purchase. THEN the Raw files increased from around 26MB per file to almost 100MB per Raw file. My existing computer, which worked fine with my D4s and D700 practically cried out in pain. So I had to buy a new computer, upgrade it to 64GB, and then purchase a 12TB External HD. So that's a few thousand right there. See where I'm going with this? Not to mention I had to buy all new memory cards, because 32GB was equivalent to 8GB cards on my old cameras, and 64GB / 128GB have become my new normal. That stupid D850 has costed me so much money. If I had to do it all over again, I would have never bought a 45MP camera! Believe it or not, I have friends who have shot for Toyota and other manufactures doing commercial work...national campaign stuff and they are shooting with 12-16MP cameras!! You know what 45MP (or larger) cameras allow you to do? Be lazy and give you the ability to crop severely. The measure-bators will argue with me and tell me about all the fine detail and blah-blah-blah. Honestly? I'd rather you have a 24MP-ish camera and Professional Grade Glass vs a high MP camera and consumer-grade glass. Make sense? I've been published with a 12MP and 16MP camera. Flagship cameras that photograph the Olympics are around 20MP or so. I think of a 45MP camera body like a WWII "Bomber" and a Pro-Grade body like a Nikon D4s like a "Fighter Jet." When I shoot with my D850, I'm forced to slow down. Fortunately, my D850 is just for traveling and landscape work. When I shoot weddings and racing events, or anything important, my go-to body is my D4s. My next camera will probably be a Nikon Z6 II with 24-70 f/2.8 S. That's 24MP. Oh, Billboards...you don't need much in terms of resolution. In reality, you can print ANY size if you have at least 12MP or larger. Even 10MP is fine. The DPI on Billboards is between 5-7 DPI. That's right...single digits.

It seems to be a bug in Photoshop that's not playing nice with mac OS Big Sur. The “fix” is to use the latest version, 22.4.1. So try updating both to the latest versions. The other thing you can try is using an older version of PS, like PS CC 2019. Photoshop doesn’t over-write older versions, so you just have to find an older version to play with. (It’s in e Applications Folder.)