What backup gear should I use for weddings?

“Starting to shoot weddings this year, don’t have any backup gear – what do you suggest?” You want to field this one?

Taylor: Um, yeah. As I upgrade camera bodies my old favourite just kind of becomes my backup gear. Originally I purchased – I forget what it was. I think a Nikon D-200, and that just kind of sat in my car forever ,and then I kind of got to the point where I was a little bit worried if I had to go back and go back to it because I knew that it was not on par with my other gear. And yes, it is a backup, but it would not have given me the same files, and I would’ve had to have been a lot more careful with lighting and everything to do with my photography.

Dave: So true.

Taylor: I’m a little more easy going and laid back, and I don’t know – my exposures are pretty close most of the time, but sometimes – I don’t know – you just get lazy or you get switching from sun to inside in a couple seconds and you just have to give it a few spins on your [ . . . ] in there. So yeah, that’s kind of what I would suggest – just pick up a smaller body.

Dave: And even something used, as long as it feels like it’s in good [condition]. Like even stuff off Kijiji, you can buy backup gear. Because we don’t want to blow our photography budgets on backup gear – that’s something you don’t want to do.

Taylor: To date, I haven’t had to use it, so fingers crossed. I used to shoot two bodies – that’s kind of why I was more interested in having a more topical line of body, but now I’ve just kind of gone back to one and I’ve just kind of let that [be].

Dave: Like worst case scenario, if you only have like, one good quality zoom as your main lens and you’re looking for a backup thing, like I think having a cheap 50 mil on a Rebel or whatever it is – or the Nikon equivalent – it could get you through a wedding. And I actually had that happen.

We were at a wedding in Barbados and it was pouring down, and I was running between two buildings and the camera I was using was a 5D – like, on destination weddings we try to travel light, so we each originally had the one 5D, one each – so I went to the bride, and I knew she was a photographer and I’m like, “can I borrow your camera?” Because I ended up not having backup gear which was scary, and it’s made us much more aware.

Taylor: It’s hard, though, travelling with [multiple cameras]. It really opens you up to just be a target. You’re carrying three camera bodies past customs or something like that – I don’t know.

Dave: Totally. Makes you look like a target.