Would i be able to shoot wedding photography with a nikon 55-300mm lens?
I recently bought a nikon d3100 with a 18-55mm lens and would like to upgrade to a lens with some zoom and i was thinking about the nikon 55-300mm lens, i mean why not right? But would i be able to take quality wedding photos with a zoom lens like this without having to switch from 1 lens to another.
If you can't even pick a lens, you have no business even thinking about wedding photography.
Depends… Are you talking about taking wedding photos for fun or wedding photos for paying clients?
If it's for fun then yes, the 55-300 is a good range. Unfortunetly the lens has a very small maximum aperture (f5.6) so you'll be starved for light and will need to make your flash work harder or bump up your ISO to higher than ideal levels.
If it's for paying clients then HELL NO! To shoot weddings for paying clients you need AT A MINIMUM:
2 DSLRs
24-70 f2.8
70-200 f2.8
50 f1.4
2 ittl flashes
A junk lens as an emergency backup… In Canon I use a 24-105 f4, not sure what you would use in the Nikon branch.
This is the bare bones kit you should have to shoot weddings.
On top of that, if you don;t understand that the 55-300 isn't a good lens to shoot weddings with then you don;t have the skills needed to produce marketable images. If you don;t have the skills you risk ruining the brides wedding AND you run the risk of being sued.
Are you kidding? The 55-300mm lens has an aperture range of f/4.5-5.6 and you're asking us if it would be ok to shoot 'quality wedding photos'? No, of course not.
My advice to you is to stay well away from weddings.
Your 18 to 55mm will be of use at a wedding. A 55 to 300mm might be of use occasionally, but it would definitely not be an 'upgrade' in terms of general practicality at a wedding, and you would not use it often. As another answer says, if you know so little about the technicalities of photography you should not even be thinking about offering a service as a wedding photographer.
Best bet for weddings is a 17 to 50mm (or to 55mm) at a constant f2.8, but that will cost you over £800/$1200. You need the wideangle capability of 18 or 17mm, the 'normal' capability of around 27 to 33mm and the short tele of 50mm for portraits. You also need a good flashgun, not just the built-in flash.
Best to offer to be an assistent to a wedding photgrapher, and see how the business works before trying it on your own.
Weddings are tough photo assignments if done properly, are you sure you are ready? There's no room for error and if something happens - no way to reshoot it.
Planning
Visiting church
Going to rehearsal - shoot that for practice
Backup gear
Have an assistant
Plan the group shots
Wear deodorant - you will need it
Most pros charge hundreds if not thousands of dollars for prime wedding photography - because it is tough work and is supposed to last a lifetime.
Wedding assignments are expected to deliver traditional wedding images, complete with posed group shots - and very little of it is simple snapshots.
Good luck - see linked pages for more info
http://www.christophermaxwell.com/wedding-photography-tips.htm
http://improvephotography.com/3236/wedding-photography-tips
http://digital-photography-school.com/wedding-photography-21-tips-for-for-amateur-wedding-photographers