First Time 350D Wedding - advice Needed

[tartantt]

Hi there,

I am totally new to SLR photography so i realy am coming in as a total novice.

I bought the 350D because I wanted to take some good pics at my sisters wedding at the end of september this year and was sick of my Fuji M603 compact.

I am going to experiment with the camera but would appreciate any guidance on do's and don'ts for the wedding photos. Its a church wedding and then on to a stately home so I am wondering if I keep on the automatic programs, and if so which ones work best, or go "off piste" and go semi manual. I really dont know enough to fully manual as I am just feeling my way with F-stops, exposure, white balance - its all a foreign language to me at the moment but you have to start somewhere !!

Any feedback would be gratefully received

[nitschke65]

Do:
Practice selecting focus point
Practice setting ISO
Practice using AV (aperture priority) so you can leave lens wide open in low light
Learn how to lock exposure and focus and then recompose
Don't:
Use flash in the church
Take too many pictures that are better than the pro's ;)

Good Luck!

[Dimitry]

Do:

Don't:Use flash in the church


That actually really depends on the priest/minister. The 5 or 6 weddings I've done so far, I had no problem using flash. I just asked before hand if we're allowed to or not.

[nitschke65]

That actually really depends on the priest/minister. The 5 or 6 weddings I've done so far, I had no problem using flash. I just asked before hand if we're allowed to or not.

When I am the pro, I always talk to the officiant before the ceremony to go over the "house rules." When I am just another guest with a camera, I turn my flash off to allow the pro to do what he needs to do. I wouldn't want my 580, or even my on camera, accidently blowing up one side of the bride while the pro in the aisle is trying to work.

I am assuming that our friend "tartantt" is not THE wedding photographer.

[tim]

It's very unlikely that a flash will go off at the same time as someone elses, except maybe during the kiss. Flash is about 1/1000th of a second. The issue with flash is it's distracting for the couple, the priest, and the guest, so I don't use flash. The noise of the camera's distracting enough.

[Dimitry]

It's very unlikely that a flash will go off at the same time as someone elses, except maybe during the kiss. Flash is about 1/1000th of a second. The issue with flash is it's distracting for the couple, the priest, and the guest, so I don't use flash. The noise of the camera's distracting enough.

I'm guessing you end up using a high ISO, low f stop, with an IS lens? Otherwise I'm not sure how else a shot in most churches would come out crisp without flash.

[nitschke65]

It's very unlikely that a flash will go off at the same time as someone elses, except maybe during the kiss. Flash is about 1/1000th of a second. The issue with flash is it's distracting for the couple, the priest, and the guest, so I don't use flash. The noise of the camera's distracting enough.

Great. Once again lets get totally off topic. I'd say a typical modern flash duration would be between 1/3000 and 1/30000 of a second. But if I'm standing in the aisle with my Blad at 1/45, that's the only thing that matters in the equation. Your flash can go off at any time during my exposure. The cameras don't have to fire at the exact same time, and yes, it's happened to me. (I'd post a pic, but it's on film and I just can't find the one I'm thinking of.)

You are correct that the distraction factor is even more of an annoyance to everyone at the wedding. So, there you go, tartantt, more reasons not to use flash. Just be prepared to leave the church praying for ways to afford faster lenses.

[tim]

Dimitry, yes.

Great. Once again lets get totally off topic.

N00bs here are usually polite, at least to start with. You do make valid points though, shooting with low shutter speeds and no flash you're more likely to get a guests flash in the exposure. When I shoot like that I shoot more exposures, just in case.

[nitschke65]

I may be a noob in this forum, but I am not new to photography. Tartantt is "totally new to SLR photography." He/she finds this forum, and asks a question. Almost three hours later, I am the first to respond, with some simple advise. No one else has offered him any help at all. If this is a forum, I'd like to stay. If I'm trying to squeeze in to some exclusive clique, let me know, and I'll go on my merry way. Be the devil's advocate, if you must, but at least stay on the topic.:evil:

[tim]

I was commenting on this post you made below. Threads wander all over the place, and often end up helping the original poster because they don't even know what questions to ask, let alone the answers.

When I am the pro, I always talk to the officiant before the ceremony to go over the "house rules." When I am just another guest with a camera, I turn my flash off to allow the pro to do what he needs to do. I wouldn't want my 580, or even my on camera, accidently blowing up one side of the bride while the pro in the aisle is trying to work.

[DiscoLizard]

Chris - I'd suggest look at getting a fast lens (low f-number) - that way you give yourself more scope to shoot in low light. I believe there are places that rent lenses in the UK, I haven't found any here in NZ.

Put your camera into AV mode, and dial that f-number down as low as you can (keep in mind that the depth of field gets smaller as you dial it down), and check the results on the lcd as you take them. Make sure you're seeing the histogram as you review each image (press the info button twice to put it into this mode).

Also, shoot in RAW, which will mean that you can make a lot of adjustments afterwards, allowing you to save shots that might otherwise be deleted.

[tartantt]

:oops:

Hi there,

Good grief, I really set off a hornets nest there didn't I. Didn't realise it was such a risky subject !!

Thanks to you all and for those that asked, I'm a bloke. I will practice using the camera and thanks again for all the advice, it really is very much appreciated.

Lets see if I can get that 1 in a million shot that the pro doesn't get !!!

Chris