Trying to stay calm...

[ghaleon109]

I have a wedding that I was asked to do for my cousin coming up in April. I've been preparing for it for quite some time now, books, practice with exposure, ect. I really want to do a good job as it is my first wedding so I was expecting it to be difficult. However, I was just informed today that it will be an evening wedding...

I'm not doing it for money, mainly just experience, as it's either me or they dont have a photographer. ( Sounds a lot like Tim's FAQ :oops: )

I'm trying not to freak out, but all I have in my head at the moment is a pitch black alter with a few of those orange floursecent lanterns for ambient light. I'll be going there in a few weeks to see the location ahead of time so I guess I'll know for sure then. But do any of you have any experience with weddings in the evening?

I'll find out the schedule in a few weeks as well, it could be a sunset deal which would seem rather nice, but still quite a deal harder than a sunny afternoon.

Thanks,
Mike

[mytwogirls]

The first wedding I did was back in October. The ceremony was at outside on a patio at 7pm, much like the vision you have in your head of what you don't want it to be like. I checked out the location at that exact time of day about two days before the wedding just to see what I was really dealing with. I used my 580EX straight on and shot in manual during the ceremony using 800 ISO. Although I did some of the formal group shots before the ceremony on a lighted, covered patio, I ended up having to do some large family group shots in the same location as the ceremony. I used the same settings for those and was able to produce enough light with my flash to expose a group of 16 people.

I guess it was meant to be that I shot my first wedding in the worst lighting conditions possible. If I can do that I know I can do a good job in the right light!

[ghaleon109]

Thanks for that,

It looks as though every shot is going to need a flash, doesn't seem all too flattering but I'll have to test the 580 a lot to see what I can get from it. Should be here by the end of the week hopefully.

The wedding is supposed to start at 5:30 and I checked ahead on some weather sites and the sun should be going down around 7:00 so if all goes well there may be some shots at the alter as the sun is just going down :) ( keeping the fingers crossed :lol: )

Thanks for the tips :D
Mike

[tim]

First thoughts are that i'd use high iso and fill flash if there was ambient light, or multiple flashes if there wasn't. If I were in your place I probably wouldn't panic, i'd just warn the customer that in low light the photos won't be as good as they would otherwise be.

[Phil V]

My guess would be that 2 hrs before sunset, with a little imagination re bouncing your flash you'll get much better pictures than you would at midday in the Californian sun.
Remember quality pictures aren't about 'how much' light, they're about the quality of light. I'd take quality over quantity any day of the week (not just in light);) .

[Raphael V]

I agree with Phil. I shoot a lot of weddings both in the day time and the evenings. And the evening weddings are a joy to shoot.
The events are brightly lit over here. Additionally we have the light from the video which we can use creatively. Inside the church I shoot with ISO 800 and a very few with ISO 1600 without flash for that particular warm ambient effect.
Out side the church where the venue is brightly lit I use direct flash with ISO 100, or bounce the flash wherever possible. Before you bounce the flash remeber to do the custom white balance or else you will get a yellow cast (if you are shooting only in Jpeg).
Shooting in RAW will be safer. Do some practice with the flash for FEC. The flash meter may get fooled by the contrasty lighting and dressing. You can experiment with Slow Sync (dragging the shutter) also, as it will yield interesting results.
PS: do all the experiments before the wedding and not at the wedding.

[ghaleon109]

Well back from a few long days at campus, but thank you all for your coments! :)

I had a talk with the bride, as well as the people who run the location and things dont sound all that bad now. If the schedule goes to plan they should finishing up the ceremony just as the sun is going down :D Not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be...

Both the flash and zoom that I'll be using at the wedding arrived as well, so I should have just enough time to practice with everything. Pretty excited now lol

Thanks again everyone,
Mike