Speedlite and groups of people - advice please

[leehal]

Hello,

I am taking some photographs for a friends wedding anniversary tomorrow night and need some advice !

I haven't really used my Speedlite that much and I wouldn't mind some tips on settings for taking groups of people/close ups of couples etc.

I was intending to use my 55mm lens and the Speedlite, would anyone recommend using any of my other lenses ?

I have also got into the habit of using the A-DEP setting for groups of people rather than manual to save changing the depth of field all of the time - does this setting work OK with the Speedlite attached ?

One last question - is ISO 100 the best setting to use ?

The party is in a castle, I expect very high ceilings but quite good light.

Any tips greatly received :lol:

[robertwgross]

First of all, you said it was at night. I'm not sure what kind of light you expect to get into high ceilings. You will need to rely completely on your Speedlite, not bounced.

I don't know what your 55mm lens is. Focal lengths from 50 to 100mm make the most sense. If you use a wider lens, your flash will be closer to the subjects, and therefore maybe brighter. If you use a very wide lens, then your flash will not reach edge-to-edge.

As long as you have your subjects in a single row, then A-DEP doesn't make much sense. Maybe, if you are trying to get the background in focus also.

If the subjects are wearing dark clothing, and if the background is dark (as I would guess), then getting some side light to hit on the shoulders would be a good idea. That will help outline where the shoulders are with respect to the background.

---Bob Gross---

[WestFalcon]

I would use ASA 200 and set the camera to F8 at 125th of a second. The camera/flash should give you good exposures at about 20 feet or so. If your histogram looks underexposed, change to asa 400....use to ttl setting. What kind of flash do you have?

[leehal]

Its a Speedlite 420EX, that and the other lenses I have are in my signature.

Thanks for the tips so far !

[Vegas Poboy]

I would use the 17-40 lens 7 start my camera off with 1/60@ f/8. Then adjust from there, if you need more lighting go to 1/30 to pick up ambient lighting.