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View Full Version : Complete Amateur Shooting a Wedding!..Sort Of.


SoDak11
10th of December 2007 (Mon), 13:14
Hi Everyone.

I have been asked by a good friend of my older sister to shoot pictures at her (2nd) wedding on New Years Eve. She is having the "professional" pictures too, although they are being done by 2 people wanting to start a photography business, so not really professionals. What she wants me to do is pretty much take random snap shots of everything thats going on. Thus, the pressure isn't on me to make sure the "important" pictures turn out, but rather to take the place of your typical annoying Aunt Mildred who gets in the way taking crappy pictures with a crappy camera. Basically, word got around that I have taken some pretty mean pictures with my little canon digital elph, and thats what she is expecting-just a lot of good amateur photos that you could get from a point and shoot.

HOWEVER, using this paid job (probably 50 bucks) as an excuse, I have finally purchased something better. Just 1 week ago, I got a used 20d, and a 17-85mm IS, that came with the hood and UV Haze Filter. I also got the kit 18-55mm lens as well. I do not have an external flash, and really have no money for one, even though if anything calls for it, a wedding would be it.

So, while I am only expected to snap some shots and turn the disk over to them, I obviously would like to use this opportunity to go above and beyond, and really wow the couple.

So, while I am still figuring out how the heck to use the camera, and what they myriad of options at my disposal are and how they all interact, I'm thinking about what my best options and settings are for doing the best I can with what I got. Thus, 1 lens (unless I should be using the crappy kit lens for something) and more importantly NO EXTERNAL FLASH!

The days events will be taking place at all the usuals. Standard church for the wedding and a darker reception place, and a meal at a restaurant right after the wedding and before the reception. Again, this is a 2nd wedding, so it won't be as formal, and everything will be pretty small, except the reception/dance which is what most people are invited to.

So, I'm trying to read all I can about shooting at a wedding, but as you can imagine, most of it is for people who are going to be the "pro" photographer, not the amateur still figuring out how his camera works. I just want to know the best apertures, shutter speeds, iso, and everything else for everything that I will come across that day (3 weeks from today), and how to get along without the external flash. So give me any advice you got, and I'll try to put it to use. Oh, and I'll definitely be shooting in RAW so I can do what I can afterwards as well.

THANKS!

picturecrazy
10th of December 2007 (Mon), 14:32
If you want to wow them, you are going to need a flash. The pop-up flash will not wow anyone, really.

Buy an old autoflash on ebay and learn how to use it with your camera. I have one and get excellent results on all my digital bodies. A couple choices are Canon 199A, nikon Sb24/28 which have safe triggering voltages.
I have the 199A and it's awesomely accurate, and I picked it up for $35.

JMHPhotography
11th of December 2007 (Tue), 15:06
Why would you get the 18-55mm lens when you already had a 17-85mm? I'd sell that piece of, uhmmm kit lens and use the money to buy a speedlight. Seriously... unless you're shooting during the day outside, the little flippy flash is almost always useless and incapable of producing wow. You can forget about "best apertures" because neither lens you have is capable of that. f/2.8 or less. I'd listen to Lloyd and go for the 199A if you can find one. Also... use ISO1600 on the 20D... it's just fine. Using the IS of the lens will help you with the shutter speed because you're gonna want to be around 1/30 or slower to pick up some ambient light... and almost always, that light is going to be tungsten or incandescent so you're going to have to deal with mixed lighting. Not ideal, but it is what it is. I don't know if you have the time to get some color correction gels and learn how to incorporate them.

blueM
11th of December 2007 (Tue), 18:35
50mm f/1.8 might be another choice. Not the best, but reasonably fast. I did a party like this with my 20D, no external flash & my 50 1.4. I was lucky it wasn't too dark. If you have enough CF you might shoot RAW (figure about 100 shots per GB). Shooting RAW will make it easier to fix WB

Just my $0.02

SoDak11
12th of December 2007 (Wed), 12:34
Thanks for the advice. I might have to cave and buy a flash.

When I said I also got the kit lens, what I meant was that it came with the camera. I didn't buy it separately. It just happened to come with the used body that I ended up winning on ebay. Perhaps I could sell that separately to help pay for a flash....

tim
12th of December 2007 (Wed), 20:21
You could rent a flash. I have a wedding FAQ linked from my sig, it seems to have been un-stickied. I don't like the 17-85 or the 50 1.8, the 17-85 is probably the better choice. Rent a 17-55 if you can. Shoot in P mode, it works pretty well. Shoot RAW so you can tweak things later. P mode only goes to ISO400, I think. If it's really dark you might like to go to Av mode and increase the ISO to 1600 or 3200 - 3200 is enabled via a custom function. You can have flash on or off when you use a high ISO - practice, practice, practice in advance.

tim
12th of December 2007 (Wed), 20:22
A useful resource is this forum (http://www.weddingfotoforum.com/forum/), you'll get more advice.