Need wedding help!

[nickOH]

I am shooting a wedding this friday,

It is going to be around dusk, with probably only lights at the park to shoot with. The shots will most probably be of the bride and party getting out of the limo's walking across to the boat etc... There may also be shots facing the city, with all of the big buildings, this would be across the river. Obviously I will be needing flash.

What would you recommend to use, setting wise. And how would you recommend I use the flash, on e-ttl etc... Is there a way to use a high shutter speed, flash, and keep the city lights in the background without one overpowering the other.

For the shots getting out of the car, and the potrait shots, should i use my nifty fifty, or use my 18-55 and more flash? I really cant afford to use a low shutter speed, as I need to keep moving. I would also like to use a fairly low iso due to the noise factor on my 400D.

So basically there will be minimal natural light, and i need flash. What should I do to get the best possible shots?

Thanking You
Nick

[Mike]

Don't be afraid of bumping your iso up to 800 if you need it - better to have a shot decently exposed without camera shake and with a touch of noise than to have a blurry noise free image. Your nifty will help get you a decent shutter speed though.

[nickOH]

I think my nifty will only end up with a shutter speed of around 1/10 max if I dont bother using a flash, and I cant see that ending up shake free without a tripod, which is pointless considering ill be on the move, and so will they.

So if I use the flash I can get a shutter speed of 1/200 no problems, on 200 iso, and its a underexposed on the background, but the flash fill is good. The shadows sort of concern me but, as it always will with flash. But I still wish to have the background as part of the photo, so how can I go about this, with using flash, and having a decent shutter speed?

[ofdphoto]

Have a read here:

http://planetneil.com/tangents/

And get out and practise.

[nickOH]

Thanks for that link, it was really helpful.

I have been trying to practice as much as possible really, trying to recreate scenes. Its just that I will constantly be moving taking the first bunch of shots, and I need a high shutter speed to stop the motion blur, but I wish to keep the ambient light noticable as well... Impossible I presume?

[JimAskew]

Have a read here:

http://planetneil.com/tangents/

And get out and practise.

Excellent link...thanks for sharing this one :)

I second the suggestion to practice, practice, practice :D

[highway0691]

Don't hesitate to use high ISO. It's not like the film days where 400 iso was risky. I'd much prefer a photo with a bit of noise rather than a blurred or underexposed one. I'd be using TV mode, set shutter to around 100th sec. Use flash - practice with manual mode at full power.(but be careful with this as it's all too easy to overexpose with this - esp the white dress)

Another setting that I have used religiously over the years with a fill-flash is F8, 125th sec, subject within 1.5 - 2.5 metres. Also - nowadays shooting raw gives you room to compensate for exposure error.

Make sure you practice - go there a couple of days before the event at the same time of day and see how it goes.

Good luck

damian

[SuzyView]

The 50 1.8 will be the best choice, but really practice, and flash is okay. Weddings are so hard, but if you are set to do this, tripod.

[ofdphoto]

Thanks for that link, it was really helpful.

I have been trying to practice as much as possible really, trying to recreate scenes. Its just that I will constantly be moving taking the first bunch of shots, and I need a high shutter speed to stop the motion blur, but I wish to keep the ambient light noticable as well... Impossible I presume?

Motion blur in the background is part of the fun of dragging the shutter (a technique described in the link I gave you). Don't be afraid of it. And, as everyone else has said, use high ISO. 800, 1600, no worries.