Wedding photographs

[mav496]

Hey there, I'm new to the POTN so hope i have posted in the correct place! Admin, please move if not.

Anyhows, my question is.... I'm going to a wedding tomorrow and would like to catch some nice shots of the bride etc. I'm only going as a guest and not THE photographer!

What I would like to know is how I can get some nice clear crisp shots of the bride and wedding party etc without looking like I'm using a point and shoot, and would like to use the manual settings etc.
The weather is due to overcast/light drizzle, so i'm wondering if you can give me any advice?

My kit is a 400d with kit 18-55mm lens, a 70-300mm lens and a Sigma flash. I'm not expecting amazing images, but would like to know what sort of settings would be best used etc. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

[griptape]

This seems as though you're asking for a full blown tutorial on how to take pictures. I don't think a day is long enough to learn how to take good pictures. Your overcast skies are perfect, as clouds are just nature's soft box.

Your settings should be correct. What is correct? Well that depends on the light (quantity of it as well as quality of it). There's not a 10 minute "set your camera like this" answer unfortunately. You may be better off shooting in Tv mode and making sure your shutter speed is high enough to avoid motion blur.

And remember not to rely on the LCD to see if the picture is blurry or not. At 2.5", a lot of things look clear when they aren't.

Do you have any specific concerns, or specific types of shots you're looking to get, or certain things you want to avoid?

[mav496]

This seems as though you're asking for a full blown tutorial on how to take pictures. I don't think a day is long enough to learn how to take good pictures. Your overcast skies are perfect, as clouds are just nature's soft box.

Your settings should be correct. What is correct? Well that depends on the light (quantity of it as well as quality of it). There's not a 10 minute "set your camera like this" answer unfortunately. You may be better off shooting in Tv mode and making sure your shutter speed is high enough to avoid motion blur.

And remember not to rely on the LCD to see if the picture is blurry or not. At 2.5", a lot of things look clear when they aren't.

Do you have any specific concerns, or specific types of shots you're looking to get, or certain things you want to avoid?


Thanks for you input!
I'm not asking for a full tutuorial, I was just wondering really what was the best setting to use. I want to use the manual settings more, and have generally used the "P" setting.

I'm just asking what are the best settings to get clear shots of the happy couple, with the possibilty of a blurred background etc.

Any help appreciated!!

[griptape]

If you can buy, read, and absorb the book "understanding exposure" by Bryan Peterson in the next few hours before the wedding, that's about your only hope.

Like I said, the best settings are the correct settings. Knowing what is correct takes experience and practice.

[toyguru]

Whew! I'm going to have to agree with Griptape. There are really no magic settings that will give you the holy grail of picutres. I would probably stick with the Tv modes to avoid blur and the Av mode if you want to play around with background blur and play around with apertures 4.0 and wider.

If you're used to using the "P" setting I don't think that a wedding is a venue to experiment with new settings that you are not comfortable with. I hope that this does not come across condescending!

[mav496]

If you can buy, read, and absorb the book "understanding exposure" by Bryan Peterson in the next few hours before the wedding, that's about your only hope.

Like I said, the best settings are the correct settings. Knowing what is correct takes experience and practice.

Thanks for you help Griptape, I'll hopefully post some pictures up afterwards and see what C & C i get !!!

[DStanic]

If you can use an external flash (not during the ceremony usually):

Set it to M, ISO400 1/200 and the lowest aperture

No flash- Av mode, keep it at 1/60 or higher. Hope there is enough lighting to use ISO800 (or less), but if you have to use ISO1600.

I just got back from a wedding rehersal tonight, shooting tomorrow. I'll be using my 400D + 550EX + Sigma 24-60 f/2.8 in the church. I'm glad I have f/2.8 aperture to work with! My test shots from tonight (6:30pm) weren't bad (they should be "good" tomorrow during the day, it's gonna be nice weather). Without the flash I did shots at ISO800 and ISO1600. The shots at ISO1600 had a hell of alot of noise, the 400D just isn't a great wedding cam I don't think.

[inthegarden]

Besides setting/technical questions -- I would like to say as a wedding photographer to be careful about shooting while the official photographer is shooting. I've had people try to shoot at the same time and the subjects become confused as to where to look, etc. As well, sometimes other flashes go off and spoil a shot for the photog who was set to take the shot in ambient light . . . etc.

[mav496]

Besides setting/technical questions -- I would like to say as a wedding photographer to be careful about shooting while the official photographer is shooting. I've had people try to shoot at the same time and the subjects become confused as to where to look, etc. As well, sometimes other flashes go off and spoil a shot for the photog who was set to take the shot in ambient light . . . etc.


Many thanks to all for the answers and advice! I didn't take any of the advice as condecending and thoroughly appreciate your time and patience in giving me advice!

I've yet to get the photos off the card, but when i do, i'll post them up!

Thanks again

[form]

Use shutter speeds only as fast as you need to avoid camera shake blur. Up your ISO if you need to.

Don't stick to the same angles; look at your subject from below, from above, from perspective angles, from sides, from the front and sometimes from the rear. Look for interesting or catching expressions. Smiles are often better than a stern face.

Use landscape, portrait and diagonal framing angles. Shoot the same image in each angle if you don't know which is best.

Use the rule of thirds mentioned in hundreds and hundreds of photography technique sites throughout the web. Also try to use lines.

Get up close and personal often; don't try to capture absolutely everything in one picture because the presence of too many objects can easily be distracting and take away from the quality of the photo. Keep it simple.

Try to notice anything and everything in the picture that intersects the faces or subjects, and avoid them by changing your angle, zooming, or moving the subjects. Intersecting objects detract from the image. Avoid having poles and other things seemingly going through the subjects/heads.

The brightest points in an image often draw the eye; don't allow distracting highlights, on edges of the frame or elsewhere, unless it is directly complementary to the subject. Pay attention to what's in the frame.

If you must add something in the frame besides the subjects/people, make sure it fits in the context of the occasion or mood. If it's the main subject, use your judgement about focusing on it vs. the people.

Backgrounds should be patterned, blurred, complementary or otherwise NOT distracting from the main subject.

_________

These are all things I now do, or try to do, whenever I possibly can and whenever I am able to think about them.

[cyrn]

Best wedding photographs isn't about settings... it's about telling the story.

It's mainly about composition and exposure... all are highly situation dependent. Only actual experience can really teach.

[SuzyView]

Hope the OP just had fun at the wedding. I don't really enjoy shooting at weddings I'm not the pro. Just enjoy and don't worry about it. If you want to shoot a few, fine, and you've never done it before, just go on P, set the flash on if indoors, and go. Enjoy it!