low light church photo's

[tangy1]

I'm doing some candid shots for a friends wedding. The church is very low light and as flashes are not permitted what settings does anyone recommend?
I was thinking of shooting in TV instead of my usual AV mode.
I have a Canon 450d, 28-135is, 70-200f4 non is, speedlite 430II and a ST-E3 flash transmitter(for the receiption)
Any suggestions?
Thanks Kelvin.

[nicksan]

Buy a faster lens...

F4 lens is probably too slow for dimly lit church pics.

If you stick with static subjects or posed pics, then you might get away with the lens with IS.

Tv/Av won't matter much. You'd be maxed out anyways.

Av, max aperture, ISO boosted to where you feel comfortable...see what kind of shutter speed you get.

[OdiN1701]

A 2.8 w/ IS is needed lots of times when I'm shooting in darker churches.

Also get a monopod and use that.

[Ty G]

rent a fast lens, and charge it to your friend. You can rent at many GOOD camera stores or even online.

[tangy1]

Thanks. But I am not really looking to get a new lens just for some candid weddings shots at the moment.
just after an idea on settings with the lenes I currently have.
I also have a Tamron 90 macro which from memory is 2.8.
kelvin

[Robert16]

Go to the church beforehand if you can and fire off a few test shots. Shoot in RAW and shoot manual with a high iso - better to get noisy shots than blurred ones. If you shoot in TV you will miss loads. Have a go with manual, honest.

[DStanic]

Tv mode instead of Av mode woun't be all that different- instead of getting too slow a shutter speed you might underexpose instead. Hopefully the IS on your 28-135 can keep up with the low light, cause that will be your only chance with the lenses you have. My 70-200 f/2.8 (which has no IS) was pretty much useless in a wedding I shot. My 24-60 2.8 did a good job, but I still had to shoot at ISO800-1600. Perhaps get a 50mm 1.8 if you can? With a flash, you can use whatever lens you want. And make sure you shoot in RAW!

[chauncey]

As Robert so elequently said, :lol: go practice first and shot RAW.

[MCB]

How big do you want your prints to be? I'm not familiar with the 450D high ISO performance, but it's probably fine for small prints. If you are planning on some 4x6 and 5x7 prints, ISO 1600 might be okay. My 350 was fairly good at 800... I've been very surprised at my luck with 800 and 1600 on my 40D.

Anyway, crank your ISO waaaayyyyy up. The noise will look artsy in B&W, blur just looks like crap.

Good luck!

[Chris]

Another vote for shooting this in manual mode at 1600. I do it all the time and if it is too noisy I run it through neat image. If you do have a 2.8 lens and shoot at 1600 you will be able to stop the motion. You may have trouble with your 28-135. It is likely that it will hunt for focus at just the wrong time.

[brian_jackson]

Others have said it, but you're going to need some fast glass. 28 f/1.8, 85 f/1.8 are inexpensive ~$300 each and serve double duty: backup and allows you to shoot in crappy lite situations. If you don't want to but them, rent them for $20-30 at the local pro camera store.

f/1.8 is 2.5 stops brighter than f/4. :)

good luck

[stathunter]

Others have said it, but you're going to need some fast glass. 28 f/1.8, 85 f/1.8 are inexpensive ~$300 each and serve double duty: backup and allows you to shoot in crappy lite situations. If you don't want to but them, rent them for $20-30 at the local pro camera store.

f/1.8 is 2.5 stops brighter than f/4. :)

good luck

Ditto. No way in heck you will be able to get away with f/4 in low light.........I tend to use my f/4 for outdoor use only. You might get a good shot but you will have tons that will not work. In wedding work you can get away with a few bad shots but the majority have to be right on. Rent a lens and still do not be afraid to shoot 1600.

[cdifoto]

I have a Canon 450d, 28-135is, 70-200f4 non is, speedlite 430II and a ST-E3 flash transmitter(for the receiption)

Thanks. But I am not really looking to get a new lens just for some candid weddings shots at the moment.
Sometimes, you just have to know when you're whipped and accept it. If you're lucky, it'll be a bright enough church for f/4. I wouldn't count on it though.

A professional is going to have the optics necessary. That's why they're the professional.

[stathunter]

Sometimes, you just have to know when you're whipped and accept it. If you're lucky, it'll be a bright enough church for f/4. I wouldn't count on it though.

A professional is going to have the optics necessary. That's why they're the professional.

Heck Kelvin see if you will not rent the right lens for the location than ask your friend if they will move the location to outside or if he likes dark blurry photos. Please share the results of your shoot.

[Zansho]

Bump up your ISO, shoot in manual, and get a faster lens. 2.8 is generally good enough to pull off in most situations.

I find that monopods generally get in the way for me, and I can shoot pretty well using my 24-70 2.8 at 1/30th of a second, provided that I take care that the scene itself isn't fast moving.

Might even want to ask if a flash is allowed - some churches allow flash, but don't count on it.

[gravy graffix]

im not sure shooting at 3200 is going to help... can you afford 70 bucks? grab a 50mm 1.8, everyone should have this baby...

if not, shoot in Av set ev to -2/3 which will up your shutter speed a bit and see what you get... start at iso 1600 and hope you get 80/sec shutter or better...

[KJImages]

Hey Kelvin,

What I do is use my 70-200 2.8 IS L on a tripod or monopod and set your camera to continuous mode. Since teh bride and groom won't be moving much at the altar, this will make sure that you get some great shots without any motion blur. I shoot at ISO 1600 at 2.8 all the time as we have LOTS of cave like churches here in Dallas!:)

Kevin
www.kjimages.com

[0(ʹͦˋ¿ˊͦˋ)0]

A couple of weeks ago I had my first event inside a church. I used a 17-50 2.8 lens @ ISO1600 and I realize that it's not enough. Two things that I would try next time, 50mm 1.4(I may have to move a lot) and 70-200 2.8 on tripod.
If I were you I'll rent a 50mm 1.4