wedding party help

[saggy9999]

looking for some tips and advice for a future small job

I have been asked by a friend to take pics at a wedding party when I return from my holidays
basically the wedding is taking place in Cyprus and when the happy couple return they are holding a big party for all their family and friends
they will be wearing there wedding outfits to teh party that is being held in a hall that does not have the best of lighting

so first up they are not expecting any great masterpieces
will I get away with shooting using my 300d with the kit lens and my Sigma 500DG super flash with the camera set to P mode

they will want a few posed shots and then shots of the guests at the party ect
I may try to get there early and get shots of everyone arriving ??
anyone have any ideas to help

this is why I prefer sports photography :lol:

[saggy9999]

nobody??

[pdrow]

Hello,
You might try reading in some of the other areas of the forum. Check out COrnering the Pros and Talk about Photography. Weddings are covered a great deal in those forums.
Good Luck
Pam

[DavidEB]

Use your 50 f1.8 as much as you can, the extra stops of light over the kit lens will make a big difference. Your 80-200 f2.8 will also be a better low-light lens than the kit lens. Get neat image or noise ninja to reduce noise and shoot at high ISOs. You can fix noise but you can't fix shake from a slow shutter speed. Bring a tripod, and a monopod. Bring more memory and batteries than you think you need. Bring lens and sensor cleaners, just in case.

Find out if the hall has high ceilings -- if not, you can use bounce flash. If it does, get a flash diffuser of some sort (buy a lightsphere or experiment with a plastic container adapted to your flash). A flash bracket and off-camera cable also help at controlling shadows.

Pay attention to white balance (indoors in mixed ambient + flash lighting this is tricky), and use the histogram to avoid blowing highlights on white wedding clothes. Read everything here that Bloo Dog posts.

good luck,