Should I have bought the 17-40 f/4?

[Mowman]

My older sister is getting married in about a month and a half and I plan on taking a lot of pictures of the groom getting ready and at the reception. I am not the primary photographer but want to take the best pictures that I can. I have not seen the reception area, but I believe at one end is a set of large glass doors to the outside. So here's my dilema: I jumped on a used 17-40 f/4 to replace my kit lens. I was thinking about a f/2.8 lens for the longest time, but pulled the trigger on the 17-40. I plan to use the lens for motocross and general pictures. Should I have waited and bought a f/2.8 for the indoor reception, or will the f/4 be fast enough?

[Padawan Dad]

Originally Posted by Mowman

My older sister is getting married in about a month and a half and I plan on taking a lot of pictures of the groom getting ready and at the reception. I am not the primary photographer but want to take the best pictures that I can. I have not seen the reception area, but I believe at one end is a set of large glass doors to the outside. So here's my dilema: I jumped on a used 17-40 f/4 to replace my kit lens. I was thinking about a f/2.8 lens for the longest time, but pulled the trigger on the 17-40. I plan to use the lens for motocross and general pictures. Should I have waited and bought a f/2.8 for the indoor reception, or will the f/4 be fast enough?

f/4 might not be the best choice for indoor receptions. You should get by with some flash. Point is, you want it for motorcross and general pictures. The 17-40 is a stellar lens... I owned it. Only sold it to fund my 17-55 2.8. My line of work is weddings, and this works better for me.

You got a great lens. If you are just doing indoor wedding shots this once, and are concerned about a higher aperature, rent a lens for the occasion.

[jamiewexler]

I used a 17-40 on my primary (flash) body for most of last year (just bought the 17-55 and haven't used it since). When used indoors with a flash (or outdoors without one), I found it to be an excellent lens: sharp, with fast accurate AF. Most receptions are so dark, that I even need a flash with f2.8, so you'd need a flash anyway. If funds are tight, add a 50 f1.8 for the instances when you need a better light gatherer, and you should be golden.

Do you have a flash with a bounce head?

[Mowman]

I already own a 50 1.8 and a 580EX. I am counting on the 580EX to help me out a fair amount. I have the omnibounce for it, but found out that the reception hall has a wood plank and beam ceiling, so bouncing is out. I also picked up a Sekonic L-358 light meter, that I think might be useful if I can get into the reception area before hand. I am thinking about possibly getting a bracket for the flash and/or possibly a lightsphere or flip it. Not sure yet on those.

[sapearl]

I've got the 24 - 105mm L f/4 and do a fair amount of wedding work with the 580ex and a Newton Bracket. The f/4 aperture is not a problem for me.

For the reception hall shots point the strobe straight up, have the white "kicker" card extended, set your ISO for 800, set the camera for Manual, aperture for f/8 at 1/30 sec. This will work very well for your shots within the 5 - 20ft range. If things start getting a little underexposed at extreme distance, dial in some FEC+ on the flash. For even greater distance, tilt the flash down to straight on. The key though is running the camera on manual in this dim circumstances. - Stu

[tim]

You'll have to use flash, so practice your flash tecnhique (diffusers, bouncing) to see what you like well in advance of the wedding. Practice in a similar situtaions - dark, room size, mixed lights. I suggest ISO800 or faster so you pick up some ambient light.

[islandphoto]

sometimes the bounce has a very nice effect in a dark room!

[Mowman]

Wouldn't bouncing off of wood planks and wood beams defeat the purpose of bouncing and give me a lot of brown hues??

[tim]

Try it and see. In general, probably.

[sapearl]

Yes, that will happen to some degree.

A couple of weeks ago I shot the signing ceremony for the marriage contract at a Jewish ceremony (referred to as "Signing the Ketubah"). This was done in a dimly lit study, dark wall panels, cream colored ceiling, and incandescent lamps with low wattage bulbs; not a picture-friendly environment. Using only available light would have been out of the question and a disaster. The way I dealt with this after significant experimentation/chimping was to:

1. Shoot RAW - which I do at all my weddings anyway,
2. Again, have the 5D set for Manual, AWB, ISO 800, and
3. Set the 580 for FEC+ 1/3 up to as much +1, depending upon distance to the subject, and "other" reflecting or light sucking factors.

I knew the color balance would be off a little even with AWB, but shooting RAW makes that VERY easy to fix. I just eye-ball it in ACR later on, adjusting for the bride's white dress and just about everything falls into place. And the more of these you do, the better you get.

The results of sequence was a very nice series of pleasantly lit, touching, emotional shots. The B&G really liked the proofs when we sat down for the review session.

Originally Posted by Mowman

Wouldn't bouncing off of wood planks and wood beams defeat the purpose of bouncing and give me a lot of brown hues??

[sapearl]

Oh....one very important thing I forget to mention. I've got the 580 set for AUTO even though the camera is running on manual.

From years of experimentation with film, I know what works with a manual MF rig and an in your face Metz potato masher. So with the Canon fill-flash system, I just let the smarts of the 580 sort things out in it's usual conversation with the camera. - Stu

[sapearl]

Joanna, I certainly I agree with that - often soft, muted and moody colors, pleasant shadowing and another way of lowering contrast.

Originally Posted by islandphoto

sometimes the bounce has a very nice effect in a dark room!