wedding photos

[MattG_83]

ok i have got my brothers wedding coming up and i was wondering if people have got any tips on what settings to use, i will mainly be using the camera inside at the night do, i will be using a canon 400d with a 430ex flash gun
Thanks for your help.

[Mike]

Best bet is to shoot RAW in manual mode (don't be scared by it!). Set your aperture and shutter speed and adjust iso if needs be - and you will need to. Don't be afraid to go up to iso 800 or even 1600 if you really need to. The 430 will help, bounce from the ceiling if possible for a diffuse light.
What lenses do you have? A good wide aperture will help you enormously.

And don't forget to have fun!

[MattG_83]

afraid i will be using a canon 18-55mm lense, or a 70mm-300m tamron lense. what settings would you sugest starting with? would you use the flash if i were taking some outside or not?

[Mike]

Flash is always useful as fill in. If you are outdoors in strong daylight the shadows can be very heavy so a burst of flash will help to brighten up those shadows.

[SuzyView]

Well, can you rent a lens or find a friend who may have a good lens to borrow? Depending on how much speed you'll need the 18-55 is not the greatest, but you can spend under $100 US for the 50 1.8 and that lens should be good with a flash in the evening. If your brother is hiring a pro anyway, you're good to snap all the non-formal shots. If you are the pro, then I'd say, practice with similar lighting. I hear all sorts of people explain why they are shooting a wedding instead of hiring a pro. It's okay, but know that a good pro is not easily replaceable. And I do shoot weddings and I think people who can do their own family's wedding for free is wonderful, if you know what you are doing and the couple cannot afford a pro no matter what.

[MattG_83]

no they are having a pro to take the main pics i was just going to use mine for the evening shots. So what lense would you suggest on getting for these kind of shots with out costing a fortune?
Cheers

[Mike]

As Suzy suggested, the Canon 50mm f1.8 (nifty fifty) is a good, cheap lens for low light shooting - sub £100 - see here: http://www.camerapricebuster.com/ The larger, wider aperture that f1.8 gives will allow a lot more light to get through to the sensor - good when there's precious little light available.

[SuzyView]

Get the 50 1.8 if you are low budget. Otherwise, the 28-105 II isn't bad. If you had a lot of cash, the 17-155, but that costs more than the camera you have.

[bigbaby987]

there are some really affordable lens rental companies where you can get some really good glass (like 24-70-which is all you need for a wedding if you don't mind moving your feet) for less that $100 bucks for a week or so..

[MattG_83]

ok then its nearly a week till the wedding and i am going to be using a canon 400d, 18-55mm kit lense and a 430ex flash gun, is anyone kind enough to list some settings that i can print out and try on the day?
Cheers

[rammy]

Originally Posted by MattG_83

ok then its nearly a week till the wedding and i am going to be using a canon 400d, 18-55mm kit lense and a 430ex flash gun, is anyone kind enough to list some settings that i can print out and try on the day?
Cheers

I would suggest "dragging the shutter". That's when you let the shutter stay open much longer than the flash.

Read further down in my post here for some guidance:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=421778

[bigbaby987]

no offense, but why would you drag the shutter at a wedding.. maybe at the reception at the right time, but you're going to have an extremely pissed off bride and groom doing something like that during a ceremony.. play that kind of game in pp... please do yourself that favor... if you're a little nervous, put it in AV and let it ride.. at least you can shoot in raw for pp needs and your camera will the rest.. you're probably going to shoot at the widest aperture because of your lens, but that's cool.. this way you don't have to worry about doing the math in your head or just testing shots and chimping.. set it and forget it... period. but do not.. i repeat, do not do any shutter dragging. please!! please!! i'm helping you here.. there are no redos when it comes to weddings.. so if you shutter drag and have all of these tails of light following everyone, it won't be pretty..

set it and forget it.. focus on getting the important shots.. the bride walking down the isle.. the nuptuals.. the kiss.. coming out of the church.. yada yada..

now if you find AV too slow, then go to program mode and keep your shutter speed at least at 1/60. this will freeze action half decently.. but if you get it to 1/125 your in the money!!

have fun

[rammy]

Originally Posted by bigbaby987

no offense, but why would you drag the shutter at a wedding.. maybe at the reception at the right time, but you're going to have an extremely pissed off bride and groom doing something like that during a ceremony.. play that kind of game in pp... please do yourself that favor... if you're a little nervous, put it in AV and let it ride.. at least you can shoot in raw for pp needs and your camera will the rest.. you're probably going to shoot at the widest aperture because of your lens, but that's cool.. this way you don't have to worry about doing the math in your head or just testing shots and chimping.. set it and forget it... period. but do not.. i repeat, do not do any shutter dragging. please!! please!! i'm helping you here.. there are no redos when it comes to weddings.. so if you shutter drag and have all of these tails of light following everyone, it won't be pretty..

set it and forget it.. focus on getting the important shots.. the bride walking down the isle.. the nuptuals.. the kiss.. coming out of the church.. yada yada..

now if you find AV too slow, then go to program mode and keep your shutter speed at least at 1/60. this will freeze action half decently.. but if you get it to 1/125 your in the money!!

have fun

Balancing the ambient light with the flash light when dragging the shutter (and no it doesn't have to be ridiculously slow) is a good technique when taking shots at the evening reception/event. You should read the OP's post again.

[MattG_83]

i think i might hire this lense
http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/canon...s-usm-36-p.asp
what do people think?
Cheers

[SuzyView]

I would have recommended that at first, renting is the way to go if you can't afford it. That lens costs more than $1K. Good choice. I think Tim uses it and many people here recommend it.