Need settings for nephews wedding pics with Canon 5Dmk3

Amadauss wrote in post #17723846
You own a 5Dmk3, 5DsR and the 25-70 II and you are asking these questions? And if flashing away, how do you think the photographer hired to do the job is going to feel when he shows up with his 7D or 60 D (no insult to those camera's) and you are there with that gear. Even doing just candid's, Seems to me an issue or worse, a nightmare waiting to happen.

Might re-think how you are going to use them or maybe ask to speak to the photographer before the wedding to let him know what you are doing so he is not surprised. Would probably be the best way to handle this.

^

The use of flash will affect the metering, ETTL, and exposure of the hired pro. Do him a favor and save yourself some embarrassment by leaving the flash in your bag or better yet, at home.

Silver-Halide wrote in post #17724963
^

The use of flash will affect the metering, ETTL, and exposure of the hired pro. Do him a favor and save yourself some embarrassment by leaving the flash in your bag or better yet, at home.

I won't be taking any of my pics at the same time as him so that is not an option. Of course I don't know what the other few hundred guests are going to do with their cameras!

Roamingbull wrote in post #17724929
Sorry, you seem a bit defensive. Your OP kind of insinuated you are new at this and were looking for advice on basic settings. You have been doing photography longer than me unless I count the first time I used a camera at all, then I can say I've been doing it for 40 years (I think I was 5). I've been doing photography professionally for about 3 years now. I do get the question though I recently asked for some advice on doing shots in a winery for an engagement shoot I had coming up. The atmosphere there and the low light were going to be a challenge and I was looking for more for a mind picking discussion. But perhaps you should have worded it that way. Anyway I think you can figure it out once you get there with what experience you have. It will all come together I'm sure, it did for me with the winery.

Best of luck.

You are correct I should have worded it quite differently. My first Camera was a Canon tlb so I guess my math needs more work than my photography. It has been 41 years! LOL
For example I took pics of the moon last night which I have never done as well. So I just looked on the forum and saw that there was a starting point so I took some using 1/200, f/8 ISO 100 based on what others had said and it came out great. That was what I was looking for.

gqllc007 wrote in post #17724984
I won't be taking any of my pics at the same time as him so that is not an option. Of course I don't know what the other few hundred guests are going to do with their cameras!

Are you going to wait until the photographer leaves? Otherwise, it's a pretty safe bet you'll be shooting the same thing at least once during the day...just because you aren't taking posed photos, doesn't mean you wouldn't interfere with the hired photographer.

As suggested, just introduce yourself and say that you're hoping to capture some candid photos...and see if there's anything the hired photographer would like for you to do/avoid.

Here's how I approach these things. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the highest ISO I can go before there is too much noise?
2. What is the slowest exposure time I can use before there will be too much blur (either from you or the subject moving)?

As for 1, someone above suggested ISO 2500 and that is a reasonable answer.
As for 2, I tend to go with 1/125. Your mileage may vary.

Now, put the camera in manual, and the flash in ETTL. Set the camera to those settings, and modify the aperture as needed to capture the subject (wider apertures for a person, narrower for groups and scenes).

Also, try to bounce whenever possible as someone above said. Bring extra batteries because ETTL chews them up!

Good luck!

gqllc007 wrote in post #17724984
I won't be taking any of my pics at the same time as him so that is not an option. Of course I don't know what the other few hundred guests are going to do with their cameras!

Don't take offense from some of the posts, it is just that we have all experienced another photographer or want to be in the crowd with bad or great equipment, doesn't matter either flashing away or not realizing what they are actualy doing and it does often hurt our final result. And it usually just by chance causes issue for that one in a million shot when taking it and someone across the room starts flashing away. Almost as bad as the uncle filming the father daughter dance at a close distance with the camera light on and I see them through the viewer and want to.......well everyone here knows what I mean.

gqllc007 wrote in post #17723966
Yes I have this gear and I have been doing photography for over 30 years. However I never take photos indoors unless using a point and shoot. I do outdoor photos, wildlife, portraits, landscapes or sports with high ISO indoors and no flash hence why I asked the questions,
I plan on staying completely out of the way of the hired photographer.
In The external flash setting had auto, 1/60-1/200, and fixed 1/200. I figured either 1/60-1/200 to prevent movement but do you suggest auto in the external setting so even if the shutter speed is slow the flash will freeze any movement and using the flash as just a fill?

Just set your flash to ettl mode. It will figure out the rest for you. If the flash is "too much" for your tastes, use the center wheel to dial it back to -2/3 or whatever looks best to you.

You're over thinking this too much.

If you can stretch to that sort of kit, save yourself some hassle, stretch a bit more, and buy a high quality compact, be less hassle to carry around, easier to take photo's, less obtrusive for candids, and then you can lend me the 5DSR when you're not using it

One more thing - if you're going to shoot in Av mode, set your flash to 1/200th, not auto, not even 1/60th-1/200th, since when people are moving, dancing, etc, 1/60th isn't enough to freeze the motion, even if you set it to the second curtain sync.
If you want more ambient, crank up your ISO.

And one more thing - if you're going to bounce flash, pay close attention to the ceiling and walls color - if they are anything, but white, you will have a pretty bad color cast in all of your photos.

A little blur during dancing can be quite nice, actually, especially when disco lights are being used.
Bad color casts almost always be easily fixed in post, especially if you shoot raw.

If walls are any deep color, you might not get a continuous spectrum and in this case, color correction for good skin tones becomes nearly impossible.
It's always better to prevent these kind of situation and either use a bouncer card or not bounce.

Thanks guys! This was the information I was looking for. I have full plans on enjoying the wedding instead of photographing it. 99% will be of everyone prior to the wedding and away from the hired photographer. I won't be taking any photos that will interfere with their equipment. I will check the lighting out and start from ISO 800-2500 and start at 1/125 and work the aperture and flash ettl from there. I will bring extra batteries but I guess I should take a lot of the blame here as I was only thinking of taking 25-50 photos max. and clearly I made the impression that I was going have a more active role. My son will be in a tux and he is 17 and hasnt seen this side of the family in many years. My mother who is 84 wanted pictures of him and her along with some other family members. Sorry if I ruffled any wedding photographers who have clearly had "family/friend" photographers get in the way.

Silver-Halide wrote in post #17724963
^

The use of flash will affect the metering, ETTL, and exposure of the hired pro. Do him a favor and save yourself some embarrassment by leaving the flash in your bag or better yet, at home.

Ummm....no it won't unless his flash sets off the paid photographers flash.

You're saying if the photog meters for exposure whist Uncle Bob's flash is going off that the pro's exposure won't be different a second later?

If he only meters for a tiny fraction of a second at the precise moment that flash goes off then probably, the only real risk is if he sets up some off camera flash using optical triggers, then he's in trouble...............