I am not a pro and also first time user of this forum. I am hosting a wedding rehearsal dinner party this month in Washington DC on the top floor of a building with a patio landing that is open to the sky and looks right at the US Capitol. Very iconic image. We did not hire a photographer to shoot at the rehearsal dinner. We will be facing east and the Capitol is facing West meaning at 6pm the setting sun will be shining bright on the Capitol. The Capitol is about 300 to 400 hundred yards away in a straight line which means it is a very wide image at that distance . A number of the guests will want to shoot a photo on the patio of themselves with the Capitol as the backdrop. They will be using their cell phones and you may say their modern cell phones will take a better photo than my D100 with the NIKKOR 24-85mm lens. If so then please say that.
I could set up the D100 on a tripod and use it for shooting them with the Capitol as the backdrop. If the D100 will add quality over a cell phone, my question to you is what settings should I set up on the camera. I need to plan for the subjects to be (1) in full sunlight or (2) in filtered light or shade if the slight building height above us blocks some of the setting sun from their faces, meaning only the backdrop of trees and Capitol is in full sunlight. They would be looking into the camera with the Capitol to their back. Therefore I would want the people and the Capitol to be in focus.
The D100 has a built-in pop-up flash if needed. This is the link to the D100 specs. https://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/d100/
I appreciate any guidance.




