Outdoor wedding help!!!

I'm going to do a outdoor wedding this weekend. I'm doing it as a favor for my cousin. I never been to a wedding with professional photographer before, so, I have no idea what to do. Both B&G doesn't care too much about the photography. They only hire a videographer.

Since I'm going to do it for them, I want to do my best.

1) During the ceremony, do you running around and find the best angle or find a best seating before hand and just stay there for the whole time?

2) Is it OK for me to stand up and take pictures?

3) It's going to be around noon, so, I expect hard shadows on most shoot. I'll use a 580EX for fill. Do I need to do something special to expose the wedding dress (white) right with the flash? Sorry, I'm very new to flash photography.

thanks in advance.

you wont be able to get too many shots sitting down. moving around is part of the job, but i try to be as discreet about it as possible, particularly during bible readings and prayer during the ceremony.

I guess I'll stay in the back roll and use my 24-105mm, longest lens I got.

I'm shooting outdoor, I assume I can use manual mode in camera and set the exposure and forget about it, unless there is problem with moving clouds. And add TTL flash with FEC -2 or -3 stops for fill if needed. Do you think it's pretty safe to do it this way?

Wear dark colors, don't dart around. Be stealth and deliberate. Fill-flash is good. Practice, practice, practice!

I know practice is good but I don't have time to do it. I have a "real" job and can't go out and play with my camera around noon-time.

Id shoot in program mode and use the flash the whole time. Move around to get different angles. Follow the order of the ceremony so you know whether to be up close for ring exchange and candle lightings, or far away for prayers. Like mentioned before, be stealth and smooth in your movements but be confident and get the shot. A few available light shots on a tripod while praying is a great addition. Take multiple shots of the important shots. You can never have too many images from a weddings.

Problem is I only have 1 2GB and 1 256MB card. Ask I said, I didn't expect to be the main photographer until last weekend. Too late to get them online and too expensive to get it local (hard to find 2GB too). Maybe I should conside 1GB card because it's much easier to get locally.
I told him to get all his CF and I'll borrow as much as I can.

The main worry I have is I don't know much about "manor" in the wedding. I guess I'll follow advice from you all and act stealth and smooth.

The second thing worry me the most is I just got the flash not long ago. Still need to learn it but no time

I guess I need to just relex and reminding myself, anything I take will be better than nothing at all

There is time for you to read the threads here with wedding photography advice. Look at some of the pictures posted to get ideas. YOU WILL NOT TAKE PICTURES AS GOOD AS TIM! So, don't hate yourself if you are not as good as many of the people here. I just take notes on poses and angles and groupings. There is a thread that lists the different choices at weddings for photos. You should look at that one.

Which flash did you get? I also shot an outdoor after-wedding gathering and used my 580EX with diffuser or card on the 580 and in the P mode just because I was in the shade. Also, my son shot with the EOS 3 without flash and it was fine, even wonderful. Which lens are you using?

Edit: I forgot, 2 GB card is fine if you are not shooting RAW + Large JPEG. If you understand how to use RAW effectively, shoot in RAW only to save room on the card. If you don't know how to use RAW, shoot in Large JPEG. That should get you 500 shots.

Eveyone has had good advice so I'll just add (since you stated your new at "flash photography").........​......BATTERIES!!!!!!

I don't use flash in a church, I use high ISO and fast lenses. Shoot RAW and try to borrow more cards. Move around discretely during the ceremony, I shoot down the aisle, standing on benches, and lying on the ground.

For outside pics I use manual mode, takea bunch of photos until you get the histogram and preview looking right, then stick with it so long as the light doesn't change. Set your flash to FEC -1 2/3 for fill. Try and keep the shutter below 1/250th or you'll lose flash power, use F32/ISO100 if you have to, but make sure you have clean sensor if you're shooting at that narrow an aperture.

Heh heh, thanks Suzy

Here is the equipment list
Canon 30D
10-22mm
24-105mm
50 F/1.8 II
580EX flash

I'll shoot RAW. I've heard it's more forgiving if the exposure is not perfect. I hope that will save me for lack of skill.

Very specific and helpful.

Do you take sample pictures with people or just the environment to set the correct exposure?

What if I don't use FEC or set it to + side, can I use 1/250 or faster (high speed sync)?

Are you suggesting DOF control is less important than a good fill flash at noon-time?

I love lying on the ground to take pictures but never when I'm dressed up. I'll have black pants and afraid I'll look pretty bad toward the end of the day

viodea wrote:
Very specific and helpful.

Do you take sample pictures with people or just the environment to set the correct exposure?

What if I don't use FEC or set it to + side, can I use 1/250 or faster (high speed sync)?

Are you suggesting DOF control is less important than a good fill flash at noon-time?

I love lying on the ground to take pictures but never when I'm dressed up. I'll have black pants and afraid I'll look pretty bad toward the end of the day

1) Of the people, that's what I want well exposed, the faces and dress/suit.
2) Over 1/250th you lose a lot of flash power. Have a look at the FAQ in the lighting forum, read about FP mode flash in the eos bible.
3) Exposure is more important than a narrow DOF IMHO. What's the point of having a picture that has a nice blurred background if it's not properly exposed! Usually you can ballance the two.
4) I have a set of clothes I wear to weddings, nothing too fancy or expensive, usually something dark so I blend in. If they get ruined i'll buy more.

I'll have 2 to 3 sets of rechargeable. I maybe able to borrow a inverter for car cigarette lighter. I have a 15 mins fast charger, so, I hope that's not going to be a problem. If I'm running out of battery for the camera, that will be bad because I don't have a back up yet.