Wedding Exposure

Hi
I am not a wedding photographer but I was invited to a wedding yesterday and I brought my camera simply to takes pictures for myself. It was a beautifyl sunny day, clear blue sky and you'd know picture taken outside of the church with the white bride gownaand the dark grooms suits would normally be an challenge. I really did not know what to expose for the correct exposure so not to blow out the bride's gown. I'm a hobbiest so please forgive dumb questions but only want to improve.
I shot in manual mode f8 for aperture but I pointed my camera to the nice blue sky for the correct exposure and adjusted my shutter speed till the camera exposure meter sat right smack in the middle. I kept that same exposure setting and fire a few shots of the wedding party standing outside the church. After the shots, I lookeda the histogram and the bride's white gown was flashing (overexposed). I had a 350D so spot metering is a no-no.
Next, I tried partial metering the bride's white gown and adjust teh shutter speed until the camera's exposure meter was in the centre. I took shots of the party again and the histogram still showed the white gown overexposed.
What would be the best way to get the correct exposure under those circumstance?
Many Thanks
Pat

If it still shows overexposed you could dial in a -1 exposure compensation. If its still too high you could try -2

Thanks.
I was in M mode so I should dial down the shutter speed? I think the shutter was showing 320.
Rgds
pat

You would need to do it that way in M mode. If you were in AV mode you can dial in a -1 or -2 exposure (or 1/3 stops) by holding down the AV button and moving the wheel left or right. You'll see the bar moving to the left or right showing the values or under or overexposure

Yes, & good for you for using "M"!

Need an exposure crutch?

Put the camera in Av mode, then ISO 100, F8, then set to evaluative metering, and set to RAW. Then take a test shot. Adjust the EC + or - until the hist shows little or no blown dress, but bias toward over exposure, but without making unrecoverable dress exposure. Take the keeper pics. You can't go wrong. Normalized the shadows later during post processing.

No need for manual camera outside during good day light. And never use the sky to meter for weddings...

Steiglitz wrote in post #3806915
Put the camera in Av mode, then ISO 100, F8, then set to evaluative metering, and set to RAW. Then take a test shot. Adjust the EC + or - until the hist shows little or no blown dress, but bias toward over exposure, but without making unrecoverable dress exposure. Take the keeper pics. You can't go wrong. Normalized the shadows later during post processing.

No need for manual camera outside during good day light. And never use the sky to meter for weddings...

Thanks for this. Why should we never use the sky to meter for weddings?
Thanks
pat

Souwalker wrote in post #3808563
Thanks for this. Why should we never use the sky to meter for weddings?

Was the wedding party you were taking pictures of in the sunlight? I'm guessing you've read Understand Exposure which is where metering off the sky is referred to often.

Whenever you have something bright white covering only a small (guessing) part of your frame, you'll have to adjust your exposure in some way from a standard light meter reading. That book is largely written for film, which has higher dynamic range to handle bright and dark areas. Digital seems to need to expose for the highlights and then deal with lightening shadow if they are too dark.

And you learned the important lesson of needing to check your histogram when you start shooting a scene instead of afterwards when nothing can be done. When your lighting changes or your comosition changes, check and adjust if necessary to have a good histogram. Then you can keep shooting with the same overall exposure.

RedHot wrote in post #3808683
Was the wedding party you were taking pictures of in the sunlight? I'm guessing you've read Understand Exposure which is where metering off the sky is referred to often.

Whenever you have something bright white covering only a small (guessing) part of your frame, you'll have to adjust your exposure in some way from a standard light meter reading. That book is largely written for film, which has higher dynamic range to handle bright and dark areas. Digital seems to need to expose for the highlights and then deal with lightening shadow if they are too dark.

And you learned the important lesson of needing to check your histogram when you start shooting a scene instead of afterwards when nothing can be done. When your lighting changes or your comosition changes, check and adjust if necessary to have a good histogram. Then you can keep shooting with the same overall exposure.

Interesting. Learn something new everyday Yeah, I read Understanding Exxposure hence exposed for the sky. Would exposing on a 18% grey cloth do the trick? Or would the earlier reply of using AV then +/- EC be just as good?
Thanks
Pat

The sky is never a constant level of brightness, where your hand is. Why don't you try the link I gave you in post #5, instead of looking for "18% grey cloth" alternatives?

It may not seem like it now, but there's a reason I shoot on "M". It's simpler & easier in the long run for me, than dialing in EC. The day will come (soon) when you forget that you did it & shoot with the wrong EC dialed in.

There is an exception to metering the sky and that is when you want to silhouette the couple against a pretty sunset or sunrise. It will nicely silhouette them and if you want both the nice sky and the subject in view you add flash.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #3812816
The day will come (soon) when you forget that you did it & shoot with the wrong EC dialed in.

amen to that.

gateruner wrote in post #4049354
There is an exception to metering the sky and that is when you want to silhouette the couple against a pretty sunset or sunrise.

There are always exceptions to every concept/idea, but that's not a good thing to throw at someone trying to learn normal pictures.