Lens for April 12th wedding

In prepping for an upcoming wedding, I took this photo today (RAW & JPG) with my 17-55mm IS at f/2.8, 1/40, ISO 500, No Flash. Since I know I won't be permitted to use flash during the ceremony I wanted to see how this lens held up in low light. I took this at the same time of day that the ceremony will be held and was able to have some overhead lights on for this photo and I know it will be a bit brighter than this. I just want to avoid higher ISO if I can help it.

Given I know I can add additional stops in PP...does anyone with wedding experience have any suggestions about settings I used...how can I make this better without any PP. I do have a nifty-fifty 1.8....but I don't care for primes and think the 17-55 is much sharper.

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Don't be afraid to take either of your cameras to ISO 800. Be sure to do a custom white balance. I think you got a handle on it otherwise. very doable.

Later

dcyphert wrote in post #5267650
I just want to avoid higher ISO if I can help it.
Given I know I can add additional stops in PP...

Mike is right.

Adding stops in post will cause more damage than a higher ISO setting to begin with. Do what you need to do to get it right in the camera.

I agree with Curtis. It's better to try the high ISO. I know the 40D has high ISO compensation which would be useful in your situation. The 50 1.8 won't be sharp even though it should be.

I see you have the 70-200 2.8 IS. That lens should be great in those conditions.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I thought about using both bodies, 30D/17-55, f/2.8 and 40D/70-200, f/2.8, but have yet to do a wedding using two bodies. I have done ceremonies using only the 70-200 and it worked out great. I'm thinking I'll use this so I don't need to be so close and be less obtrusive.

For ceremonies, given the space, I would do the two camera setup. There are some good closeups you can get with the 70-200. But if you go with that alone, you won't get the wide shots that is needed. And when the B&G walks down the aisle, you'll need it as well. Also, there really isn't much time to switch lenses.

Bump up the iso for sure. If properly exposed, the noise will be minimal. Don't be afraid to use iso 1600. Also watch your exposure, because the one you posted is at least a stop underexposed.

Good luck and have fun.

dcyphert wrote in post #5267650
In prepping for an upcoming wedding, I took this photo today (RAW & JPG) with my 17-55mm IS at f/2.8, 1/40, ISO 500, No Flash.

I agree with the others that you should bump up the ISO in the camera to at least 800 or even 1600.

I have read on the net, but not put it to the test, that if you use the ISO settings 1/3 stop above the main ones - such as the 500 ISO you used - then you will get more noise than if you use the the next setting up. In other words, 640 ISO would be less noisey than 500; 1250 would be less noisey than 1000 etc..

I would also be very wary of shutter speeds as slow as 1/40. Even if you keep the camera still there is a real risk of subject movement spoiling the shot. Your test shot is underexposed and, IMHO your shutter speed is too slow, so I think you are looking at using 1600 ISO at this venue, with an f/2.8 lens.

Here's a picture taken with my 30D at 1600 ISO. The original was underexposed so I bumped up the exposure to +1.0 in DPP. I set NR to Low for luminance and chroma noise. I know at these small sizes noise would be hard to see, but these sure look pretty clean to me. The exif data is embedded in these jpegs.

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Here are 100% crops....

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Went to the rehearsal last night at 5:30...it was rainy and overcast, and not much light coming through the stained glass. With all the lights on it wasn't very bright at all and in using either my 70-200 2.8 or 17-55 2.8 I had to use an ISO of 1600 or 3200 to spike the histogram anywhere near the center. I tried the 50mm 1.8, it was better as far as letting in more light and allowed me to lower the ISO, but the focusing is horrible...I just really hate this lens.

Today is overcast and expected to be during the ceremony which starts at 3:30. Since I can't use external flash, I'm anticipating it being a little brighter throughout the sanctuary and I hope I can bump up the SS a little (1/80 or 1/100). I decided I'll try the two bodies today, the 70-200 on the 30D and the 17-55 on the 40D, set the white balance with the Lastolite, ISO to 1250 or higher , SS to 1/60 or higher, and of course f/2.8

The pastor told me he didn't want me "down front"...I told him I would not use flash as requested and would be as obscure as possible (and not up in the B/G faces) but I needed to be 'down front' to get the shots necessary...he then backed off a bit and agreed. The family later on backed me up and told me to just be where I needed to be to do the job...which has been typical for every wedding I've shot so far. This is the first one where flash isn't going to be used...and to be honest I think the photos would be better if I were to use the Lightsphere diffuser (not bounced off ceiling...it's too high).

Does anyone have any final advice that would make my day any easier.

Relax, take a deep breath,rely on your skills and never let them see you sweat. You will do fine. As others have said don't worry anout ISO and noise you can convert them to B/W's and a little grain is fine. On most normal size prints the grain will not even show up.

I say all this as I get ready to head out the door to shoot my second wedding as the primary. I have a 2 1/2 hour drive to get there and nervous as all heck. I have never even met the Bride and Groom. They live in N.C. and flew back in to N.E. Texas to have their wedding. Should be fun. Best of luck!!

Greg

At a wedding,it's much beneficial to properly expose at ISO 3200 than underexpose at 400.