preventing over-exposure

i have a wedding coming up in december
this is going to be in jamaica at 3pm at which time the sun is usually blazing hot
when the bride and groom are leaving the church they will be standng on white or off-white steps and in front of a plain white wall
how do i ensure good exposure on the bride and groom,maintaining details of the dress,without over-exposing the church wall and steps
i have a 50d and rebel xt both with 580ex2

Shoot in Raw and expose for the bride and groom. Later you can go back and back off your exposure and combine the shots to make a complete picture.

at points like this .. i would consistently watch my meter in camera and chimp .. and if case need be, under expose it just a tad .. and use the 580 for fill which it sounds like it will need

1. Shoot RAW

2. Use your Highlight Tone Priority found in the C.Fn. II menu. Does wonders on my 40D when I head outdoors.

3. Shoot Av and meter the dress, lock, recompose, shoot.

This should get you real close. Riding the exp. compensation will tighten it up.

Bob

r michael wrote in post #8950702
1. Shoot RAW

2. Use your Highlight Tone Priority found in the C.Fn. II menu. Does wonders on my 40D when I head outdoors.

3. Shoot Av and meter the dress, lock, recompose, shoot.

This should get you real close. Riding the exp. compensation will tighten it up.

Bob

Even better, get the exposure right, then dial it into M mode. That way you get consistent images, and you can batch process anything that's not right.

The fastest, easiest way is to shoot in AV, set your LCD to blink for blowouts, keep an eye on it and just dial down exposure compensation with the large dial.

thanks for the replies everyone

tim
thanks for reply
i think i remember reading that you said you meter for the brides eyes and not the dress (please forgive me if i have misquoted you )
would this result in increased exposure on the dress,especially with a dark skinned person

I do tend to expose for the face then bring the dress back, but it depends on the day. You can expose for the dress and boost the face in post, but that could make the face 2-3 stops under which won't recover all that well.