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In church – no flash – recommended settings
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Hey folks,
Just looking for a bit of advice, Im about to do some pictures for a friends wedding and was looking for advice on some good settings to ensure sharpness and well exposed shots without using flash in the church.
Im using:
Nikon D300
17-50mm, 2.8 lens
50mm 1.4 lensCheers
Hi,
First of all I am no expert but I shot my cousins wedding last year with a D300. (an a D80) Its really going to depend on how much daylight gets into the church. Thd D300 is petty good at the higher is so your going to get pretty good shots at iso1000 + . I was luck and the church was pretty bright and it was a good day. I also lived close to the church so I was able to get some light readings a couple of days before the wedding which gave me a good idea of what to expect..
Good luck
Marc
Use a tripod when possible and a monopod when you can’t. With the D300 you can switch on auto-iso with max 3200, and say a low shutter speed of 1/80s (1/125s would be better for times when things are happening like rings/kisses/candles etc.) at higher iso’s you can still get nice b&w where the grain won’t matter as much. You can do more with grainy photos than you can with blurry ones.
On the other hand, your lenses are both quite short, I think you’ll be more intrusive getting up close trying to fill the frame than you would be with a touch of fill flash. It will be easier to get steady shots at the shorter lengths your lenses are capable of but you may find yourself creeping in across the altar more than you think.
Are you going to be the main photographer? You might want to rent something longer like the 70-200VR for portraits etc., that will give you a lot more breathing space to keep ‘behind the scenes’ as much as possible. I think with a first wedding it may be a bit intimidating to walk around the top of the church in front of everyone (especially if it’s people you know), the safer option of a longer lens will allow you to retreat if you make a faux pas or are at the receiving end of a grumpy priest/guests ire. Bear in mind also that people are generally less co-operative for family or friends when it comes to having their picture taken, a hefty lens adds a little ‘pro-factor’ and the greater distance may allow you to raise your voice just enough to grab attention and appear in control of the situation more than feeble chat up close. Just my experience from doing family/friend weddings!
Do you own a seperate flash? I would definitely have one to hand for worst case scenarios, even a cloudier day can have your exposures getting rapidly out of control indoors. If you can get your hands on an SB600/800 you could even fix it up high somewhere in the church and fire it remotely, that will give you much better and interesting light while at the same time is less incriminating :) Either that or pray they have a videographer with a video light that could land a 747 propped up on the altar! (but watch for nasty white balance issues too).
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