Baptism Advice?

[beshe81]

I will be photographing my first baptism this weekend, for an old high school friend.

Here is the church:
http://www.sjwest.org/parish/tour.htm

Flash photography is allowed but I'm not sure if I will need it, the place looks well lit and I may go more for the natural lighting. I won't know where I am allowed to stand until a little before the ceremony begins. I was thinking I would need my 35mm f/1.8 and maybe my 55-200mm f/4-5.6 for some close up shots. I am hoping I can stand on the ramp behind the baptismal font which is to the left in this picture:
http://www.sjwest.org/parish/Pictures/ChurchInt2.jpg

That should give me a good range for the 35mm lens, right?

Any advise or tips? Trying to build my portfolio and she knows I am a budding photographer, but I want to make her proud! Haha, thanks in advance!

 

[KmH]

35 mm would put you intrusively close to the proceedings.

I used at least 50 mm to shoot a baptism ceremony.

After the ceremony is different, however, Nikon's AF-S 35 mm f/1.8G is to soft and has a bit to much CA at wide apertures, plud to much distortion to be the lens I would use. I had the lens but sold it because it had to many technical optical issues for my purposes.

 

[tirediron]

First of all, I can guarentee that you will need your flash. The church may look well lit to your eye, but not to the camera, and if you're using a rather slow lens like the 55-200, it will be all that much more important.

Treat this just like any other job, and do everything you would do if you were being paid top dollar. Scout the location ahead of time. Talk to the Deacon/Rector/?? and find out what the church's rules are. They may allow photography at some times and not others, restrict where you can stand, etc. You need to know this ahead of time so that if there are problems you can discuss them with the clients.

Know what shots are important to the clients, find out what their 'must haves' are, if there are any special relatives/friends who will be attending, etc. Have you shot list already planned, know where you will be for what part of the ceremony, have a good estimate of what your exposure will be, etc.

As far as lens selection goes, I'm not familiar enough with a baptism to know exactly how the ceremony goes, but my guess is that the 55-200 will be of far more use (and if you could rent something like a 70-200 2.8 that would be sooooo much better). Look at that scene and imagine how large an infant will be in it. I'm pretty sure you will want to get closer.

Good luck!

 

[KmH]

Closer in the optical sense, not the physical sense.

Concerning cameras and light, your D3000 comes up a bit short in the high ISO capability department, but noisy photos are better than blurry photos because the shutter speed was to slow.

Many churches don't allow flash photography during a ceremony. So, you may need to crank up the ISO setting to get sufficient shutter speed.

 

[Mach0]

Can you rent a body and glass?Or use flash? Not saying its impossible, but as was mentioned, churches are fairly dark and you may be presented with a challenge with the d3000 and current lens set up. Scout the place in advance, try taking some shots, and see how they come up.

 

[beshe81]

Thanks for the advice. I am only shooting the ceremony, so I don't need to worry about group shots. I do have a list of "must-have" photos from the mom. I also spoke to the pastor and he said flash would be okay during, since it is a private ceremony.

Unfortunately I am not going to be able to scope out the place before hand, but I will be arriving about a half hour early to find "my spot" and set up. I guess I will go with the external flash and 55-200 lens ready to go and take some test shots.

I don't have access to a better camera, but getting there patiently

 

[Mach0]

Thanks for the advice. I am only shooting the ceremony, so I don't need to worry about group shots. I do have a list of "must-have" photos from the mom. I also spoke to the pastor and he said flash would be okay during, since it is a private ceremony.

Unfortunately I am not going to be able to scope out the place before hand, but I will be arriving about a half hour early to find "my spot" and set up. I guess I will go with the external flash and 55-200 lens ready to go and take some test shots.

I don't have access to a better camera, but getting there patiently

What's your way of triggering off camera flash? Are you experienced with it ? Are you using modifiers or just setting them up to bounce off a nearby wall? Can you go to a service one day to scope out the place? Maybe that and get there 30 -40 mins before to setup and set the power to the flash.