weddings....

Southerngal · Jun 21, 2007

a friend of mine is getting married for the second time next weekend. She wasnt planning on hiring a photographer at all. She saw some of my recent pics and asked if id take some pictures. Im not charging her, of course.

Should I shoot RAW? JPEG?

Big Mike · Jun 21, 2007

Try a search of the forum for Raw vs Jpeg...it's been discusses many times before.

Jpeg files are smaller and somewhat easier to process...but in all other ways, RAW is better (IMO). With RAW files, you have a larger margin for error, which is reason enough to use them.

http://www.ronbigelow.com/articles/raw/raw.htm

Southerngal · Jun 21, 2007

Thanks....Ill definitely do a search.

Ill be meeting her at 330 for outdoor pics....the area will be shaded so, Im not so worried about those. Its the indoor shots during the wedding that Im a little nervous about

EOS_JD · Jun 21, 2007

Indoors use a fast lens, keep your eye on your histogram (don't rely on looking at the screen) and shoot RAW.

Southerngal · Jun 21, 2007

EOS_JD said:
Indoors use a fast lens, keep your eye on your histogram (don't rely on looking at the screen) and shoot RAW.

okay, so this is what I have...[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens...I wouldnt do the wedding If she were paying, but she wasnt going to use anyone (maybe a Mom etc.).

I love taking pics, but to be honest Im really just learning all the technical stuff....it is overwhelming, but I am determined and I enjoy it. So, dont laugh....can you explain SPEED of a lense? I do want to get another one at some point, but I want to know what I want and what Im getting first.

Oh, and can anyone recommend a few current photography books/mag subscriptions that would be useful.

Thanks again
[/FONT]

Big Mike · Jun 21, 2007

When talking lenses...speed is a term to describe the maximum aperture size. This is because if you have a larger maximum aperture, you can use a faster shutter speed. This is important because you need a shutter speed that is fast enough to freeze camera shake and subject movement.

You lens, unfortunately, at F3.5-5.6 is slow. A zoom lens with a maximum aperture of F2.8 (preferably for the whole range) would be considered fast. A cheaper way to get a fast lens would be a prime (non-zoom) lens. The 50mm F1.8 lens is fast and very inexpensive.

You can get by with a slower lens, but it may require the use of flash...and I strongly recommend that you don't use the built-in flash...if you can help it. A hot shoe flash is a much, much better option...but as an alternative to nothing, I guess you have to use what you have with you.

EOS_JD · Jun 21, 2007

Southerngal said:
okay, so this is what I have...[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens...I wouldnt do the wedding If she were paying, but she wasnt going to use anyone (maybe a Mom etc.). [/FONT]

I love taking pics, but to be honest Im really just learning all the technical stuff....it is overwhelming, but I am determined and I enjoy it. So, dont laugh....can you explain SPEED of a lense? I do want to get another one at some point, but I want to know what I want and what Im getting first.

Oh, and can anyone recommend a few current photography books/mag subscriptions that would be useful.

Thanks again

the aperture of a lens when shooting indoors determines the amount of light that the lens will let in (all other things being equal). The variable aperture lens that you have is pretty slow. f3.5-5.6..... I generally prefer to use a prime or a fast zoom indoors at weddings. My preferred prime is f1.4 and my preferred zoom is f2.8 so at 135mm my zoom will allow 4 times the shutter speed of your lens (2 stops of a difference). Might not sound a lot but if the light is low you might not get fast enough shutter speeds - and you'll get camera shake.......

Do you have a flash gun? Best not to use the small flash on the camera as you'll likely get harsh shadows indoors. Use a dedicated flash gun (set the flash to auto) and bounce it off the ceiling to cut down the harsh shadows.

Keep your eye on shutter speed all the time - if you use flash you can drag the shutter to let in more ambient light but you may need a tripod too.

You could look at buying the 50mm f1.8 which is cheap, fast, and sharp and use that.

Regards books...... Understanding Exposure is always my first stop. Understand exposure and you're nearly there.

zendianah · Jun 21, 2007

I would shoot RAW its more forgiving for white balance and exposure. I shoot both JPEG and RAW. Important shots I shoot RAW..

Also... Look at wedding poses from photographers that you admire.. I look at wedding magazines alot.. Ask your friend what kind of shots does she want.. I am in no way an expert or claim to be,.. I am learning as well. I look at wedding books, Exposure books, and my Nikon D200 field guide. Know your camera...

I would love to see some pics of the wedding .. good luck. I thought i wouldnt like weddings but actually its my favorite to shoot now. Im a romantic...I guess

EOS_JD · Jun 21, 2007

Big Mike said:
When talking lenses...speed is a term to describe the maximum aperture size. This is because if you have a larger maximum aperture, you can use a faster shutter speed. This is important because you need a shutter speed that is fast enough to freeze camera shake and subject movement.

You lens, unfortunately, at F3.5-5.6 is slow. A zoom lens with a maximum aperture of F2.8 (preferably for the whole range) would be considered fast. A cheaper way to get a fast lens would be a prime (non-zoom) lens. The 50mm F1.8 lens is fast and very inexpensive.

You can get by with a slower lens, but it may require the use of flash...and I strongly recommend that you don't use the built-in flash...if you can help it. A hot shoe flash is a much, much better option...but as an alternative to nothing, I guess you have to use what you have with you.

As you were typing your post, I was typing mine :lol:

Almost says the same......

Southerngal · Jun 21, 2007

Okay, so here goes another stupid question....is having a zoom lense not important? I guess I thought zoom was a necessity. I have the Nikon d80....what lense is recommended as must? something that can be used in most cases. and is my current lense good for anything?

What is the best way to avoid blurr, since my lense is reletively slow?

EOS_JD · Jun 21, 2007

Southerngal said:
Okay, so here goes another stupid question....is having a zoom lense not important? I guess I thought zoom was a necessity. I have the Nikon d80....what lense is recommended as must? something that can be used in most cases. and is my current lense good for anything?

What is the best way to avoid blurr, since my lense is reletively slow?

With a prime, your feet become the zoom

To avoud blur use the 1/focal length rule. If you shoot at 135mm you need a shutter speed equal to or greater than 135mm (roughly 1/150th sec). Obviously slower if you are shooting wider. tryu not to go below 1/30th even when at its widest.

there's no "must have" lens. It's more of a "must have for the job you are doing". For what you are doing the lens you have may be ok but if you fancy doing weddings more often, then a 17-50 f2.8 + 70-200 f2.8VR and a 50mm f1.4 would be my choices.

EOS_JD · Jun 21, 2007

I should have added, use as high an ISO as you need to get the required shutter speed. If you can't get the shutter speed, invest in a decent flash like the SB600 or SB800.

Big Mike · Jun 21, 2007

is having a zoom lense not important?

Not really, unless you have a piano tied to your leg. :lol:

No really, you can 'zoom' with your feet most of the time. Zoom lenses have only been around for a few decades...and I'm pretty sure people have been taking photos much longer than that

Yes, a zoom is convenient...but also consider that when designing a zoom lens...compromises must be made. A prime lens is often better (image quality) because it only has to shoot at one focal length.

There is nothing wrong with your lens, it's certainly usable...it just has a small maximum aperture, especially when zoomed all the way out. The important thing here is shutter speed. If you speed is too slow, you will get camera shake. The rule of thumb is to use your focal length...so at 135mm, you will want a shutter speed of at least 1/135...the faster the better. Also, if your subjects are moving...you will want a shutter speed fast enough to keep them sharp. Now the problem is that in a dark church, when at full zoom, your max aperture is only F5.6...and that's is probably not big enough to give you a shutter speed faster than 1/135.

You can use flash to add light. Also, flash can freeze movement even at slower shutter speeds but master flash photography is a long process...it even takes a fair bit of time to understand it.

The last option is to turn up your ISO setting. The higher the ISO, the faster of a shutter speed you can get. The trade off is digital noise. However, noisy images are better than blurry images.