1st Paid Wedding

Paul G · Sep 15, 2005

Hello there, this is my first time here.

I'm seeking advice to possible settings I should have my camera on for a wedding I'm shooting on 25th. I understand it depends on lighting but if anyone could advise I would be grateful bearing in mind my kit I have. I've recently just bought a Canon Speedlite 580EX.

Look forward to hearing from you.
Paul

amoki · Sep 16, 2005

Nice set of equipment you've got there!

Before I start, I must stress that I'm NOT a professional photographer, just a hobbyist who reads a lot

. I know about the basics, but because I have no experience I might turn out to be so full of ****

First of all, you'll need to scout out the location where you'll be shooting with the bride and bridegroom. It's your first time - don't stuff it up. You might want to get a rough-and-ready notebook, note down potential location. You might be expected to direct where to photograph, not just merely photographing. You might also be expected to bring your clients to nearby area where there is specular scenary - scout out and take note. The main purpose of scouting out is nto only to check potential spot, but also have a good knowledge of the lighting at the area where you'll be shooting.

If it's going to be in a church... well, someone professional in the forum will be able to help you out better than I can :lmao:

Have a keen eye on the weather. Know what to do when needed.

You'll definitely need a diffuser of some sort, which can be attached on the lens. Others might be able to help me out on this one, because I don't have it. Diffuser basically soften light passing through the flash - useful for night-time shots if required, or any situation where using the flash alone will make the subject look awkward (especially when the background is dark-ish) . Otherwise you might end up casting harsh lights on your clients. If you're shooting in-doors, take note of where you can bounce your flash... note that the colour of the surface where you can bounce your flash will the colour on your subject, but that can be fix using Photoshop.

Do use flash even during day time - you might get some unexpected good results. And extra batteries for your flash should be a must

I'm pretty sure the max high-speed sync for the 350D is 1/200 sec - might turn out to be a handicap.

Hopefully the other folks here could help you out better than I can. And good luck with your shoot!

Big Mike · Sep 16, 2005

Welcome to the forum.

Some good advice, but a diffuser is something that goes on the flash, not on the lens. I don't know if it's an absolute necessity, some people like them because they do make for softer lighting, but they steal energy from your flash.

Will you be allowed to use flash at the ceremony? Some places don't allow flash, and you don't have anything faster than F3.5.

Do you have back-up equipment? I don't think that I would shoot a wedding for money without a back-up camera & flash.

Do you have plenty of batteries for camera & flash? What about memory cards?

You just got your flash. Practice with it. Know what to expect in different situations and when to use FEC.

You're asking about settings...that really depends on many things. Lighting (as you know) but also your style, and what you want the images to look like. Sometimes you want a shallow DOF, sometimes you want a deep DOF and enough ambient exposure to expose the background while your flash exposes the subject.

I hope you know what you are getting into

Good luck, I hope everything goes well for your first wedding shoot.

ksmattfish · Sep 16, 2005

Keep it as simple as possible, and stick to stuff you know. Get a diffuser for your flash, and learn to use the flash in manual mode. It's much more accurate and predictable than TTL or ETTL. Take extra batteries; battery packs are nice. You need plenty of memory; I like at least 1 GB per hour of coverage. Practice your low light focusing.

ksmattfish · Sep 16, 2005

amoki said:
I'm pretty sure the max high-speed sync for the 350D is 1/200 sec - might turn out to be a handicap.

I think the 580 flash has a feature that allows for high speed sync. It lowers the flash guide number a lot, but works okay for most fill flash situations (I have a 550 flash and a 20D, and have used the feature).