wedding photography help using the d3100

[dslrdude]

hi again guy's,

i got a phone call last night from a freind in desperate need, basically they are getting married in a few weeks and have completely blown there budget and forgot about photographs, so he has asked if i can do them for him.

now i have warned him that i am only an amatuer so if things go wrong there can be no come backs on me.

so i need your help guy's, here's the kit i have:

d3100 dslr
50mm f1.8d af nikkor lens
18-55mm af-s dx vr nikkor lens
remote shutter release
sb-400 flash
uv filter
cpl filter
soft focus filter
a good sturdy tripod

i also have black and white vinyl backdrops and daylight white lighting with umbrellas

any tips would be great guy's, plus will my lenses be ok.

 

[ScottMac]

Take heart that your equipment is not the greatest for wedding photography, but will certainly do the job. I am not a wedding photographer in any shape or form, so maybe others can also provide some input here. The MOST important aspect of ANY photography is the "dude" 3 inches BEHIND the camera.

Having said that, here are a few suggestions from someone that has been in exactly in your position, i.e. asked to be the official photographer at a wedding.

Your 50mm is a GREAT lens for the preparation time, when the bride is getting ready for the ceremony, for many shots during the wedding and for any portrait shots required. Remember that this will give you an effect of a 75mm lens on your camera (does this lens autofocus on your camera?)

Forget trying to use any of your filters, as you cannot expect the ceremony to wait while you add or remove these things. Your SB-400 will be very useful, and IF you have the time and opportunity, set up your lighting system wherever you are expected to take the after-ceremony photos and don't forget to use the tripod and remote release at this stage. Ensure that you shoot in RAW, so that the photos can be edited (someone else can do this even if you can't, but it is good to have them). Do not be discouraged by the 18-55 lens. It is a great little lens and will do the job adequately. Ideally, shoot in aperture mode, stopping the lens down one stop, and when taking pictures of big groups, ensure that the depth-of-field is not too narrow (stop the 50mm down to at least f4 or higher when taking group photos)

While the photographs of such an event may be important, it is now your job to record the event as best as possible for future enjoyment of the bride, groom, and their respective families and guests. Remember to try to be as non-intrusive as possible while capturing the event, as the ceremony and the whole day is really about the wedding, NOT the recording thereof. Make sure that you have sufficient battery power for the camera to last the duration, sufficient memory card space to shoot RAW, sufficient battery replacements for the flash, and shoot as many pictures as you can without being intrusive.

Finally, while you have been asked to record this event, remember to ask the minister/pastor/bishop for PERMISSION to photograph the ceremony in the church/chapel/cathedral and further ask from WHERE you can do so. They have performed many wedding and will often know where the regular photographers shoot from. Some may allow you to move around during, while others may not.

Good Luck .... rather you than me

 

[dslrdude]

thanks thats really good advice

the 50mm will be manual focus as the d3100 doesnt support the af

can someone explaine to me the definitions of shooting in raw and fine etc

 

[Solarflare]

I dont do weddings either. Basically ask me and I'll run the other direction at top speed. Most hairy kind of photography, no thanks. So dont ask me to comment on that.

If he indeed has the 50mm f1.8*D*, then its the AF lens and nope, it wont autofocus, because there is no AF motor in entry level Nikon cameras.

The AF-S lens with the buildin motor has a G instead of a D.

 

[dslrdude]

normally i would run the either way aswell but if i dont help him he wont get any photos.

my 50mm is the 1.8D so i know it will be manual focus.

just need to know defanitions of shooting in raw or fine etc

 

[ScottMac]

Given that the 50mm will not auto focus on your camera, leave it at home.... simply use the 18-55mm ...it will be ok. Manual focus on the 50mm will mean that it will be a hit-and-miss affair and you cannot go back to the event if you find out later that your picture are out of focus. Set your camera shutter to release on focus, so that your pictures MUST be in focus when the shutter is released, and set your focus to "continuous" when shooting pictures at reception afterwards.

Go through your menu and set up to store raw and jpeg. Jpeg generally has a few setting, namely size (small, med and large) and quality (fine, normal or basic). if you select Raw + Jpeg, you will at least have the raw files for later editing and manipulation, so a small and basic Jpeg should be plenty. Further, try to set your ISO setting to the lowest you can, so that your pictures are not filled with artifacts from high noise levels.

 

[Mike_E]

LensRentals.com - Rent a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S

Cost you about $100 for 6 days and they are fine people as well as being meticulous about their gear.

You could also get as big a monopod as you can afford. Carbon fiber is nice but aluminum works just as well. I say as big as you can afford because I also use my Manfrotto as a walking stick on hikes.

I'd go with the above 24-70mm because 24mm is wide enough for most things at a wedding and you'll want the extra reach of this lens over the 17-55mm as well as helping to keep away from wide angle distortion of peoples faces since you are unused to doing this type of work.

You might be tempted to rent a 70-200mm but this lens is mostly useless on a crop body (mostly as in you might use it for 20 minutes out of a three to four hour shoot and then only a minute or two at a time). So unless you want to carry around two bodies stick with the 24-70mm.

For shots that need wider than 24mm, use your kit lens and the monopod. As long as you keep the shutter speed up to 1/60 or above you'll get plenty of good shots- assuming that you aim them right.

You should already know to be looking at what others are doing but a good site to look over is planet neil

Good luck!

 

[cgipson1]

^ What Mike_E said..... you will need it if you want to do any kind of decent job!

I would also consider renting a SB900 / 910.... a lot more power and capability than the SB-400....

 

[JaronRH]

I started my wedding photography using a D90 so I can tell you that it is possible with your D3100 since it has inherited a lot from the D90. However, it's really going to come down to how well - and fast - you can operate the camera and your post-processing skills.

Do you know anything about the venues and shooting locations? I would highly recommend that you check them out before you commit to anything. Take note of what kind of lighting there is (especially if it is mixed lighting!) and what your working distances will be. Also, talk to the pastor or whoever is in charge of the ceremony to see what their rules are for photographers. There are some locations that will not let you use a flash during the ceremony itself and even limit where you are allowed to go! Take your gear and take some practice shots of both still and moving targets.

Like others have mentioned, I too would recommend renting either a 24-70 or 17-55 lens (I used to rent the 17-55 until I got my own but I also had some longer lenses. If you check out the venue though, you should be able to tell if you will want wider or longer based on your shooting style and the room you have to work with) and a more powerful flash (I used SB600s initially but a SB900/910 would be better). These lenses are sharper with faster AF and will let a lot more light in (which is good since I doubt I would want to take your camera above ISO 1600!). The flash will take the most practice as you will want to learn how to use it in mixed lighting and how to bounce/diffuse it while avoiding unsightly shadows.

Do you have any [mutual] friends that shoot Nikon as well? You might want to ask them to borrow their camera body as a backup!

I cannot stress enough though that it comes down to you as a photographer and not the equipment. In fact, sometimes if you rent too much new gear, you can actually hurt yourself since you're not used to it. Knowing how to use what you have and basic photography skills - such as exposure, lighting, and posing - will go much further then anything you can have or rent.

 

[KmH]

thanks thats really good advice

the 50mm will be manual focus as the d3100 doesnt support the af

can someone explaine to me the definitions of shooting in raw and fine etc

Did you know the D3100 offers support/aids for manual focus?

The only part of the auto focus system missing is a motor to move the focusing mechanism in the lens.
The D3100 will turn on the viewfinder in-focus indicator when manual focus has been achieved at the selected focus point.

An additional manual focus aid the D3100 has is Rangefinder mode - see page 144 of the D3100 user's manual.

Raw is a file type, and has no fine option. Raw is like a film negative, in so far as it has to be developed outside the camera using Raw converter software. Tutorials ? The RAW File Format
Photo Editing Tutorials

Fine is the largest JPEG image quality option - see page 64 of the D3100 user's manual.
JPEG is designed to be a finished, ready-to-print image that is developed right in the camea, kind of like a Polaroid but recorded on a memory card instead of on paper.

Your D3100 makes 12-bit depth Raw files. 12-bits can represent 4096 values (like colors or gray scale tones). JPEG is limited to 8-bit depth, and 8-bits can only represent 256 values (colors/gray scale)

Bit-depth determines how much editing headroom an image has.

 

[kathyt]

Yikes. I personally would not take this on from my own experience as a wedding photographer, but if you insist. I generally use a 70-200 for the ceremony, and then a bunch of primes for the rest. I love my 50 for the reception. For the bride and groom I prefer the 85 and the 135. I ALWAYS have a back up camera of the same quality, at all times, ready to shoot, and fully charged. A legally binding signed contract is a must. You might want to check with the venues to see if they require you to carry liability insurance. Some do, some don't. 99% of the time I have a second shooter depending on the size of the wedding.

 

[Mully]

Try not to get overwhelmed which is easy to do asking advice ... have a game plan, look at the location ahead of time so you know what you are facing, plan your shots and your shot location around the event location. Relax and have fun with it.

 

[amolitor]

I assume the D3100 will behave better with a modern lens vis-a-vis the manual focus aid. When the rangefinder function is on, it works wonderfully.

For lenses where the D3100 cannot meter, however, like mine, you can't shoot in any mode except Manual. In Manual mode the rangefinder is turned off, and you get an exposure meter instead and a focus confirmation light. Thus, with a sufficiently ancient lens (which I assume the 50mm f1.8d af nikkor lens IS NOT) you have to focus in Av or something, and then switch to manual to shoot. Just a head's up!

 

[pixmedic]

good luck with the wedding, they are tons of fun to shoot!
post some pictures so we can see how you did!
we see posts just like yours fairly often here, but i would say 99% never post any pictures of the wedding or event they were conscripted to shoot. you might find the feedback a great learning tool.

 

[greybeard24]

I want to second the suggestion that you rent a SB900 or SB910. Lots of power that you can bounce with the right surface. Great wedding albums have been shot with a lot lesser equipment than you have right now.