Question for anyone who has photographed weddings
I have a bit of a technical question: when you are in a chapel/church/building with low light photographing the ceremony, what lens do you use? and do you use flash?
Just trying to get a few different opinions. i am thinking I probably need a good telephoto lens with a wide aperture. (I shoot with Nikon, if anyone has recommendations!)
thanks!
Matt Sillence
I use a 120-300mm sigma F2.8 or the 50mm nikon f1.8. Flash is never allowed when wedding is in progress, signing of register with flash is ok.
fallenrosemedia replied
thanks very much. I will look into the sigma. Just bought the 50mm :) thank you for the info.
Peta Ridley
No flash allowed in church weddings…so a good, fast telephoto is your best bet. Its also useful to get as much info as you can from the bride and groom about the locations, number of people, events through-out the day, colour schemes etc etc – it really helps the shoot on the day…
...Oh, and take as many Flash cards as you can!
fallenrosemedia replied
thanks very much! very useful info.
and i have two 8GB flash cards, and haven’t needed more, so I think I’ll be fine! for now… :P
Jessica Walker
I wasn’t really photographing indoors when I did my first wedding..
but when I was inside it was light enough I don’t recall having to use flash.
For indoors though if it is too dark, I’d recommend flash.. of course when they say it’s allowed. Good luck!
fallenrosemedia replied
thanks Jessica!
Ed Stone
My first wedding was in a dingy reception place so I had not choice but to use a little flash diffused and bounced off the ceiling. But I tired not to use much.
I guess it depends on how much you’re being paid. If they are paying a lot and its not a favor then yeah go out and buy a nice f/2.8 zoom but don’t forget the wide angle shots!
I’ve just order a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens and I can’t wait I just hope all the snowy weather doesn’t delay it.
I love all you work btw :) xx
najeroux
Nikkor 50mm 1.4G. Becomes an effective 80mm on the half frame sensor which is divine for lowlight portraits. Also make sure you’re wearing something you can move easily in with comfy shoes. I made the error of shooting a wedding as a bridesmaid once. I tripped over my skirt and made an epic arse of myself.
najeroux
HenkStolk
Use fast lens and cranck up the iso if needed.
It’s a tradeoff.. there is low light.. you don’t want blurs, you don’t want too much noise either.
Best is.. get an assistant (can be anyone around) and carry 2 cameras. Shoot and see and quickly change if it doesn’t work.
Would have a wide and a tele ready. You need tele to get close to the action.
If you need to choose, use a tele because you cannot get too close otherwise you block the view.
Hope this helps.. (aah sneak in a monopod to get that extra stability in low light)
fallenrosemedia replied
that does help, thanks Henk! unfortunately don’t have the luxury of being able to afford more lenses or camera bodies at the moment, but it’s something that I will invest in. Until then, I will get my monopod out and use my 50mm 1.8 as much as possible :) thankyou!
HenkStolk
MInd the shallow DOF when you open up the lens.
Tricky when the couple are holding hands. On 1.8 you only get one spot in sharp and you will miss out them together, which is the atmosphere in the shots.
So, 1.8.. very tricky.. Experiment with increasing the ISO to see how much noise your camera gives in these conditions.
fallenrosemedia replied
i’ll keep the ISO in mind. my camera is a nikon D90, so does pretty well on high ISO. thanks again Henk