1st wedding tomorrow and Freaking out please help :)

redmonkee

redmonkee

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Hi guys this is a very late in the day post but i'm kinda freaking out a little bout shooting my first wedding tomorrow.

Now I won't bore you with the details but basically i'm doing it as a favour for a couple I know with the agreement that they buy any prints they might like.

Now i've been practicing all week with my speedlight, something which is very new to me. Now i've decided that for indoors due to the consistent lighting i'll shoot manual but should I have the flash in ETTL or TTL (also what exactly is the difference?

Next for outdoors I wanted to shoot in manual to keep exposures consistent but i'm worried I wont be able to dial in the settings quickly enough as i've nearly always shot AV or TV with auto ISO enabled on my 1D3.

So to make it one less thing to worry about I think i'll shoot in AV with the flash in ETTL and HSS enabled to act as fill. My question here is what metering mode is best for this combo. Evaulative, Centre weighted or Spot?

I'm just a bit worried about blowing the whites of the wedding dress so figured spot would be easier to add compensation but i'm worried it'll throw my exposures all over the place if it lands on extreme tonal ranges.

Any help greatly appreciated :thumbs:
 
arrrr noooo, you're going to stuff it all up, cut heads off, blow the dress, have really bad noise and miss the important shots...




















:D

Joking :D

You'll be fine! Can't comment on ETTL or TTL as I don't use Canon, however use spot on the dress.

Just be aware, think we are expecting rain tomorrow all over the place, so take an umbrella just in case.

If its dull and you are shooting, remember, make sure to keep on eye on the shutter speed. Noisy photos are better than blurry photos ;)

Do yourself a check list of everything you need, insurance docs, batteries, mem cards, lenses etc. Get it all together tonight, then double check it before you go. Don't forget the shot list if you have one.
 
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If the ceremony is in church NO flash!
 
haggis said:
If the ceremony is in church NO flash!
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usually only during the ceremony, although that depends on the vicar.

Some will allow flash when they are walking in and out only, some won't allow it at all and some don't care.

Make sure you ask!
 
Just imagine you're exposing for cricketers wearing whites...you'll be fine. :D

Best of luck :thumbs:
 
redmonkee said:
Hi guys this is a very late in the day post but i'm kinda freaking out a little bout shooting my first wedding tomorrow.

Now I won't bore you with the details but basically i'm doing it as a favour for a couple I know with the agreement that they buy any prints they might like.

Now i've been practicing all week with my speedlight, something which is very new to me. Now i've decided that for indoors due to the consistent lighting i'll shoot manual but should I have the flash in ETTL or TTL (also what exactly is the difference?

Next for outdoors I wanted to shoot in manual to keep exposures consistent but i'm worried I wont be able to dial in the settings quickly enough as i've nearly always shot AV or TV with auto ISO enabled on my 1D3.

So to make it one less thing to worry about I think i'll shoot in AV with the flash in ETTL and HSS enabled to act as fill. My question here is what metering mode is best for this combo. Evaulative, Centre weighted or Spot?

I'm just a bit worried about blowing the whites of the wedding dress so figured spot would be easier to add compensation but i'm worried it'll throw my exposures all over the place if it lands on extreme tonal ranges.

Any help greatly appreciated :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Shouldn't you have asked these questions a month ago?

I won't say good luck because I do no think it is appropriate as it reads like you don't know what you are doing and you are gambling on getting it right. I will say - try not to muck it up.
 
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tiler65 said:
Shouldn't you have asked these questions a month ago?
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Yeah, i know. I've been reading loads and asking Q's aver the las few weeks but I think it's last minute nerves kicking in and its causing me to freak a little.

I'm sure i'll be fine but I just wanted some last minute clarification.:)
 
Harvey_nikon said:
You'll be fine! Can't comment on ETTL or TTL as I don't use Canon, however use spot on the dress.

Just be aware, think we are expecting rain tomorrow all over the place, so take an umbrella just in case.

If its dull and you are shooting, remember, make sure to keep on eye on the shutter speed. Noisy photos are better than blurry photos ;)

Do yourself a check list of everything you need, insurance docs, batteries, mem cards, lenses etc. Get it all together tonight, then double check it before you go. Don't forget the shot list if you have one.
Click to expand...

Cheers for that I had forgotten the shot list so just printing it off now :D
 
Take your time, try not to rush everything and check the histogram regularly...you don't want it skewed to the right.

I've found AV with ETTL and HSS is usally fine with Evaluative for fill-in flash with the flash exposure compensation dialled in at between -1 and -2 stops. Again just have a peak at the histogram.

My advice would be stick as much to what you normally do.
 
Good luck Phillip, I remember my first wedding, my knees knocked all the way through, have I done this right have I done that right, but I'm sure once you have got this one under the belt the rest will flow.

If you can make a rough shoot order list and follow it you'll be fine. Good luck you'll be fine.
 
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Good luck first off :)

If you bounce flash, don't do it off surfaces that will give strong colour casts that will be a PITA to remove in PP if there's also ambient/daylight in-shot. I did it in a stately home wedding where the walls were deep red - the bride had a pink dress and weird skin and I felt like a tit!!!

If the ceiling height is the same throughout the room I tend to just set a power setting and ISO that will allow me to shoot quickly without running the batteries down too fast - you can then just set the exposure in manual and click away, knowing that there may just be the odd tweak to make as you shoot. With high ceilings that may be a bit more difficult mind.....
 
I would say to keep it as simple as possible. Get there early, take some test shots indoors to learn the light you have and how the flash is working out. Unless you are working in lots of light I would not use Av mode with flash as in this setting the camera will set the shutter speed to expose correctly and then just use flash for some fill. This can mean motion blur city if you don't have the ISO high enough. I set a manual exposure that is just under exposing then the flash will do the rest. Outdoors or good light it is a different matter and the Av option works well.... that is until you break the 1/200s barrier and don't have HSS turned on ;)

I know you've covered this sort of in the initial post but just clarifying.

For metering I'm in matrix all the time when shooting, however it is rare I'm relying on the camera as I manually expose with a light meter, this is the only way I've found to get consistent results as in any exposure mode the metering will vary as you zoom in, out, have a different mix of guests clothing etc. If you don't have a light meter probably a little late to get one and be used to working with it, so I go back to my evaluative suggestion, keep an eye on the highlights thought, you want to be almost blowing the whites but not quite otherwise you soon get under exposure with the noise becoming an issue if at high ISOs.

Make sure you share some of the results and try to have fun, it will make the day go better if you are not stressing...... yep, easy for me to say from here ;)
 
Shoot in RAW and don't try anything that you haven't tried before.

A wedding isn't the place to be trying new stuff.

And try to enjoy it...
 
charlesbuchan said:
Shoot in RAW and don't try anything that you haven't tried before.

A wedding isn't the place to be trying new stuff.

And try to enjoy it...
Click to expand...

+1
 
charlesbuchan said:
Shoot in RAW and don't try anything that you haven't tried before.

A wedding isn't the place to be trying new stuff.

And try to enjoy it...
Click to expand...

+2, sure all will be fine & just suffering last minute nerves!
 
Best of luck I'm sure you will do fine, just look out to make sure people are looking the right way and that they're smiling :D and concentrate on ensuring people are in a mice position :thumbs:

A make sure you concentrate on the subject of the wedding i.e. The People no matter how interesting the sky is :naughty: :exit:

Matt
MWHCVT
 
Chris Primadona said:
1d MkIII = highlight tone priority!

Good luck with it, I'm sure you will be fine :D
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I've heard of this. But what exactly is the benefit of using it? Also does it work if shooting in Raw?

Also cheers for all the advice and tips guys:thumbs: And i'll certainly be posting the results at the weekend for you all to rip em to shreads :lol:
 
take 3 (or more!) shots of each scene. Saves you having to clone someone's eyes from another shot as they blinked in this one! (yes i did do this - no, you can't tell!)
 
I don't see any point in bashing you for not asking all this earlier, so first of all BEST OF LUCK.

Right, you've had some good advice so far.

One of the best bits was to get there early and do a load of test shots. That will SO take the pressure off you!

EDIT-> pressed Send to early.

In doors (avoiding colour clashes), bounce the flash in ETTL mode. Have the camera in manual mode - let the ETTL sort out the rest (as Mark has already said). You can practice this around the house.

Within reason, don't worry about blowing the dress. If you meter for brides face (usually) you won't be far off - and shoot in raw.

The only time I put the flash in manual mode is when the lighting is pretty static - ETTL can be.... ummmmmmm..... hit n miss (Nikon guys apparently have it easier). I shot a wedding a couple of weeks ago, and when shooting the speaches I switched flash to fully manual. Worked perfectly.

Outdoors, AV for me all the way and once again ETTL (and of course HS if the ambient light pushes the shutter speed up).

Finally - and two things I have to tell myself. Shoot wide (portrait and landscape - great for website) and don't be scared to push the ISO. LR3 will love you for it later.

Just take your time - I'm sure you will be fine.

EDIT-> Once they sit down to eat, find somewhere to restart respiration! :)

Good luck.

Dav
 
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