To all the Technical Experts as well as the Wedding Shooters

[USM]

To all the Technical Experts as well as the Wedding Shooters, please advise on the following :

Do you to have to meter all the times or use some pre-set exposure settings which you are comfortable with during a ballroom wedding dinner or in a house (e.g. HDB flat). In this manner, you don't have to worry about exposure and concentrate more on composition, etc.

For example, using a pre-set exposure setting of f5.6 and 1/60 at ISO 400 in a ballroom wedding dinner or you meter something to get the exposure.

[djork]

that's what i do for indoor (under shelter) event shots too. just that sometimes i need to adjust the flash output. i find it very useful as i don't have to constantly fiddle with the aperture/shutter speeds.

[Witness]

EH...i am no expert on this but the light conditions in every part of a concealed area is different...so how is it possible to use a standard set of exposures for everything.....its juz not right to me .... ....anyway......1/60 is kindda slow for hand held ya....

juz my 2cts

Why not use the partial meter option in the camera body with the Av mode to let the camera decide the setting for you? Just we know where to meter the area of the scene. This way we dont need to manually meter the aperture and speed combines. Right?

[Witness]

yup... Pm mode for nikon if i am not wrong...they give u the correct metering...then from there u can change or compensate as you like..

[KNIGHT ONG]

Normally indoor wedding shoot for me is f5.6/f6.3 with 1/30-1/60 speed. and bounch flash ..

[khairi]

Originally Posted by Witness EH...i am no expert on this but the light conditions in every part of a concealed area is different...so how is it possible to use a standard set of exposures for everything.....its juz not right to me .... ....anyway......1/60 is kindda slow for hand held ya.... juz my 2cts

sorry witness, gotto to disagree with you here. I've used F5.6 1/60 for 2-3 events and its success rate is abt 90%+. but it'll depend on a few factors.

At that setting, it'll depend largely on the photographer and less on the camera. the knowledge of focal length and distance will be a must for the fotographer. this will ensure that all shot could be done hand held.

I've used F5.6 1/60 with a ASA200 film...the first try was bad...due to hand shake and silly mistakes...the subsequent was good, this happens when you bought the wrong film.

yes, for indoors, please use ASA 400 or more if you want...but trying ASA 200 is not even a crime...cos so far, that's what i've used. only prob, the film could prove too slow.

[E-Lim]

Originally Posted by USM For example, using a pre-set exposure setting of f5.6 and 1/60 at ISO 400 in a ballroom wedding dinner or you meter something to get the exposure.

I have seen a lot of debates on this pre-set setting for Wedding.
You can't anyhow shoot on this settings and expect that things will be turn out good for you. You have to do some metering at least.

[khairi]

and forgetful me...bounch flash too.

[khairi]

Originally Posted by E-Lim I have seen a lot of debates on this pre-set setting for Wedding. You can't anyhow shoot on this settings and expect that things will be turn out good for you. You have to do some metering at least.

that's true...for me, i'll only use the preset if it's a the familiar lighting...but sometimes, i just don't care.

[USM]

Originally Posted by Djork that's what i do for indoor (under shelter) event shots too. just that sometimes i need to adjust the flash output. i find it very useful as i don't have to constantly fiddle with the aperture/shutter speeds.

Originally Posted by KNIGHT ONG Normally indoor wedding shoot for me is f5.6/f6.3 with 1/30-1/60 speed. and bounch flash ..

Meaning you guys have a pre-set exposure settings, right?

[E-Lim]

Originally Posted by khairi sorry witness, gotto to disagree with you here. I've used F5.6 1/60 for 2-3 events and its success rate is abt 90%+. but it'll depend on a few factors. At that setting, it'll depend largely on the photographer and less on the camera. the knowledge of focal length and distance will be a must for the fotographer. this will ensure that all shot could be done hand held. I've used F5.6 1/60 with a ASA200 film...the first try was bad...due to hand shake and silly mistakes...the subsequent was good, this happens when you bought the wrong film. yes, for indoors, please use ASA 400 or more if you want...but trying ASA 200 is not even a crime...cos so far, that's what i've used. only prob, the film could prove too slow.

Where did you get that settings? Did you use light meter, camera meter or your just guage?

[E-Lim]

Originally Posted by khairi that's true...for me, i'll only use the preset if it's a the familiar lighting...but sometimes, i just don't care.

Good luck to you.

[khairi]

Originally Posted by E-Lim Where did you get that settings? Did you use light meter, camera meter or your just guage?

me got those settings from a photoshop owner at teck whye lane. He uses Nikon and does indoor shoots. but the most general setting will be the F5.6 1/60, but certainly not the safest setting he said...its a give and take situation....so must see the amount of available light and what DOF you want.

[khairi]

Originally Posted by E-Lim Good luck to you.

yeah...that's what i always say to myself whenever i shoot indoors. It's scary if the photos look crippled!

[USM]

Originally Posted by khairi yeah...that's what i always say to myself whenever i shoot indoors. It's scary if the photos look crippled!

Why don't you show a photo of yours taken at f5.6 and 1/60?

I believe that a picture tells a thousand words.

[E-Lim]

Originally Posted by USM Why don't you show a photo of yours taken at f5.6 and 1/60? I believe that a picture tells a thousand words.

Anybody can show u a very nice photo using that setting but it doesnt mean you can use it and get the same result. All depends on the light condition.

[dkw]

Originally Posted by USM To all the Technical Experts as well as the Wedding Shooters, please advise on the following : Do you to have to meter all the times or use some pre-set exposure settings which you are comfortable with during a ballroom wedding dinner or in a house (e.g. HDB flat). In this manner, you don't have to worry about exposure and concentrate more on composition, etc. For example, using a pre-set exposure setting of f5.6 and 1/60 at ISO 400 in a ballroom wedding dinner or you meter something to get the exposure.

OK, going to dive in here.....
First of all, I'm not a pro-photog, only shoot weddings as a favour to friends/relatives. But from what I've read from DPReview and Fred Miranda forums, it seems the best thing is really to have a fixed setting and let your flash do the work. Due to the dynamic nature of weddings, you would be really hard pressed to try and fiddle with your controls as lights are dimmed, turned back on, couple walks from shadow into light, etc... real exposure nightmare. So here's what I do, with fair results....

Set to M, 1/60, f5.6 or 8.0, set flash to Auto or TTL.....and fire away! Seriously, take a few test shots, have a look at the histogram, dial in flash exposure compensation, and I'm done. IMO, for decent (not necessarily the best), stress free, wedding photography, nothing beats a good intelligent flash.

Try looking up the forums I'd mentioned above, a treasure trove of info.

OK, time for the pros to shoot me down.

Cheers,

[kweehonjin]

Originally Posted by dkw OK, going to dive in here..... First of all, I'm not a pro-photog, only shoot weddings as a favour to friends/relatives. But from what I've read from DPReview and Fred Miranda forums, it seems the best thing is really to have a fixed setting and let your flash do the work. Due to the dynamic nature of weddings, you would be really hard pressed to try and fiddle with your controls as lights are dimmed, turned back on, couple walks from shadow into light, etc... real exposure nightmare. So here's what I do, with fair results.... Set to M, 1/60, f5.6 or 8.0, set flash to Auto or TTL.....and fire away! Seriously, take a few test shots, have a look at the histogram, dial in flash exposure compensation, and I'm done. IMO, for decent (not necessarily the best), stress free, wedding photography, nothing beats a good intelligent flash. Try looking up the forums I'd mentioned above, a treasure trove of info. OK, time for the pros to shoot me down. Cheers,

I think everything you said makes plenty of sense. One thing more which might help is to "remember/learn" situations where youre TTL flash can be tricked and to compensate accordingly.

Say you're shooting at 1/40 f5.6 indoors and flash compensation is at 0. With a DSLR, you can - and should - shoot some 'test shots' of the important persons/scenes to determine if the white gown/black backdrop/spot light next to cake etc etc is gonna play havoc with the metering. Then dial in the required compensation. Try to avoid 1/3 stops in compensation as 1/3 stop hardly makes a difference when in comes to digital/prints. Go for half stops if you're bracketing...

With experience, you'll find yourself intuitively going about setting the flash compensation and leaving the shutter/aperture alone.

Just my 5cents worth.... hope it helps!

[clive]

meter all the time

fix the flash output to -1/2