Wedding Photography

[FuraCelest]

Hi all. I need your expert advice. I am recently appointed to be my best friend's personal photographer. Apart from her official photographer which she already has, i have to cover her shots behind the scenes, her friends and family and whatever she asks me to take.

I am using a Nikon D90 with kit lens 81-105.
Currently and usually using aperture priority mode, but i do hear and some actually advised me to switch to program mode or auto mode for such events.

Which is the best mode so that i am able to catch all moments?

 

[catchlights]

the exposure mode you are most comfortable with.

 

[sinned79]

81-105? u mean 18-105?

just stick to aperture priority mode, its good enough. if u use auto mode you might just trigger off the pop up flash when its not required.

and try not to get in the way of the official photographer (as in blocking his angles).

 

[FuraCelest]

18-105 typo.

Ok noted

 

[Blur Shadow]

If you are comfortable with aperture priority, then stick to aperture priority.

 

[Octarine]

Such an event is for you to deliver, not to experiment with modes you have not used (much) before. Use whatever you know how to handle by heart. At such an event there is no time to read the manual or check online. But feel free to experiment with composition

 

[FuraCelest]

Such an event is for you to deliver, not to experiment with modes you have not used (much) before. Use whatever you know how to handle by heart. At such an event there is no time to read the manual or check online. But feel free to experiment with composition

Yeah agreed. Will keep that in mind thanks.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

Since you are not the paid photographer, try not to give yourself added pressure and enjoy the event as well Be creative and explore some interesting compositions. Your close friends may likely be more candid in front of your camera, so use that to your advantage.

all the best!

 

[Cowseye]

Since you are not the paid photographer, try not to give yourself added pressure and enjoy the event as well Be creative and explore some interesting compositions. Your close friends may likely be more candid in front of your camera, so use that to your advantage.

all the best!

At should be the attitude for you. But do note not to hinder the main photographer for doing his/her job.

If he/she's traditional, do let the group be taken by him/her first. Try not to point your camera at the guest during these times or you will cause some guests to look at you instead. Shooting from the side instead of frontal also helps, but make sure u are out of the main's frame of course.

If he's photojournalistic, try to cover area different from where he is already doing. Concentrate on the family members but do get a few shots of the bride and groom for your own portfolio.

 

[Shizuma]

you might want to consider using a prime lens with big big aperture eg 1.8 and below, and shooting in apeture priority with P mode as backup.

using wide aperture very useful for moments in low light esp in early morn, during dinner, etc.

set your lens to centerpoint Autofocus if you are shooting at wide aperture, thin DoF v easy to lose focus on subject.

use P mode when shooting non-static action eg bridal games.

last trick is to learn fill flash (ovverpower sunlight) in backlit subjects...actually just shoot in AV with flash on will do.

im not a pro but had been asked by my cousin to cover his wedding in a similar way as yours so just sharing! hope that helps

 

[Shizuma]

just to add on, as a auxillary photographer you may want to shoot the expressions of surrounding guests and relatives which are not being covered by the official photog at that moment

 

[sinned79]

you might want to consider using a prime lens with big big aperture eg 1.8 and below, and shooting in apeture priority with P mode as backup.

using wide aperture very useful for moments in low light esp in early morn, during dinner, etc.

set your lens to centerpoint Autofocus if you are shooting at wide aperture, thin DoF v easy to lose focus on subject.

use P mode when shooting non-static action eg bridal games.

last trick is to learn fill flash (ovverpower sunlight) in backlit subjects...actually just shoot in AV with flash on will do.

im not a pro but had been asked by my cousin to cover his wedding in a similar way as yours so just sharing! hope that helps

I wun really recommend P mode cos... the pop up flash might just go off for whatever reasons and that will really disrupts the main photographer who might also be using flash or not.

I will rather use AV mode if its a still photo, for games where action starts, I use TV mode to freeze the moment instead. At least these two modes wun cause the pop up flash to fire away unnecessarily.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

pop-up flash should not activate in P mode ba....

 

[sinned79]

pop-up flash should not activate in P mode ba....

no ah? sorry... long time never use this mode already.

 

[Shizuma]

p mode as emergency backup mode, flash or not better than no pic.

not nice still can fix in post production. no pic, fix what?

 

[HighTone]

I think maintain Aperture mode, but in case you "gabra", then quickly switch to P mode.

 

[FuraCelest]

To answer all of you,

Thank you all i will definately keep them in mind. However i dont have that whatever prime lens that dude mentioned. Never really encountered any problems yet with my kit lens maybe because i prefer to be behind the scenes all the time and do switch between Av and Sports Mode depending on what im trying to capture. It may really seems funny to be utilising the dslr different modes but im sure its there for a reason. Looks like the P mode its definately a no no i hate that mode myself.

Im a nikon user and not familar with canon terms. Is TV shutter priority or something along the lines?

Since its a wedding the jitters is in me since all awesome momenst happens very fast and im trying to deliver my best and to eliminate dissapointing shots when i view my spread at the end of the day.

Once more thank you all for the input.

 

[brapodam]

To answer all of you,

Thank you all i will definately keep them in mind. However i dont have that whatever prime lens that dude mentioned. Never really encountered any problems yet with my kit lens maybe because i prefer to be behind the scenes all the time and do switch between Av and Sports Mode depending on what im trying to capture. It may really seems funny to be utilising the dslr different modes but im sure its there for a reason. Looks like the P mode its definately a no no i hate that mode myself.

Im a nikon user and not familar with canon terms. Is TV shutter priority or something along the lines?

Since its a wedding the jitters is in me since all awesome momenst happens very fast and im trying to deliver my best and to eliminate dissapointing shots when i view my spread at the end of the day.

Once more thank you all for the input.

You will have problems with it once you get into low light scenes where with the kit lens, even ISO 6400 may not be enough. Say you are at f5.6 and ISO 6400 with your kit lens. If you had a 50mm f1.8, you'd be at f1.8 and ISO 800. Huge difference.

Anyway, I encourage you not to use any exposure mode you are unfamiliar with. Ken Rockwell says P is professional mode. That may be the case for him but certainly not for me, as I have absolutely no clue what it does and how it works.

Also, don't pressure yourself too much as you are not the main shooter.

 

[Shizuma]

just sharing, girl friend.

anyway a prime lens is those lens no zoom one. fixed focal length. I would recommend an inexpensive wide aperture lens. can shoot better in the dark or low light.

for canon users, tv means time values (shutter priority), whereas av means aperture values (aperture priority).

p stands for program, not professional. the real professional uses whatever mode she get best results from

you may also wish to explore exposure auto-bracketing (burst mode shooting ), 3 shots of almost same composition at 3 pre-set brightness compensation. this is useful because dslr always get fooled by the blacks of the groom and the whites of the bride... groom overexposed and bride underexposed.

I know this cos I go to many wedding a yr as part of my work as wedding florist

 

[Octarine]

You will have problems with it once you get into low light scenes where with the kit lens, even ISO 6400 may not be enough. Say you are at f5.6 and ISO 6400 with your kit lens. If you had a 50mm f1.8, you'd be at f1.8 and ISO 800. Huge difference.

And with 1.8 on short distances you'll get a very shallow depth of field that might look funky in the first moment but definitely does not suit all situations and is easily overdone. Also, most lenses work better (=sharper) when stopped down by one stop. If TS intends to use a prime lens I recommend some extensive testing before using it.

Anyway, I encourage you not to use any exposure mode you are unfamiliar with. Ken Rockwell says P is professional mode. That may be the case for him but certainly not for me, as I have absolutely no clue what it does and how it works.

KRW has some entertainment value, indeed. Better focus on websites that focus on facts and knowledge, instead. Personal opinions are ... well, personal and it's better to find them on his/her own instead of taking over from others.

Also, don't pressure yourself too much as you are not the main shooter.

That's why I don't recommend funny experiments with new lenses, new modes and whatever. One is most relaxed on home turf with known equipment and settings.