Candlelite Wedding

milos

I am doing a Candle Light Wedding for friends next month and need some advice if possible.

It is set in a medium country church with low natural lighting and the couple want low light intimate ( romantic ?) shots.

My equipment consists of

Nikon D60
18-55mm AF-S
18-105 mm AF-S
100-300mm AF zoom
and my Christmas present
50mm 1.4 mm AF-S ( Bought in jessops in Newry for €320 )

Will the 50 be the best for indoor church shots ???

All help appreciated

Merry Christmas

Milos:)

Fenster

Off-camera flash?

mikeanywhere

I don't know the Nikon range so the lenses you quoted below are they F2.8?? The better the glass you have the more achievable it will be. However for the crucial shots ie lighting of candles, exchanging of rings you will need to use flash, so make that clear with the couple.

Also be the priests best friend and introduce yourself when you get there - he will appreciate it more that you made the effort. Ask him if he has any rules about where you can or cant go & whether you can use flash or not. Also ask him whether the couple will be lighting the candles facing the altar or the guests as it will be easier to know where to go to take the pics.

Hope that helps for starters??

pete4130

For that you'll need a 35mm f/2, 50mm 1.4 and an 85mm 1.4 to start with. I don't think anything else will do the job. These lenses WON'T Autofocus on your camera (unless you get a 50mm 1.4 AF-S lens). A D60 will struggle in those lighting conditions too. You'd probably need at least a Nikon D90 for high ISO/low noise or a D300 would be better and a D3 body would be your best bet....sadly none of these come cheap!

Candlelit weddings is a tough task to be taking on!

BanzaiBk

I'd seriously consider renting lenses and a body for the task. I've rented from Conns a lot recently and have found the service invaluable. They have a rent info page here.

rahtkennades

There was another thread similar to this a while ago (see link). There was a few good tips might be useful for background.
Good luck!

milos

thanks all

have a good speedlight .

Will practice on low setting with this.

pete4130

the speedlight will totally kill the whole atmosphere of the candlelight. Thats why its SO important to have a camera and lenses that are good in low/poor lighting conditions.

Rb

I'd suggest listening to Pete's advice. You're not going to get "low light intimate ( romantic ?) shots." sticking a speedlight in their faces.

CabanSail

You are taking on a brief that would challenge many experienced wedding photographers.

The low light candles sound romantic but they give SFA light. You do have a good lens in the 50mm f1.4 but the DOF will be very narrow at 1.4. The other problem is that on a cropped body the 50mm is a mid telephoto & can be limiting in a small area.

Using flash will kill the atmosphere. There is a skill in balancing off camera flash with available light.

I would try the available light route, bump up the ISO to about 800 & be prepared for a lot of soft shots.

pete4130

I shot a friends wedding as a second shooter for a favour, as a friend.... no flash ( I always try not to use flash anyway). I was shooting at ISO 3200 and ISO 6400 at the reception in really tough conditions and underexposing by 1 or 2 stops on occasion and struggled to get useable shots with my 50mm 1.4 (being out of focus with the shallow depth of field, finding it hard to focus in low light, slow shuter speeds with people moving/dancing etc...) and a flash def wold have killed the atmosphere. Candle lit weddings are so tough to shoot. the 50mm 1.4 you are getting is an advantage. I've used a D40 before and it's ok at 1600 ISO in good conditions and the D60 would be the same. I'm not sure how it would be in dark/low light/underexposed conditions.

If you can afford it, and it is available I would totally recommend renting a D3s body (pretty much the best camera for low light/high ISO around right now...it can go up to ISO 102,400 ISO but really useable up to ISO 6,400 or 12,800 at a pinch). I know they weren't due for release until last November/this month so it could be wishing for a lot to get one of them. All else fails a D700 or D3 is your best bet with your 50mm 1.4 lens

You can see my wedding shots here and the last pics are from the reception which would be on par or better lighting (albeit with more movement) than a candlelit wedding ceremony.

I still say a D3 & D700 with 35mm f/2, 50mm 1.4, an 85mm 1.4 and a 105mm 2.8 to cover all/most focal lengths if you can afford it all.

kumate_champ07

you will need iso 3200 @ f1.4 for candle light


canon 5d/1d/1ds series, ef 24/35mm f1.4L, ef 50mm f1.2L, ef 85mm f1.8/1.2L, ef 135mm f2L

nikon d3,d700,d3s

with 5d mkII and nikon d3s the max aperture size wont matter so much so a canon/nikon 24-70mm would suit.

conns in dublin do rentals but ISS do a much better price for canon rentals

milos

Am experimenting with reducing the power of both the built in flash and my speedlight to see what results they will give.
Am also working out ISO and white balance on the shots.

Thanks for all the advice

Practice, practice, practice.

Merry Christmas

mikeanywhere

You WILL need to use flash for the crucial shots ie bridesmaids/bride walking down the isle, bride& dad handing over to the groom, lighting candles, ring exchange etc I would suggest bouncing the flash if you need to use it as that will help reduce any harsh glare.

Dont think that you can not use flash but use it wisely as not to piss off people (& the priest).

I will DM you a link to my stuff