Help! With lens

[meme33]

I really need someones help. I'm taking pics at my friends wedding for her as a favor. Its going to be at a church under candlelights. So the lighting will be horrible. I have a nikon d80 with the kit lens 18-135 mm 3-5/5.6 fstop. I also have a 50mm 1.8 lens. I would like to use manual settings. I need to know if my 18-135 lens will work in low light. I can't go and buy a new lens right now. The wedding is in 2 weeks. Also is there another setting beside manual that will work. I have the sb600 speedlight. Thanks for any help you can give me.

[Byron Gale]

meme33,

Off the bat, I'd suggest going with the 50 1.8 if you're not going to use flash. You'll have to zoom with your feet, but for a challenging light situation like you describe, I think you'd have to raise your ISO settings too much (and get too much noise) to be able to use the slower zoom lens.

If you're going to use flash, I'd definitely use some sort of diffuser or bounce card to soften the shadows you'll create.

Can you visit the church in advance to see whether the ceiling may be too high to effectively reflect your flash if you direct it upward? Maybe you could practice a few shots in advance to get an idea of what you'll be up against.

I'll be interested in others' ideas, too!

Byron

[meme33]

I will be able to go the night before to take test shots. I just bought my camera and just started to practice in manual. I'm very nervous. So you think the 18-135 is not a good idea? I know its going to be hard with the prime lens but i'll do whatever it takes. I can use my speedlight. The ceilings are vaulted very high so i can't bounce the flash.

[Byron Gale]

If you are able to use your flash, then you would probably be OK using the zoom. You might have to use an ISO higher than 100, though, to get decent shutter speed.

One thing you can do is to set your speedlight flash head so it points just above 45-degrees, and then rubber-band a white card to the top of it to reflect flash forward... this should widen your light source and help to soften shadows.

[jhzich]

I think Byron's advice is great. My thoughts were much along the same line. I too would be inclined to take the 50mm 1.8 lens, not only because you can shoot wide open at a higher shutter speed than your 3.5 lense.

Definitely if you have the opportunity to shoot/practice under the identical conditions I'd do so with both lenses, with and without the flash. My guess is that what you'll like the look of most will be those under natural light with the 50mm...let us know!!


If you are able to use your flash, then you would probably be OK using the zoom. You might have to use an ISO higher than 100, though, to get decent shutter speed.

One thing you can do is to set your speedlight flash head so it points just above 45-degrees, and then rubber-band a white card to the top of it to reflect flash forward... this should widen your light source and help to soften shadows.

[meme33]

Well thats a big relief. I didn't want to have to deal with not being able to zoom at the ceremony. The reception is a different story, i'll use the 50mm. It will be low light also. I'm not comfortable with manual settings yet. Is there another setting that would work? I no auto is a big no-no. Lol thanks again for your help.

[jhzich]

Auto is not a big no-no. There are photographer purists that would tell you so, and you might even find some of these same folks that tell you that not using film is also wrong...

Auto has it's place, but the reason you shouldn't consider it for your wedding is because you already know that you'll be in a low-light situation where blur is going to be a big concern. And to address that concern you're going to want the force the camera to use the fastest shutter speed you can--you do this by using what's called "aperature priority". By dictating/setting the aperature, the camera is now free to pick whatever shutter speed provides the best exposure. Another setting your camera has is called "shutter priority" and this is used when you want to dictate the shutter speed (like maybe really fast if you're at a sporting event). In this situation, the camera will then automatically adjust the lens opening (aperature) for best exposure.

You camera also had a fully manual mode where you set both the shutter speed as well as the aperatue. This mode is seldom used, but can be handy when you trying to force an under or over exposure. With digital darkrooms being what they are (Photoshop Elements), you can get the same result there with a normal shot.

Does this help?

Well thats a big relief. I didn't want to have to deal with not being able to zoom at the ceremony. The reception is a different story, i'll use the 50mm. It will be low light also. I'm not comfortable with manual settings yet. Is there another setting that would work? I no auto is a big no-no. Lol thanks again for your help.

[meme33]

yes, you guys helped alot. i know now that i CAN use other settings. i have 2 weeks to decide my settings and which lens to use. manual mode is very confusing and then some people tell me it's a piece of cake. lol
i'll just keep practicing each settings with both lens. thanks everyone

[Chuck S.]

There's one other consideration that I don't believe has been addressed: how to achieve a pleasing "white balance" if shooting with available light instead of flash. Candlelight is very yellow and may give your camera's auto white balance a real challenge with skin tones. The warm tones may be desirable, but the effect may not be exactly what you're seeking.

My suggestion: shoot in RAW so you can later adjust the white balance in Adobe Camera Raw. RAW images respond much better to white balance adjustments in ACR that do camera-processed JPEGs. This is because RAW images come out of the camera without white balance being applied, while JPEGs are processed in-camera with whatever WB setting was used at the time the photo was taken. To achieve maximum flexibility, use RAW!

[meme33]

Thanks i will in fact shoot in raw. I heard that raw uses up your battery power faster? Is this true? I do have 2 batteries. I also have a 2gb memory card that will hold about 1100 pics if i use jpeg. But i know in raw if the exposure isn't right i can fix it in pe6. Thanks for the advice.

[Not4wood]

You've had a lot of good advice here.

First and formost thing, is bring both of your Glass!! They both have a purpose and to limit yourself to only one is very short sighted.

Shooting the ceremony you will probably need your longer part of the zoom to get in up close and personal. Just remember the most important thing when shooting with this Kit Glass. I have the same Glass, and I find that if you keep your Aperature to about 2 in from wide open your Focus will be a tad better. I'm talking about minimum of between at least a f:5.6-f:11. Natural ambient light depending on the situation you find yourself just keep checking your Metering and if your still way too dark just up your ISO speed. Try 200 and check your meter, then 400 and if you have to go higher just remember that in your cameras Menu you will have some Noise Reduction capability for higher ISO or also for longer shutter speeds.

As far as using your SB600 you can use what was mentioned above, and go to the Link here for a good way of understanding what there talking about: http://www.abetterbouncecard.com/

and you must remember that during the Ceremony you MUST ASK the person who is presiding over the Ceremony if you can not only take pictures but use your Flash. If you can't use Flash then you must NOT under any conditions use your Flash for the Ceremony. You must try and be as unabtrusive as possible and shoot like your an undercover SPY so not one person will notice you.

Bring extra batteries for the Flash, and at least 9 Gigs of Memory Cards. If you have the faster Extreme III SD cards rated at 30mb /second with 200x you will be better off but truthfully this and the regular Class 6 with the 133x will also do the faster heavier load of work.

One more point for you while doing Portraits: Make sure your using your Zoom at least between the 70-100mm or preferably the 90mm area of your Zoom. This will give you a better perspective if your shooting 1 or 2 people. Any more then this and you will have to go slightly Wide angle to get everybody in like some of the Formals or even for Table Shots.

Good Luck, and if you can practice with your camera before hand do so as much as you can to get the feel of what the D80 can do. Practice, Practice and then Practice again. Sorry, one last point is also make sure you Format each of your Memory Cards at least 3 times before you even think of leaving to go to the Wedding. Shoot a couple of practice shots on your cards then go into the Menu of your Camera and Format. Do NOT UNDER ANY CONDITIONS format these memory cards via the Computer. Trust me, you don't want anything to happen when your in the Field at this once in a lifetime Event.

[Byron Gale]

I have a D80, myself, and have come to shoot almost exclusively in RAW. I have not observed any difference in battery consumption between shooting RAW vs. JPG.

Your 2Gb card will fill up faster, though. My camera estimates being able to store 264 images on a freshly-formatted 2Gb card.

[Not4wood]

Only 2 Gigs???? I question this number of images. To me your NOT shooting at the highest size and Quality. You must if your Bride likes what you shoot and she wants a bit larger Image to hang on the wall be able to have your images be of the highest quality to hold up to these higher standards.

A big no, to the question of battery power useage for shooting in Raw. What eats up your battery is what is called Chimping. This is the viewing of the images after there shot. If you keep on calling up these images then your using the battery up. You have a few seconds to glance at your image immediately after there shot. This is OK, but then calling up these images again and looking and showing them to others is what is really going to eat up your power. I have 2 batteries, and will have both fully charged before any travel or event and bring your charger with you.

To go back a bit, 2 Gigs is not enough for a Wedding. At the highest setting of JPG it is still not enough. You did mention that your shooting in Raw, well fahgetaboutit........ On our last trip which was to the British Isles for two weeks this past summer I had brought 16 Gigs with me and I shot almost 14 Gigs worth and all in Raw. I haven't shot a Wedding in many years, and none in Digital but I have heard that about 9 Gigs should be enough to cover anything that will happen. Me, I would bring a bit more, maybe 12 Gigs. Keep unused in one pocket or a memory card holder and if there already full place these in another memory card holder in another pocket to keep everything straight. Two separate pockets that is..

[meme33]

Thanks for the very helpful advice. Its suppose to be a fun event but it's very stressful for me.

[Not4wood]

A Wedding is very stressful, but I must warn you. It is very addicting, and once you get the bug you wont be able to stop. It took me many years before I realized that it was eating my relationship up with my then Girl Friend. I was obviously a lot younger and many years ago. I just stopped in time to save my Girl Friend from leaving and we've been married for 22 years........

BTW, make sure you understand the link and practice what you watch in the Videos about a Better Bounce Card that I gave you in the Wedding Thread Question. Don't try anything for the first time at the Wedding. Make sure you understand everything about how your camera works before you go in.

One more point about Weddings. There are/is a magazine for Brides and Weddings that you can find at any Magazine Stand that will have a couple of poses that you will want to try and at the very least have in the back of your head of how to move and pose your Bride. Taking Candids is good and gives a very natural appearance. But, as thee Photographer it is also your job to pose your subject and take control so the images will look the very best.

If you have seen any of my posts in and about the Village, you will have seen my Link somewhere about the other great Photography Forum Group. They have a lot of directories but three that will affect you right off. One is of course a Nikon section, the next is Portraits and of course the last is the most important for you. Weddings!! This will give you ideas of what to do and why something works or better why something will not work and will save you time and effort shooting something that will give you a hard time.

Go to the PhotoCamel link here: http://photocamel.com/forum/

You didn't mention if you have a Tripod. If you do, bring it for your portraits and outside formals. This way you can leave your shutter speed a bit slower to capture more of the ambient light in your shots and still use your Flash, yes, outside your flash will be a fill. On my sig below is a link to Strobist, check this out as well.

[lowbone]

Well thats a big relief. I didn't want to have to deal with not being able to zoom at the ceremony. The reception is a different story, i'll use the 50mm. It will be low light also. I'm not comfortable with manual settings yet. Is there another setting that would work? I no auto is a big no-no. Lol thanks again for your help.

I think the sharpness of your photos will be determined by how steady you are at hand holding a camera at relatively slow shutter speeds. Therefore I would try to figure a speed that you can reliably hand hold and then set your camera at TV (Nikon might call it something else). You are now locking in a shutter speed. The problems you are likely to encounter are.
1. You will find that even if you could reliably handhold at 1/60 of a second, in a dimly lit area you will have to raise your ISO to 800,1600 or even 3200 to get a correct exposure.
2. f1.8 does not give the sharpest results on the lens you are considering. Stopping down another stop or two will give sharp results.
3. The depth of field on a 1.8 lens is zilch. If you have more then one person in the shot and you are shooting from any angle other then full front you will get substandard results.
4. Working with only one body makes switching lenses awkward but not impossible.
I would suggest keeping a tripod nearby. and that will allow you to use your longer zoom. There are peaks of action in any ceremony ( time when nobody is moving) that would allow you to shoot long even though your lens will only be f 5.6. More important then that though, I would speak to your friend and tell him what you are up against. Ask what shots he is expecting and see if he can make adjustments in the cermony to help you get those shots. Beyond that, shoot allot. Nobody wants a picture of the bride just as she was blinking. Find out in advance what group shots are expected so you dson't forget to include uncle Melvin.
Good luck, sounds like you will be taking on a difficult assignment without the best tools.

[lowbone]

Well thats a big relief. I didn't want to have to deal with not being able to zoom at the ceremony. The reception is a different story, i'll use the 50mm. It will be low light also. I'm not comfortable with manual settings yet. Is there another setting that would work? I no auto is a big no-no. Lol thanks again for your help.

I think the sharpness of your photos will be determined by how steady you are at hand holding a camera at relatively slow shutter speeds. Therefore I would try to figure a speed that you can reliably hand hold and then set your camera at TV (Nikon might call it something else). You are now locking in a shutter speed. The problems you are likely to encounter are.
1. You will find that even if you could reliably handhold at 1/60 of a second, in a dimly lit area you will have to raise your ISO to 800,1600 or even 3200 to get a correct exposure.
2. f1.8 does not give the sharpest results on the lens you are considering. Stopping down another stop or two will give sharp results.
3. The depth of field on a 1.8 lens is zilch. If you have more then one person in the shot and you are shooting from any angle other then full front you will get substandard results.
4. Working with only one body makes switching lenses awkward but not impossible.
I would suggest keeping a tripod nearby. and that will allow you to use your longer zoom. There are peaks of action in any ceremony ( time when nobody is moving) that would allow you to shoot long even though your lens will only be f 5.6. More important then that though, I would speak to your friend and tell him what you are up against. Ask what shots he is expecting and see if he can make adjustments in the cermony to help you get those shots. Beyond that, shoot allot. Nobody wants a picture of the bride just as she was blinking. Find out in advance what group shots are expected so you dson't forget to include uncle Melvin.
Good luck, sounds like you will be taking on a difficult assignment without the best tools.