indoors

[bottomdweller]

Hi all,

just wondering what most of you shoot indoors for lenses?

Most of my shots are outside, but Im going to shoot some for my nieces wedding in vegas. I use a canon 30d, I have a 18-55 3.5-5.6 and a sigma 80-200 2.8. Would a fixed 50 1.8 be a good one to get perhaps?

Thanks

[Steve Foss]

For indoor work, wide apertures are key. The 80-200 f2.8 can get you some nice photos indoors depending on light, how high your iso is, and how good your steadying technique is. I'm frequently shooting indoors in churches as iso3200 with Canon's 70-200 f2.8L IS, at shutter speeds from 1/30 to 1/320. The IS helps quite a lot in those situations. Most pastors don't allow flash during the ceremony, and even if they do I only will use flash in the very darkest of settings, because all that flashing distracts people from the main event.

I will often use flash during the processional/recessional indoors.

If you want an excellent performer in the wider angle category that won't break the bank, pick up the Tamron 17-50 f2.8. It's specifically designed for your sensor size. It maintains f2.8 throughout the whole zoom focal range. It was my go-to wide angle for quite awhile when I was using the 20D/30D for weddings. It's a great lens for posed work as well. Nice and sharp, too. It will suit you better, IMO, than a fixed 50mm, since f2.8 is almost always plenty with a wide angle for indoor work, and you will find yourself in fast developing candid situations where if you have to "zoom with your feet" instead of twisting the zoom ring on the lens, you'll miss the shot. It also allows for less shifting around forward and back when doing work with posed groups.

Wide aperture zooms are king for weddings, and with those two you'd be good for any wedding situation.

I'm not trying to be nosy or presumptuous, but I have to ask if you're the primary photographer for this wedding. If so, plenty of batteries and backup memory cards are a must in case of battery/card failure, and if you can borrow/rent a second camera body for the day, not only will it make things easier for you as a photographer to have one body dedicated to each lens (no awkward lens swapping), but you'll have a backup camera if one carps out on you.

Have fun at the wedding. They are a joy to photograph!

[MN Shutterbug]

I will often use flash during the processional/recessional indoors.

Even if the minister or priest doesn't allow flash pictures during the ceremony, the processional isn't included due to this being before the ceremony begins. I was asked to take candids at a reception for a relative last year, the only kind I'll take. When the processional began I noticed that the "pro" photographer didn't have a flash on her camera, and this was a pretty dim setting. I quickly jumped up and took some with my flash. It was a good thing I did because the wedding couple didn't get any of those shots from the other photographer. You can't freeze movement at 1/30 sec. shutter speed.

[Steve Foss]

Ouch! No images from the processional from the primary shooter? That hurts! I bet they were glad you were there, my friend.

Even if the lighting is pretty good, I usually use flash indoors during the processional/recessional. Unless it's pretty dark, I allow the ambient light to take care of the metering, set my iso as needed to get at least 1/30 or 1/60 sec (wide angle with subjects smaller in the frame allows for slower shutter speeds while still delivering acceptably sharp images), set the flash to high speed synch and knock down the flash exposure compensation to about -1 or a bit more. Fills the shadows of the faces but allows the play of light/shadow to remain in the rest of the church.

Even at higher iso ratings, if light is good and the flash fills the shadows, the quality of the images is quite nice.

Mike, I have to ask (in all good humor). Did the primary shooter not get images because you stepped out into the aisle in front of him/her to get yours? You know I'm just joshing with ya, buddy.

But that's actually happened to me more than once. I typically position myself at the corner of where the pews meet the aisle at the very front, and a fella has to move pretty darn quickly to get his images when someone steps out into the aisle to take their own photos. Makes life . . . um . . . interesting!

Anyway, I hope we've helped a bit with your questions, bottomdweller (and others who may see this thread.) Ask away if you have more.

[bottomdweller]

Great info as always you guys!!

Steve I will be the primary shooter. Not much of a processional, pretty much a lil chapel in vegas. I will check into another body though.

I have two sets of batteries and two 4 gig cards.

Thanks again

Dave

[Steve Foss]

Dave, how long will you be shooting? Are you shooting wedding prep (like folks getting ready in the bride's and broom's room), the wedding, reception and dance? A lot of the following advice depends on how long your shooting day will be.

When you say two sets of batteries, does that mean you have a grip for the 30D, so you have four batteries total? That should be enough. I typically use up about half a battery on the 1D3 and half a charge on the set of two batteries on my gripped 5D during a 12-hour wedding day.

If you have two batteries total and only the 30D, you may think about not shooting anything in burst mode. It'll save on the batteries.

Also, with a total of 8 Gb of cards, I'm assuming you'll shoot large jpeg instead of RAW, and also not in burst mode. RAW files will fill those cards pretty fast unless you're careful in picking your images. And I never want to let battery/memory limitations make me cautious. Better to be able to shoot away at will to ensure the best photographs, and sort everything later on the comptuer.

Good thing is, memory cards have gotten cheap, cheap, cheap! And you can get 30D batteries from Sterling Tek for about $30/pair shipped to your door.

Again, if you're just shooting the wedding and some posed photographs, you've got plenty of battery/memory. If it's a big long day with lots of shooting, that changes things a bit.

This may all seem overly obsessive. I can see that. However, the most important thing when it comes to wedding photographs for the happy couple is getting the photographs. If using a single camera, and the camera conks out, we're dead in the water and the couple doesn't get their lifetime of visual memories. Same if not having enough cards or batteries compromises the day. There are no do-overs with weddings, which is why I'm kind of like a broken record on the subject of bodies/cards/batteries. Sorry if that comes off a bit crazy.

[MN Shutterbug]

Ouch! No images from the processional from the primary shooter? That hurts! I bet they were glad you were there, my friend.

Mike, I have to ask (in all good humor). Did the primary shooter not get images because you stepped out into the aisle in front of him/her to get yours? You know I'm just joshing with ya, buddy.

Actually, she was on one side of the pews and I was on the other side. I wouldn't have even bothered if I wouldn't have seen her flashless. For the pittance I was getting paid, I wasn't about to make waves. In-laws. I wasn't getting any further compensation for extras. Guess what pic was on their Christmas cards?

Anyway Mr. Dweller, a very inexpensive accessory that comes in very handy is a pocket bouncer. You just attach it to the top of your flash with velcro and you can get some nice soft bounced lighting.

[bottomdweller]

Thanks again Steve.

I just have the two batts, I think I will order another set. It is just a quick vegas in and out wedding at the chapel. So not alot of pre wedding pics. We might go to some desert setting after the wedding something torches.

So the sigma will come in handy there.

Thanks for the lighting tips.

Again thanks

Dave

[Steve Foss]

Our pleasure, Dave.

Oooooo, romantic posed wedding pics out in the desert. I could SO get into that!

[bottomdweller]

Yeah that should be cool!!

Its not til December and we will also be doing the national rodeo the next day.