Rut-Row... What have I been roped into?

[M38A1]

I have some general questions about an informal wedding shoot. Let me preface this whole request with 1)the wedding party was not going to have pictures in the first place, 2)I'm not a professional nor do I play one on TV, 3)these are friends who simply want a few shots of their day/reception at a local place on the lake after they were talked into it by others, 4)I was the 'lucky guy' that was roped into their request at the request of said other friends. The expectation level is not high, but I'd still like to provide them with something better than snapshots that exceed the expectations.

I have a good feel for the types of standard shots I want to take. My questions center around shooting RAW and post-processing.

Having not shot RAW format yet, at this stage of the game am I safer going that route for this? My understanding is the data captured in the RAW format is considerably more robust than a jpg format allowing me more latitude in post.

Regarding post, I've been using PS Elements with .jpg images, yet I have a copy of Lightroom available. Should I combine the RAW/Lightroom first time out of the chute or stick with what I'm comfortable doing (.jpg/Elements)?

I just need a bit of wisdom in the right direction. Do I go with my comfort level or jump into two new components for someone elses pictures? They get married Wednesday 11/11 late afternoon for this non-paying event.

We all have to start somewhere, so be gentle...

[AtTheWall]

I would shoot in both modes if you can and using a hot shoe flash will help with controlling the light. The post processing routine will add a few additional steps with RAW shots but you will have more latitude with the overall finals.

Just focus on each shot and don't worry about the post processing stuff till you wrap. From there you can try both software suites and compare for the best finals.

[Bill M]

I agree with Rob, shoot RAW+Jpeg. I do this often. As far as post processing, go with what you are comfortable with. If you don't have it, you can get ACR for elements to process the RAW files with. Google will find it for you.

Like Rob said, use a flash also if you can. I would try to use as much natural light as the main light since it's an afternoon event. Use the flash for fill. Again Google is your friend. Good luck.

[M38A1]

Thanks guys.....

I'll shoot a RAW/Fine format allowing for both. That way I should be able to pull something out of the shoot.

I'm on the fence about purchase of a flash unit on such a quick turn. I'm just going to hope the on-board flash does the trick or a non-flash/high ISO setting for natural light. I'm pleased with ISO 1600 results thus far on the D90. My thinking is to learn a new flash capability AND shoot might be biting off a bit much in one shot.

This should be interesting to say the least.....

Thx-

[scotty]

Scott, is the wedding in Austin? If it is, I have an SB-900 that you can borrow for the event. I live in Taylor, so I could meet up with you in the AM. Good luck! I shot three weddings back in the days of film, and swore that I'd never do it again.
Shoot me a PM if you're interested. The flash is fully auto, just mount it and turn it on.

[Justin]

I shot my sister wedding this past spring. kind of the same situation you are in. If it is outdoors, when you set up to take pics, watch any trees around. The shadows will really give you fits. I don't know what kind of lenes you have, but I borrowed a 75-300 from a friend and it really helped taking pics afterwards in the reception. With it on, it was strong enough to take candid shots across the tent where the reception was without me getting up close to the subjects. When I tried to shoot them with my normal 18-55 lens, They would see me coming and tense up or try to dodge the pic. I got some good shots of guests that way and they never knew I was around. Have fun!

[AtTheWall]

Keep the ISO as low as possible if you can. For shots indoors, turn on the lights and have those gathered as close as possible to the light. Getting the ISO above 800 adds too much grain into reproduction. When you meter, focus on the light and ignore the shadows....hopefully the subjects are in the light.

Review the inside of the house and study the light there. Block out zones that simply are too dark and shoot like mad when folks hit the zones with good light. Don't be afraid to take charge of the scene, give them an idea of what your limitations are and let them accomodate their movements to areas that are suitable for low ISO shots.

Good luck! Can't wait to see what you shoot!

[scotty]

Scott, see you at 11:30.

[aggie2000tx]

You will want to use a flash more than likely. I shot my cousins wedding last year and the lighting in the church was very bad. I just used the on board flash and it was not enough. The pictures ended up turning out great but they would have been better with a flash. Like stated above you will want to take charge and tell the people what to do in a nice way. I took alot of the pictures before the wedding which cut down the amount of picture time afterwards. It sounds like this is a pretty laid back wedding though. Pictures are the last thing on anyones mind at the time of the event that is the reason you will want to take charge and tell them the pictures that you want to take. Take lots of pictures and you will be suprised how good they turn out. I think at my cousins wedding I took about 600 shots but it could have been more.

[Shane]

You will do MUCH better with a real flash and not just the on-board flash. I'd definitely shoot RAW. I wouldn't waste time/memory space with the +JPEG personally. If you use Lightroom, there is no need to shoot anything but RAW. You can set default settings in Lightroom, just like you do in your camera for in-camera JPEGs. As Lr imports the RAW files, it will apply your default settings. No extra step involved to get the same shots you could get with JPEGs in camera. But you will have RAW originals that are still unaltered. If you need to tweak some of the shots individually, then you have all the data still there.

With combinations of flash, natural light, and/or interior lighting in the building, you are likely to have white balance problems from time to time. You can adjust white balance on the RAW files very easily. I set my camera on auto WB and just leave it there. Then, if it didn't get it just right, I go to Lr and use the little dropper to select something that should be WHITE in the picture, and Lr adjusts the white balance perfectly. You can save that setting and apply it to other pics if you have similar WB issues in multiple pics. Very easy and quick.

Best advice though that nobody has mentioned: ARE YOU FREAKING CRAZY??? A WEDDING??? RUN FOR YOUR LIFE AND DON'T DO IT!!! BRIDES AND THEIR MOMS ARE NUTS!!!!

[scotty]

Scott, I enjoyed lunch, it was good talking to you. Scenery was pretty good as well. Good luck with the wedding. If you have any other questions, give me a call.

[M38A1]

Wowzer.... What a day!

First off, a huge thanks to Scotty for meeting me for lunch today and trusting his SB900 flash unit to my care. After a great lunch and quick instructions as well as some tips/techniques I was off on an adventure.

I got there early and asked where they were going to be married. Turns out it was back by the pool overlooking Lake Austin. The sun was fairly harsh at 3pm (they bumped it earlier from 5 to 4 to 3) and they faced the sun. About 3:30ish they decided to get the show on the road which helped some. The flash worked perfectly. (well, at least in my opinion).

I shot just shy of 6gigs, maybe 250 shots in RAW and JPG Fine. Next time I'll drop the JPG level down since I don't need to have anything that big to forward to the client. WHAT? Did I just go out on a limb and propose I'd do this again? Not sure I would at this point....

After the ceremony at their beautiful house, they did a quick champagne toast in the kitchen and everyone was off to beat the sunset at The Oasis on Lake Travis. Arriving about 15 minutes before sunset, we found a great spot and I just started shooting 'till the sun dipped below the horizon. A few first dance shots, candids and I called it a night.

Now the fun starts in the culling process. I'll post a few up here probably tomorrow. Most were done with the SB900, "A" mode in the sweet spot of the 18-200VR (f/8 and +/-100-135mm) and ISO of 200. Based on what I could see in the screen panel, I think there's a few keepers.

Scotty - I'll give you a buzz around 1 Thurs and we'll hook up to get the flash back to you.

Again, thanks for everyone's help.

.

[M38A1]

Here's a quick one. I figured everyone here would get a kick out of it. And yes.... the groom is a bowhunter and loved my idea!

[scotty]

Glad everything worked out, and that I could help. Talk to you later. I like the ring shot, cool.

[M38A1]

So here's the scoop... Shooting a 3pm event in Texas on a clear day presented it's own challenges, primarily sunlight as bright as it was. The shadows were harsh at times and the fill flash was an absolute must. After the event, they wanted to make The Oasis for sunset pictures. Again, no pressure since I've never done those either.

I used Nikon's D90 on "A" mode at ISO 200 with a Nikon Speedlight SB900 and Nikon's 18-200VR set at f/8. The speedlight did all the shutterspeed calculations which was a breeze. I only did a few bracket shots and honestly, the time to set it up and get the subjects to wait for three shots was way too much for them. I did use the continuous shooting mode and could rattle 3 shots off pretty quickly. Post was done using a combination of Lightroom v2.2 and Photoshop Elements. I shot RAW and .jpg Fine, but wound up doing all post in .jpg. I've only had LR for a week and am still figuring it all out. Total investment thus far is six hours for the event and about 12 hours post processing.

In the end I came away with a greater appreciation for people that do this professionally. It's not easy work. So, here's a few that I thought I'd share in hopes of constructive C&C. The full slideshow is HERE

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