How Do You Set Your Nikon DSLR For Weddings?

[Batdude]

Hi guys,

I'll be honest with you. I have mostly been shooting in fully manual during the last several years. The situations where I normally shoot are indoor with fixed lighting and due to type of photography I have been doing mostly I have been able to do photography in fully manual.

But, I have a wedding coming up and I have not done one in quite a while. I do admit that the last two weddings I did were challenging specially while going from outdoor in full sun into indoor while going into the church, and vice versa

Taking the time to chimp and and adjust the exposure in fully manual is something I did NOT enjoy doing since shots are missed when wasting time doing that, meaning under exposed photos as soon as walked into church and over exposed as soon as I walked outside again. I don't want to run into that situation ever again.

So, how do you set your DSLR camera, or mirrorless, to avoid that situation, including ISO settings?

Thank you.

 

[Paul P K]

Hi guys,

I'll be honest with you. I have mostly been shooting in fully manual during the last several years. The situations where I normally shoot are indoor with fixed lighting and due to type of photography I have been doing mostly I have been able to do photography in fully manual.

But, I have a wedding coming up and I have not done one in quite a while. I do admit that the last two weddings I did were challenging specially while going from outdoor in full sun into indoor while going into the church, and vice versa

Taking the time to chimp and and adjust the exposure in fully manual is something I did NOT enjoy doing since shots are missed when wasting time doing that, meaning under exposed photos as soon as walked into church and over exposed as soon as I walked outside again. I don't want to run into that situation ever again.

So, how do you set your DSLR camera, or mirrorless, to avoid that situation, including ISO settings?

Thank you.

Last wedding I shot was over 12 years ago, for a friend ( = for free:-( ), on digital (have shot weddings with analog bodies, ranging from F2AS/FE to F90X/F100, on film in the 80's and 90's)

F\or the outdide part (formals, part of the reception on a outside terrace etc) I simply had my D3's ( I always shoot weddings, parties, event, and nowadays dance and catwalk, with two bodies, for safety/back up, and being able to swiftly change focal length with having to change lenses) ) in Auto ISO mode, with fixed shutter speed and aperture, and the exposure compensation leaning to slightly under exposed (easily corrected in post even with software as simple as Nikon NX2 / NX D, even if that may mean having to adjsut each individual image, which is not an issue for me as I never bulk process )

In low light venues like e.g. churches and city halls (where the wedding is formalized by the marriage officil) I as much as possible try to stick with the Auto ISO (the higher ISO needed can easily be used thanks to the IMO excellent Nikon D3, and in your case D4 - I have a D4S I base my assumption on - , high ISO / low light IQ ) to preserve the intimate atmosphere of those venues and the procedures there performed, while also maintaining some discetion , in comparison with IMO more intrusive flash , while shooting.

If I aanticipate I may be forced to switch from Auto ISO variable / low light conditions (outside, church. city hall) to situations where eg using flash is inevitable (next to pitch dark, under lit venue where part of the wedding recepteion, like dancing, is taking place) I keep one body on Auto ISO, and set the other up for using flash (fixed ISO, shutter speed and aperture, and TTL flash)

 

[andrewD2]

I wrote this last year on another forum, have edited slightly, posted because it refers to your exact situation of in and out of church. Camera brand doesn't matter so long as you have good AUTO ISO options.

Take this situation:
Say a bride and groom is at the alter and the light doesn't change, you could use M mode so that it doesn't matter if a window is in the background affecting how the camera reads the exposure.
But not so fast, at the same time you might be covering the front row, could be a few stops darker on one side or in a shaft of the sun on another next to the window. If you have chosen M mode you can't get reactions and back so quickly as A mode would.

The solution is simple to have the consistency of M mode but have it automatically balance the meter needle for you.
Use A mode with auto ISO and a max exposure time set but exposure lock when the light is fixed.
Unlock when you have to respond. Hitting the AEL is a lot faster than dialing in a whole new shutter speed (and/or ISO). Bias with EV comp if required.

You get the benefits from manual - you can batch a lot of exposures from the same spot but have the responsiveness to deal with rapidly changing light, like in and out of a church from EV 4 to EV16. I've seen manual pro shooter screw the first few exposures out of the church enough times.
Its fast, logical, and my results are exactly what I want.

Other exposure strategies are my be required e.g. a tripod mounted room shot doesn't need a higher ISO.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[dwight3]

I am retired and not in business at this time but I shot a wedding last May. I shot it the same way I shot events before retirement: Aperture priority, auto WB, raw/raw on two cards. It was my step daughter's wedding and I was part of the wedding party so I was not the primary photographer and didn't get many shots of the ceremony. I mainly shot the reception.

D4/D5, 24-70/70-200, f/8 mostly, ISO 6400-8000, bounce flash (high ceilings), mostly low frame rate (4fps) for dancing occasional bursts at 10fps. I tend to use small apertures for good DOF and if I want to blur the background I do it in post. Even so, there were a couple shots with the couple at different distances so I took two shots with focus on one, then the other, and combined them in post.

It was nice not being the primary photographer. I let her do all the group shots (and group management).

The wedding was at 5pm and the photography started at 9am, shooting preparations (2 shooters, one for the bride prep and one for the groom prep). The group shots were taken before the ceremony. Nobody cared that the bride wore the dress before the ceremony. That meant the wedding party could be there for the beginning of the reception. Their dog was the flower girl. Venue was a seaside resort and weather was perfect. Covid made it a small party, but we hit a time when masks were not quite needed. Some of the venue staff wore them but most of the guests didn't.

Good luck.

 

[Gato Amarillo]

I rarely do weddings, and I hope to never do another one.

First up, the reason I do not do wedding is that it calls for a special skill set which I do not possess. I am only ever asked by friends or family and my standard answer is "I don't do weddings, especially not for people I like." Then I can talk about the skill set. You have to know photography AND you have to know weddings and social customs. Sometimes I'll offer to hire one of my specialist friends as my wedding gift.

But if I were going to do it, on the technical side I would take the same approach as covering any other event. My current mirrorless cameras offer a number of new features to make it easier than back in the DSLR days.

For lens, a 24-70 2.8 (or equivalent) is pretty much the standard, though I would prefer 24-105 or 24-120 equivalent, even at f4. I would not bother with a longer lens unless I had two bodies. Better to deal with loose composition or do some cropping than miss a shot changing lenses. Or because you have the wrong lens on.

I would use aperture priority set to the widest acceptable aperture and with auto ISO. Be prepared to add exposure compensation as needed. From experience I know I can trust my current cameras to give me an acceptable exposure in about 95% of all circumstances, and I can see potential problems and often get the right compensation set before I shoot.

My mirrorless cameras are set to flash a brief review image after every shot. So I get the photo with histogram in the EVF and LCD, sort of automatic chimping. If I need to work quickly the review cancels at the touch of the shutter button and with experience I have learned to automatically cancel it when I need to.

TTL flash (except possibly during the ceremony), again with compensation as needed. In the past I used an external battery pack and could go all day on a single battery.

Face/eye detect autofocus. On my current cameras I can override this with a touch to the LCD screen. Again, I know from experience the camera will get it right in the majority of shots, though with couples or groups I have to be sure it has chosen my preferred face.

Carry plenty of batteries, and a backup camera and lens if you have one.

Gato

 

[dwight3]

...For lens, a 24-70 2.8 (or equivalent) is pretty much the standard, though I would prefer 24-105 or 24-120 equivalent, even at f4. I would not bother with a longer lens unless I had two bodies...

I find the 70-200 useful. Been a long time since I was the primary photographer, but with my current bodies, 200mm allows me to get some distance away from the ceremony and reduce noise pollution.

I should note that I always carry two bodies at events. Usually one with the 24-70 and one with the 70-200. That allows me to switch lenses quickly if needed, without losing time during fast-paced events (e.g. the reception). And there's a 14-24 in my bag and a 200-500 nearby. I have had occasion to use all of them.

When using two bodies I always rename the raw files on download. The new name includes the date and time. As long as the cameras are synched reasonably, that allows me to sort all the images chronologically. The time can be recorded down to 0.01 second, which will allow chronology through burst shots. That isn't a general problem when I'm shooting solo, but if I have a second, it's more important.

 

[Gato Amarillo]

I find the 70-200 useful. Been a long time since I was the primary photographer, but with my current bodies, 200mm allows me to get some distance away from the ceremony and reduce noise pollution.

I should note that I always carry two bodies at events. Usually one with the 24-70 and one with the 70-200. That allows me to switch lenses quickly if needed, without losing time during fast-paced events (e.g. the reception). And there's a 14-24 in my bag and a 200-500 nearby. I have had occasion to use all of them.

Yes, 70-200 would be my choice for a second lens, but definitely with a second body.

When using two bodies I always rename the raw files on download. The new name includes the date and time. As long as the cameras are synched reasonably, that allows me to sort all the images chronologically. The time can be recorded down to 0.01 second, which will allow chronology through burst shots. That isn't a general problem when I'm shooting solo, but if I have a second, it's more important.

Good plan. When using 2 or more cameras I check the times before the job to be sure they are within a minute -- over time they can drift a bit.

Gato