Beginner Getting sharp indoor photos - weddings

JJ!

JJ!

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So I need help with my camera settings for some indoor wedding shots.

I am all set with outdoor stuff but its indoor where my pictures seem to struggle.

My last weddings (these are non-pro favours for friends) were shot with a D600 & 28-75 and the other D750 with 35/85 f1.8g combo. Think I actually preferred using the 28-75 as didn't miss many shots. However I did have a SB-700 and not sure I can for up and coming one. I Wasn't happy with 35/85 as on one body I felt I missed some shots and had wrong lens mounted in certain situations.

I think I will have a Tamron 24-70 VC by the time it comes round

Any tips and advice from wedding photographers would be great!
 
I would have thought the answer is simple.

Keep your shutter speed up and make sure your technique is as good as it can be.

The rookie error is trying to avoid 'noise'.

A blurry clean shot is no use whatsoever, a noisy sharp shot can be delivered.
 
As a rough guide, always keep your shutter speed well above the inverse of your focal length. For example, if you're shooting at 70mm, use at least 1/100s. For 200mm, at least 1/250s.

Keep your aperture open at around f2.8 to f4 where possible and like Phil said above, don't be afraid to use higher ISO settings, even if it means noise.

Some wedding photographers are anti flash, but I always used to carry a speedlight as some older buildings are particularly dark inside, and fill flash can work great with indoor portraits.
 
Good advice above, to which I would add learn how to use flash! If you can use it you will find you can get great shots......but practice its not as easy as it looks!
 
Duncan.F said:
Good advice above, to which I would add learn how to use flash! If you can use it you will find you can get great shots......but practice its not as easy as it looks!
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if it is in a church 95% of the weddings I have covered don't allow flash in the church... no worries for reception etc though
 
Sure no flash in churches or during ceremonies anywhere really! Where you can use it but there is no substitute for a good camera and fast glass, something down to 1.4 is great. Saved me many a time!
 
Thank for the tips. I have now purchased a SB700 and have either the 24-70 f2.8g (non VR) or the 24-120 F4 for this shoot.

I got some time to practice with flash - the venue is open to the public so can go take some shots inside with and without flash so I know what to expect.

So i need to decide on VR + extra reach but F4 or F2.8 without VR and less reach.
 
Learn how to use bounce flash! You may have to go into manual mode on the flash and bounce off a ceiling or wall, just be aware anything with strong colours will reflect onto your subject. If you can grab an assistant just have them behind you with a white reflector and blonde off that , failing that buy a simple diffuser and point it straight at em....but practice practice practice. Then you get lucky! ;-)
 
So excuse my stupidity, but using flash at f2.8 will still be a good option?
 
Oliver Pohlmann said:
always keep your shutter speed well above the inverse of your focal length. For example, if you're shooting at 70mm, use at least 1/100s. For 200mm, at least 1/250s.
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This is out of date advice - it needs to be 2x, or more, the inverse now as resolution is much higher than when that rule of thumb was created (film days) :)

Dave
 
DG Phototraining said:
This is out of date advice - it needs to be 2x, or more, the inverse now as resolution is much higher than when that rule of thumb was created (film days) :)

Dave
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So 1/140 if say using the 24-70?

As for the flash thing, as a new flash user, I wasnt sure that if using a flash with 2.8 rather than 4 that too much light would be captured? Its a whole new world for me!
 
JJ! said:
So 1/140 if say using the 24-70?

As for the flash thing, as a new flash user, I wasnt sure that if using a flash with 2.8 rather than 4 that too much light would be captured? Its a whole new world for me!
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Flash has ttl system which looks at your camera settings and the object you pointed at and sets the power to compinsate if more needed. Thats in auto mode.
 
^Demon said:
Flash has ttl system which looks at your camera settings and the object you pointed at and sets the power to compinsate if more needed. Thats in auto mode.
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I really should have know something as easy as that!
 
JJ! said:
I really should have know something as easy as that!
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Have a loom at your manual for a flash you can also set the compensation for the flash. For example you noticed that flash is choosing a power 1 stop lower than you want so you can set ttl +1 and it will add the power on top of the value flash thinks its enought.
 
You have some neat kit, but before doing anything else, and particularly before contemplating any more weddings, you need to read up on the theory. What does what and why. Look at online tutorials, read books etc.

Then PRACTICE to understand what the settings mean and PRACTICE again.

It will make more difference than you fretting about which size lens to use.
 
shreds said:
You have some neat kit, but before doing anything else, and particularly before contemplating any more weddings, you need to read up on the theory. What does what and why. Look at online tutorials, read books etc.

Then PRACTICE to understand what the settings mean and PRACTICE again.

It will make more difference than you fretting about which size lens to use.
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Oh its only a favour for a friend - done weddings before but again just for friends but just wanted to up my game a bit and get in to using flash - so practice practice practice!
 
I'd maybe consider leaving the flash aside for dire emergencies - only because you'll have a million other things flooding your head and where to bounce your flash and it's mode/power settings etc are something that you could probably live without. As has been said above, don't be afraid to crank your ISO right up there (especially with your kit). I've never heard of a bride yet who complained about a bit of noise.
 
JJ! said:
Oh its only a favour for a friend - done weddings before but again just for friends but just wanted to up my game a bit and get in to using flash - so practice practice practice!
Click to expand...

Just read this post so I'd modify my advice a bit to say that by all means try some bounce flash if it's really needed but don't do what was suggested above and 'point the flash directly at' the subject. If you're looking to up your game that's not really the way to go IMO.
 
Thank you, all very helpful.
 
Mark G said:
I almost always had the sb700 pointing to the ceiling and I shot with the diffuser on. It gives a nice soft fill direct from camera from the diffuser and fills the room with an even light source from the ceiling,
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Just a heads up you need to insure that the ceiling is white or not too high..
 
Just to throw another angle at things, there is always the option of not using flash. 35/85, one on a D600, the other on the D750 would be my personal choice and shoot wide open or close to and don't be afraid up increasing the ISO.

Of course everyone shoots differently and this may not be the look you are after, especially as you said you felt more comfortable with the zoom. 24-70/70-200 is staple for many wedding photographers.
 
DG Phototraining said:
This is out of date advice - it needs to be 2x, or more, the inverse now as resolution is much higher than when that rule of thumb was created (film days) :)

Dave
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Thanks
Makes sense but IIRC never seen/read that before. ...Goes off to change settings.
 
gazmorton2000 said:
Just to throw another angle at things, there is always the option of not using flash. 35/85, one on a D600, the other on the D750 would be my personal choice and shoot wide open or close to and don't be afraid up increasing the ISO.

Of course everyone shoots differently and this may not be the look you are after, especially as you said you felt more comfortable with the zoom. 24-70/70-200 is staple for many wedding photographers.
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The 35/85 is an option i really like but I don't have a 2nd body and think I might miss some shots with just the D750 as I'm sure it will be a pain keep having to swap lenses!
 
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nog said:
Thanks
Makes sense but IIRC never seen/read that before. ...Goes off to change settings.
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Its something quite a few people were starting to realise then the D800 came out with 36mp and lots of folk were reporting soft images, turned out in many cases to be camera shake as 36mp (at 100%) is magnifying any movement compared to 12mp or even 20mp that people weren't seeing beforehand

But yes, with modern ISO being so good there's no point risking camera shake to have a less noisy slightly blurred image :)

The first BIG name I came across who said this was Andy Rouse in an article I read where even in Africa he usually shoots at 2000 ISO on a sunny day to keep his shutter speed high

Dave
 
nog said:
Thanks
Makes sense but IIRC never seen/read that before. ...Goes off to change settings.
Click to expand...

Dave is right, though as is often the case, it depends...

- The reciprocal of focal length thing was never more than a rough rule of thumb, not a law.
- It's actually the reciprocal of 'effective' focal length, so must be adjusted by the crop factor.
- If an image is cropped, that's also an increase in effective focal length for this purpose.
- Camera-shake doesn't magically disappear when a high enough shutter speed is used, it is merely reduced to an 'acceptable' level.
- That acceptable level is broadly based on the often less demanding standards of film. A 10x8in print is a lot more forgiving than a 50mp image viewed at 100%!
- Image stabilisation systems dramatically reduce camera-shake, but can do nothing to arrest subject movement blur.
- When you're on the hand-holding limit and shoot a sequence of images, you'll not see an even standard of blurring. Some will be sharp, some not so sharp, and some badly blurred. The lesson here is there's safety in numbers - always shoot a sequence if possible, and there's a very good chance at least one will be good.
- We all vary in our ability to hand-hold successfully. Running a few tests is a good idea, and very easy, to see where your own limits lie. Good hand-holding technique also makes a big difference.
 
HoppyUK said:
Dave is right, though as is often the case, it depends...

- The reciprocal of focal length thing was never more than a rough rule of thumb, not a law.
- It's actually the reciprocal of 'effective' focal length, so must be adjusted by the crop factor.
- If an image is cropped, that's also an increase in effective focal length for this purpose.
- Camera-shake doesn't magically disappear when a high enough shutter speed is used, it is merely reduced to an 'acceptable' level.
- That acceptable level is broadly based on the often less demanding standards of film. A 10x8in print is a lot more forgiving than a 50mp image viewed at 100%!
- Image stabilisation systems dramatically reduce camera-shake, but can do nothing to arrest subject movement blur.
- When you're on the hand-holding limit and shoot a sequence of images, you'll not see an even standard of blurring. Some will be sharp, some not so sharp, and some badly blurred. The lesson here is there's safety in numbers - always shoot a sequence if possible, and there's a very good chance at least one will be good.
- We all vary in our ability to hand-hold successfully. Running a few tests is a good idea, and very easy, to see where your own limits lie. Good hand-holding technique also makes a big difference.
Click to expand...

I always try for a simple answer for 2 reasons

1 - I'm too lazy to type a fuller explanation, and

2 - becaus

:D

My top tip for the really slow stuff is high speed burst mode, the blur no blur I found correlates to your own heartbeat as being the problem of movement, so a burst fast enough would have at least 1-2 missing the beat :)

Dave
 
DG Phototraining said:
My top tip for the really slow stuff is high speed burst mode, the blur no blur I found correlates to your own heartbeat as being the problem of movement, so a burst fast enough would have at least 1-2 missing the beat :)

Dave
Click to expand...

Great advi
 
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