Weddings

[John Patto]

Thanks, Any input is greatly appreciated, it may even help someone else reading this thread.

[mcmahong]

Actually Rick is right. There's little use for a tripod at a wedding. Only if you have time on your side and you are shooting in very low light conditions and don't want to use flash. The only time I've used a tripod is when I've set up a pseudo photobooth. The rest of the time it is handheld.

In relation to camera settings. The P function is definitely the easiest way out, except you have no control over DOF which is most important for portraits. Usually the P setting will pick a fast enough shutter speed and you can use it for general shots. If you want to take it to the next step for portraits, I'd suggest using AV mode but keeping ISO on auto, and dialling the aperture up or down as you see fit. But only do that if you know what you're doing. Keep an eye on the auto ISO though. If it starts getting high (above 800) you'll know to expect grainier shots. If you don't want that, you'll need to inject some artificial light into the scene.

Given it is a beach wedding, your biggest enemy could be if it is a bright sunny day and you have dark shadows casting over faces. Depending on how the wedding is set up, you may at times have no choice but to shoot towards the sun and get significant shadows in your picture. In P setting, your camera is likely to expose for the bright sunlight and the shadows will be very dark. This is where that fill-flash will come in handy otherwise you will be forces to over-expose your shots and risk having the background washed out. If it is a lightly overcast but still bright day, that will be best for you.

There are so many more bits of advice we could probably give you. Hopefully this isn't overload.

[WhoDo]

Beach wedding? Invest in a decent reflector (5-in-1) and use that instead of fill flash. Not too many flashes have the power to overcome the effects of the sun on a bright day. Better also get a reliable assistant to hold the reflector, too! You'll already have your hands well and truly full.