Church with stained glass, no flash allowed, HUGE area, big wedding

<p>I have a wedding coming up at a basilica in May. The only available light streams in from stained glass windows, rendering it relatively dim. I am not allowed to really move around much during the ceremony (I cannot be in the center aisle for the processional nor am I allowed anywhere "in front" of the couple, which is understandable). Also, of course, no flash allowed. I'm bringing my 2 fastest lenses, but I was curious if there were any other "tips" you guys could offer me for low light, no flash allowed, church situations? Also, picture examples would be great for this situation! Thanks!</p>

<p>What camera are you using? What lenses do you have?</p>

<p>Sorry, that would probably be helpful<br>

I'm shoot my as my main camera a Nikon D300 with a 30mm f/1.4, 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 and a 17-55 f/2.8 if needed. I have a back up body as well.</p>

<p>I shot a wedding last year that was in the dark - litterly - tripod and fast lens and 1600 ISO - they turned out really good given the harsh conditions. If there is a balcony that might be a great place for you with a long fast lens - Not familar with Nikon so I can't recommend that - sounds like a challenge - good luch with it...</p>

<p>Expose for the B&G --always --- ~! WIth the rules displayed :: you are released from anything but.</p>

<p>I generally never shoot higher than ISO 600 .... less is better for my quality settings. Tripod > 1/4 second F4 ...is about were I tend to expose, for the past 20+ years.</p>

<p>Betty, I use a D300 also. Most of the time I use a Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 when shooting available light from the back of the church. Your 18-200 will not work in these conditions. And the 17-55 will not have much reach. You can rent a 70-200 or other fast lense if you dont have one for about $80-$100.00 for the week. I use a monopod so I can move around easy. A tripod is hard to work with in a church. Almost no church is going to allow flash during the ceremony so a fast lense with good reach is a must IMHO.</p>

<p>One more thing, as I'm sure you know, the D300 is fine at much higher ISO 600. I'm at 800 + for most ceremony shots with no problems.</p>

<p>I normally stay around 600 ISO as well, but I have adjusted higher for such low light with pretty decent results.<br>

I think I may look into renting a 70-200. Thanks!</p>

<p>Stained glass can be brutal, because of so many colors. It's often very difficult to white balance. My best advice is do a custom white balance based on the brides white dress; hopefully it is white. You can also carry a white card with you and get your custom white balance off of the card. Most of the time the lights above the altar are incandescent and thats where you want to do a balance check, not the stained glass.</p>

<p>Often churches will allow flash for the processional and recessional....be prepared and confirm the rules with the officiant just prior to the ceremony. Use a tripod. You can often recreate a few of the moments after the ceremony as well. Good luck.</p>

<p>I had the same problem and it was exaggerated by stormy clouds which approached the church from the sides....so the light we had was stained glass, halogen, and some very cold daylight. The light colour was the worst I have ever shot and it was dark inside the church. Fortunately, that was the first day i used my 85mm 1.2L and i managed to get lots of well exposed shots at F1.2, 1.4 at about 1/100 ISO 1600 handheld. I also used my 70-200 F4 IS with good success.<br>

At last ....i had to convert all the photos to BW except a few which i did white balance correction by considering only the skin tone.Fortunately, they were lit primarily by halogen light. The couple loved them.<br>

I'd suggest, you take a tripod along and shoot as many as you can. I dont have bean bag so i used my microfiber towel which I use to wrap my camera and lens with as a bean bag to support my camera on chairs and it worked pretty nicely. The priest will be too busy, so you can sneak around shoot a few shots from the aisle and from the sides. It would really help to have an assistant/second shooter to shoot from tripod while you move around.<br>

Cheers!</p>

<p>Betty, renting the 70-200 f/2.8 VR is the way to go. I guess, 85mm f/1.8 might do the job also, but since you're not allowed to move around 70-200 will give you more versatility I use Canon primes all the time and it's fast enough to keep me out of using flash at all in situation like you mentioned, I can go up to iso 3200 with my 1d3 if the light situation calls for it, and shooting raw gives me best results. Sure, exceptions always exists:) Good luck<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/8967787-lg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="600" /></p>

<p>This is repeating some of what has been said above.</p>

<p>1) Figure out the gear. Decide if you want to go with the 70-200mm, or even rent a 300mm f2.8. Or, use several fast aperture primes. The latter is my preference, but this is up to you. Remember that IS does not stop subject motion. You'd be looking at the 50mm f1.4 or 1.2, 85mm f1.8 or 1.2, and 135mm f2. The first two lenses are 2 stops approximately, faster than f2.8. Used wide open from the back of a church, DOF is not a problem, while subject motion is (below 1/60th, you can pick up a subject breathing). Use a tripod. You're stuck in one place anyway.</p>

<p>2) Remember you can crop. These types of images are usually not enlarged.</p>

<p>3) Remember you can re-create. It isn't as cheesy as most people think. Just know exactly what shots you want so you can get them efficiently. It is best to ask the officiant to stay after the ceremony beforehand, as sometimes they leave immediately. It is a last resort kind of thing, but if you really want angles of the action that you are forbidden to get 'for real', you have little recourse. And the emotion is still there for you to photograph, contrary to popular thought. Try to match the lighting to your shots of the actual ceremony.</p>

<p>Betty, check with the church to see if you can set up a unmaned radio remote camera in the alter. Also, go to the church at the same time you will be shooting the wedding and take some pictures with on tripod with VR on from the spots you are allowed to shoot at different high ISOs and see if your 18-200 will work with the lighting. Bring a friend to stand in for the couple and have them move so you can see the effect of the slow shutter speeds. D300's arn't too bad at ISO 3200 most of the time. If you can get 1/30 of a second at 200mm on a tripod, that should be okay. Make sure you ask what lighting is on for weddings, they may have spots on the alter, if so you many not have a problem. I shoot an old G type 300mm at F5.6 on a solid pod at ISO 3200 and get nice shots from the back of most churchs.</p>

<p ><strong><em>"I am not allowed to really move around much during the ceremony . . .</em></strong><strong> <em>I was curious if there were any other "tips" you guys could offer me for low light, no flash allowed, church situations?"</em></strong></p>

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<p >I have only scan read the answers and one important point I think has not been specifically mentioned, though generally implied: planning your vantage point(s).</p>

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<p >Often Church Rules will not allow you to be in front of the Bride and Groom, but Large Churches usually have extreme side aisles and or columns and or side Chapels, providing excellent discrete side-view vantage points. This opens the opportunity to dismiss / minimize the dependency upon the long shot, from the rear of the Church and instead move silently up and down the side wing.</p>

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<p >I think you would do well to think laterally and interrogate the architecture of the Church concerned. Usually a position on the Bride's side is best for complete profile, as she is usually shorter than the Groom - but if it is the type of Service where they face each other, then the Groom's side is usually the better choice. . . BUT if it is a Cathedral type floor plan, you might be able to swap sides quite easily by moving swiftly via he rear of the Church up and down the extreme side aisles. (see typical floor plan, below)</p>

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<p >It is all in the Reconnoitre and Planning, and knowing the format of the Service – this too will give you the FL’s you require.</p>

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<p >When I can use a side view, I use a monopod and Prime lens(es), verging on a shorter FL, with the view to crop later. Your choice of shoes is important too, if you choose this method of coverage. </p>

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<p >WW</p>

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<p>Dim light? No flash allowed? Get a Canon 5D Mark II with the EF 24-70mm f:2.8, set 3200ASA on the dialer and off you go!. Don't mind the distance, if you cannot get close enough. With 21.1mil pixels, you can always crop as much as you want.. </p>

check out SIMA LED lighting. If they allow videographer to have light attach to their equipment, why not us? i've been using it for a while and it works great.