jennifer_brown4 Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 I am shooting a wedding in 2 weeks and will be only candle light The ceremony is at a 3pm. I have been working with my camera on getting the right shots but I am having trouble. I have a Nikon D80 and I love it. I seem to get too much noise and not pretty light. I have tried upping the ISO, but it's grainy. I want to take the picture when I push the release, I don't want to have a delay. I;m looking for a setting that will allow me to take the picture as soon as I push the shutter release, as well as no noise (or little noise) that caputres the great light. Should I just set my camera on auto and leave it at that? I have an SB-600 as well. I plan on moving around during the ceremony to get close-ups as well distance shots. Can anyone offer any constructive advice? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ned1 Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Can you rent a Fuji S5? It will use all your lenses and shoots decent images at ISO 1600. BRING A TRIPOD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picturesque Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Most likely the delay is autofocus delay. Either switch to manual focus (and practice) or use the flash for the focus assist lights only (no actual flash), although focus assist has a range limit. For the grain/noise, don't underexpose and invest in a good noise reduction software package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen dohring Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 I agree with Nadine - also keep in mind prints look nowhere near as noisy as they look on the computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picturesque Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Also should add--noise appears worse when the image is viewed on a monitor than it does in a print, although you should be doing the best you can to get as noise-free an image as you can, by not underexposing (also called shooting "to the right"). Re using auto, it depends how your camera tends to expose--I'd think that depending on how much of the frame was candlelight and how much was dark, and how contrasty the scene was, the meter in the camera will be fooled. You should find out if flash is allowed, but even if it were, if not skillfully done, it can ruin the candlelight mood. Also, what do you mean by "not pretty light"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennifer_brown4 Posted July 5, 2007 Author Share Posted July 5, 2007 What i mean by "not pretty light" is kind of orange. The auto WB isn't my favorite. I will practice with manual focus. How about using a monopod? I'm not a real fan of tripods. Can you elaborate on why a flash would not be allowed?Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_earussi1 Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Have you tried running your grainy images through Neat Image or some other degraining program? Really helps me. If that doesn't work you could always rent a Canon 5D and some wide aperture lenses like the 50 f1.2 and the 85 f1.2 and shoot at 3200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michelle a. Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 "What i mean by "not pretty light" is kind of orange." But candle light is orange.... I've found that high ISO's do not necessarily mean lots of noise. If you get your exposures correct, the noise really isn't that bad. It is when you under-expose and then try to correct it in post-processing that it looks god awful.... If you don't have a tripod, get one.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elnoralouisa Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 I assume this is in a church? It's totally up to the the person officiating if you can use flash or not. Still plenty of churches that don't allow it. Also, I would think if they want only candlelight, they might not want your flash going. You said you are going to be moving around alot, you also have to check if that is allowed or whether they want you in a certain place, or worse yet, a few places still do not allow photography at all during the actual ceremony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picturesque Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Candlelight has a Kelvin temperature of about 2800--someone correct me if I'm wrong, and it might vary. Best to dial in your white balance rather than leave it on auto unless you are shooting RAW and can correct later. I kind of doubt you will be able to get away with a monopod--candlelight is pretty dim, although if there is daylight coming through windows, that might help, but then the white balance will be different again. What kind of lenses do you have? You may not be a fan of tripods, but you might have to use one if you are going to get un-blurry images, plus you should be shooting during the pauses, in between motions. Many churches don't allow flash during the ceremony (not the proessional/recessional, where it IS normally allowed). Also, some churches require you (the photographer) to stay at the back of the church and not move around. You'd better check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennifer_brown4 Posted July 5, 2007 Author Share Posted July 5, 2007 Thanks everyone for your input. I do have a tripod, I'm just not a fan of them and was thinking of getting a monopod....easier to use. I do not have a camera rental store that is near me, and if i did, I would be afraid to use a camera that I am not familiar with. I know i could rent it ahead of time, but to me that is wasting money when I have a great camera. The bride said she wanted to be flashed coming down the isle, but during the other parts she said no. I will keep working with it and see what I can come up with. Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picturesque Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Michelle has a good point. You don't want the images to be too orange, but you want some hint of golden light, otherwise you don't get the feel of candlelight. I would also visit the church at he same time of day as the ceremony and measure some of the light, even set up a candle or two and do some tests. Also practice your tripod and manual focusing techniques. Manual focusing is no picnic in dark conditions and if you get used to the tripod, you will find it not so bad to work with. Unless the actual ambient light is brighter due to daylight coming into the location, AND you have fast primes, I doubt the monopod will cut it. Also, go to the rehearsal so you know exactly what is going to happen. Many people fear being trapped on their tripod when the recessional starts or when they need to be in another position. If you know what is to happen, you will be in the right place at the right time. When I was starting out, I often made myself a cheat sheet of the ceremony so I knew where to be when. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alec_myers Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 "andlelight has a Kelvin temperature of about 2800" Nadine I think it's lower than that - about 2000K. Regular tungsten filament lights at full intensity are about 2900K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picturesque Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Alec--you're right. I just did some searching, and it is listed at about 1850K. I guess I was remembering the lowest settable K temperature I can set on my 20D--2800K. Apparently, it can go lower to 2000K using Custom White Balance. I also looked up the D80--lowest settable (don't know about otherwise) is 2500K. So one would get a little yellow/orange anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picturesque Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Another thought, Jennifer, is that you can cut down on autofocus lag by pre-focusing on an object that is at the same distance as your subject and then the auto focus has less work to do when it comes time to take the picture (thank you, Marc Williams, who always brings this fact to everyone's attention). Or pre-autofocus on your subject and then set the lens to manual focus and when you want to snap the shutter, you can do so immediately, without focus delay. You didn't say what lenses you are using--obviously faster lenses will autofocus in dim conditions better than slower lenses, and will allow the viewfinder to be less dark when manual focusing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfidaho Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 What kind of glass are you using? I shoot by candlelight at ISO 400 with a Canon 50mm 1.8 El Cheapo lens called the "Nifty Fifty" and a focus assist tool called the ST-E2. If you have analogous tools available in the Nikon world, it shouldn't be too bad. Later, Paulskyu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark u Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 A starting point for candle light is 1/30th f/2 ISO 800. You will certainly need fast lenses, and for even short telephoto use you will need camera support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinsouthern Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Just thought I'd give it a go for some fun - so I lined up #2 daughter and took this (it's a bit soft on the left due to shooting at F2.8 at close range with my EF70-200 F2.8L ISW USM). Shot on the 1D3 @ 6400 ISO; 1/50th; F2.8 @ 160mm<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elnoralouisa Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Ok, Colin, I am WAY jealous. What camera is this? I assume Canon, but what model? You didn't process this in any way? There is a bit of noise on the right side of her face, but oh well! I did pics last night with my Pentax at 800, and well, even PS isn't working miracles on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinsouthern Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Hi Debbie, It's taken on a Canon 1D Mark III @ 6400 ISO. It's high-ISO performance is pretty good, but you do need to get the exposure pretty right - even if you shoot RAW, if you have to raise it by any amount the noise is very obvious. In terms of post-processing I just tweaked the usual parameters in the RAW converter - no noise reduction in PS. The camera has an option for high-ISO noise reduction, but this was (inadvertantly!) turned off. Cheers, Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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