Suggestions for wedding reception

[aaronsmith]

Hi all!

 

For starters, I own the Nikon D80 with 18-135 DX kit lens, Nikon 50mm f/1.8,

and the sb-800 flash.

 

I have been asked by a friend who is getting married this Friday to take

pictures at his wedding as a second photog. They have hired a photographer to

shoot there wedding. I will only be taking pictures of the ceremony from my

seat if the view allows me to since I am mainly there to watch my friend get

married. The ceremony will be outside at a botanical garden. The reception is

inside. I would like to have suggestions on settings for my camera and

flash. I will be hand holding the camera. Below is a link to the garden

website that shows a few pictures of inside and outside.

 

http://www.dsbg.org/weddings_gallery.php

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Aaron<div></div>

[stephen_kinosh]

1st, make sure they get the OK from their primary photographer for this. A lot of photographers have in their contract that THEY ARE the only photographer andif they ess anyone with "PROFESSIONAL" equipment, that voids their contract. If you are shooing fomr the seats,that should nnet be a problem, but better to be upfront. Also, I'd introduce myself to the photographer befor the ceremony.

 

Steve

[aaronsmith]

Thanks for the advice Stephen!

[katycollins]

Hi Aaron,

 

I'm pretty sure the official photographer will not be fazed with a guest with a D80 - just make sure not to snap away over his shoulder all afternoon. While s/he's doing the formals get creative, taking photographs for a friend who already has a photographer means there is no pressure so have some FUN.

Re settings it's hard to tell with an out door ceremony (time of day? weather?) Hopefully you'll be able to bounce the flash for the reception and the 50 1.8 should serve pretty well in low light situations.

[aaronsmith]

Thanks for the advice Katy. The wedding will be around 7:00pm outside. Reception hall has tall ceiling so I doupt I'll be able to bounce. Should I be using TTL or TTL BL flash? I do want to get creative with the shots since there is no pressure. I'm just not sure what things I should be looking for to get that creative approach.