No-flash ceremony?

[picturesque]

<p>Have you been to the church to see what the ambient light is like? Do you know whether you have restrictions on where you stand? With your stated gear, I think most probably, you will have to use a tripod, even with IS on the 70-200mm. Also, if the church is very large and you have restrictions on where you stand, 200mm may not be enough. It depends. You have nothing wider than f2.8 other than the 50mm. f2.8 is often not enough for handholding at a lot of churches. I'd bring the tripod anyway (you don't have it listed) and be sure to rent the lens some time before the wedding. Using such a zoom and using IS takes some practice. Also remember that IS does not stop subject motion, although many images can be taken when people aren't moving much. I'd also brush up on tripod technique. Know how to use a cable release if you need one, and possibly mirror lock up. You may not need these, but then again, you may.</p>

[c_smith2]

<p>Should I use a telephoto or wide angel lens as well?</p>

[picturesque]

<p>Carey--don't know who you are addressing, but if you are confined to the balcony, most likely you are talking about telephotos and extreme telephotos if the church is long and/or large. You should, of course, get some shots that cover the entire altar area and part of the pews, and if that area is large, you may end up using a wide angle, but most likely, you will be on the tele end.</p>

[cathy_and_david_bock]

<p>I've never shot a wedding that allowed flash in the ceremony. Just bump up the iso and take advantage of any amazing light that's available. Make it work.</p>

[steve george]

<p>Of around 50 weddings I think I've only ever photographed 1 that has allowed flash. To this end I have f1.2 and f1.4 primes and none of my zoom lenses are slower than f2.8. High ISO, fast lenses is the only way to go.</p>

[david_schilling___chicago_]

<p>In the Chicago area: most of the Catholic churches allow flash, approximately a third of the Protestant churches are OK with flash during the ceremony, and I've never run into an issue with a secular ceremony prohibiting flash.</p>

<p>Carey, you should have time to use both lenses, put one on your backup body and go at it.</p>

[bob_crisp]

<p>I try not to shoot with flash during the ceremony unless necessary. If I do I try to shoot sparingly with flash in addition to shooting available light.</p>