# photo settings while in a church



## jenn1mac

I have shot a few weddings now, and really trying to fiqure out how to get more weddings. I am still not happy with my wedding photos inside the church. What settings do others use, do you use a high iso, set your camera to flash setting, or auto? I  have always shot on manual but this is not very handy when shooting a wedding but i find my images always look over or under exposed when i put the camera to any auto settings. So any suggestions or tips would be helpful as to camera settings inside a church.
Cheers


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## NoteGraphics

Higher ISO settings will give you the equivalent of "fast film" - i.e. you can take faster exposures in lower light settings. However the trade off is that the higher the ISO setting the more noise your shot will have. 

If you cannot get the metering for the exposure ( and as you say your shots either come out too light or too dark then you have no way of checking the light prior to shooting) - the try altering the metering method: Lots of cameras, including small pocket types allow you to change from evaluative to spot metering. Evaluative metering takes a smaple of light from the overall area of the shot, spot takes the reading from the centre spot. Using spot metering you could aim the camera at neither the brightest or darkest area, hold the exposure and then re-frame the shot.

Failing this the best option / suggestion I can give is to do what I did, go on a tour of local chruches / low light locations - speak nicely to the vicar / owner and PRACTICE like crazy until doing the right thing becomes automatic and all you have to think about "on the day" is the composition of the shot !!!


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## Arch

moved to the correct section.


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## christopher walrath

I ask every minister before a wedding about flash photogrpahy DURING the ceremony and far and large the answer is NO.  Which don't bug me a bit.  I get the party coming down the aisle.  I get the bride first and then the look on the groom's face with a quick wheel around.  THen one more of the bride and father/et al., all with flash.  Then I disappear, find a balcony or a preset up chair with my extended tripod, generally somewhere in the back.  Then I make some natural light images that always sell at key points during the ceremony.  Big apertures and tripod.  Having been to the rehearsal I know when it is time to get to the last row of the sanctuary so I can get shots of the introduction and the party coming back in pairs.  And I always shoot with 100TMX or Portra NC160 120 roll film for these shots.  I save the fast stuff for the action at the reception.


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## JIP

What do you have gear-wise?...


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## Senor Hound

jenn1mac said:


> I have shot a few weddings now, and really trying to fiqure out how to get more weddings. I am still not happy with my wedding photos inside the church. What settings do others use, do you use a high iso, set your camera to flash setting, or auto? I  have always shot on manual but this is not very handy when shooting a wedding but i find my images always look over or under exposed when i put the camera to any auto settings. So any suggestions or tips would be helpful as to camera settings inside a church.
> Cheers



Turn your mode wheel to the auto church/temple/synagogue/mosque setting (it's on the dial between landscape and sports).  

Seriously, though, maybe you should invest in a prime lens, like an 85mm or 50mm, something that will reach down to f/1.8.  The depth of field may suck, but at least it will open your options.


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## ryan7783

White Balance plays a big part in getting photos right so I don't ever use auto white balance. It gives the pictures a fake sense of exposure so I went to an Ed Pierce seminar and got one of his digital calibration targets. It works just like a grey card but is bigger and has a reflector on the back for when I need one. 

it comes with an hour long dvd on how to use it but he pretty much explains everything in about 15 minutes. You can pick one up from photovision. I think the big one (34") retails for $120






oh yeah also when I'm in a church or other dimly lit building, I play with my ISO and usually have it set to Shutter or Aperture mode.


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## Dudsie

If you shot RAW then there isn't a need to worry about white balance as you can change it later. Always shoot RAW!


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## skieur

Although I do very few weddings, I switch to video to shoot the ceremony itself since I can shoot it quietly from a distance without anyone noticing and the sound comes out surprisingly well.

skieur


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## Mike_E

Hi and welcome.

I do my best not to drop below 1/60, 1/30 if the place is a cave.

Shoot in RAW, auto WB, use flash before and after (I will drop below 1/30 during the ceremony if I have to since they tend to stand fairly still then) and if you have the cards for it shoot RAW/large fine so that you don't have to do anything but migrate the .jpgs if you nail the shot.  (the more time you spend on PP the better you feel about nailing a shot )


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## myfotoguy

The varying over or under exposure, is it from back light beyond the subjects and things of that nature?

Here are some exposure compensation settings I got from Sam Stern at the DPreview forums. He was originally talking about when using flash, but these could be a guide as a place to start with our without flash. 

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Picture of just wedding cake + 2/3 flash comp [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Picture of just bride + 2/3[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Picture if bride and brides maids wearing light colour dresses, + 1/3[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Picture of groom (dark suit) alone, - 1/3[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Picture groom and his guys in black tuxes, - 2/3[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Picture of bride and mom (wearing dark dress) 0[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Picture of bride and mom (wearing light dress) + 1/3 to + 2/3[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Picture of bride and groom cutting white cake + 2/3 with white table cloth[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]If close then + 1/3 [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Picture of dancing couple wearing black - 2/3. If real close then - 1[/FONT]

Gnerally, if the camera sees a lot dark in the scene it tends to overexpose trying to compensate. The opposite if it sees lots of light areas.

I would shoot in aperture priority for most situations.

Also, spot metering was mentioned earlier in this thread, which will work in some situations. If you are taking shots where you are including the surroundings you may need matrix.


I hope this helps. I shoot a lot of low light in a church, but not for weddings, which is probably quite different. Just thought I would pass on that EV (or flash EV) compensation guide.


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## Dao

Wow .. this thread is almost 2 years old ...


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## bigtwinky

Dao said:


> Wow .. this thread is almost 2 years old ...


 
I figure someone was actually using the search function here or had a google hit on the thread and decided to post up some info.  

And being 2 years old, it still yielded some interesting info..


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## myfotoguy

Dao said:


> Wow .. this thread is almost 2 years old ...


 
LOL- I had no idea, saw the other replies and just started typing.


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## Dao

myfotoguy said:


> Dao said:
> 
> 
> 
> Wow .. this thread is almost 2 years old ...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> LOL- I had no idea, saw the other replies and just started typing.
Click to expand...


LOL ..  no biggy ..this is a good thread with good information anyway.


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## ckphotography

Although this info is a couple of years old, I second any photographer getting prime lenses for church and ceremonies.  I have the 50mm and 85mm.  Great for allowing in lots of natural light.  And the 50mm is very inexpensive!


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## hankejp

Boy, some of you are hard to please.  When someone asks a wedding question, the response is usually to search it.  When someone actually searches and posts a response, people are saying it's an old post. 

Kinda Funny actually.


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