Get the bracket and an off-camera cable like an SC-17 or whatever the current model is. combined, these may cost close to $200, but offer a lot of utility any time you are shooting people. I am partial to the stratos brackets just because they are solid and easy to hold. but the inexpensive stroboframe brackets work work and are lighter. the lenses should be ok, but i would wonder about using a shorter zoom a bit more since you will be somewhat limited by the range of the sb-600. avoid using a diffuser on the flash. it reduces the output, and the range, and you will be far enough away that the tiny level of diffusion you really do get, can't be seen on the prints. don't waste your time trying to bounce the flash off the walls or ceilng unless it is a very small hall or has a low light colored celing that will work for you. if this is a church with a traditional high celing over the altar area, bounce will only waste light. that is why the pracket will be one of the most useful things. you can get the flash up off the camera and the shadows dive down below the horizontal outlines of the people and the setting. just let the zoom panel ofthe flash work for you, and point the flash straight ahead and let the i-TTL automation work for you. try a couple of test shots to see i the flash set to TTL or TTL-BL is workign better for you. i have found that indoors where there is a lot fo artifical lighting anyway, that the ttl-bl option tend to underexpose the images a bit.
for camera settigns, the d200 may work better with high iso, but the luck i have had with the d70 is that you are better off lettign the flash earn its keep and keeping the iso at 400 or below. shoot raw if you feel like you have the storage for it to do the whole wedding, and will ahve the time to do the post-processign needed later. .jpg fine is not too bad, andit is faster, but after you do some color correciton the files start to grow and every time you re-save the .jpg images the degrade a little more. wedding pics can at random be requested as large prints, so it's betterto play it sae and shoot raw if you possible can. pictures of the crowds at the reception might be a place where you can afford to save a little space and use .jpg for your capture method. in the end you will rduce them all to jpg to give to the couple, but the raw files just offer a lot more of a safety net between the camera and the finished CD.
the kit lens that came with a lot of the nikons, the 18-70 af-s f3.5-4.5 is a pretty good lens and even in lower light is fast focusing. it won't replace the 24 and 50mm lenses but it is a very convenient range and the AF-s is a helps with moving subjects even in low light. the reason i am sugggesting you use a shorter lens is to force you to get closer to the action. being closer puts you within the awareness of the wedding guests that might also have cameras and if you are standing at the back of the hall with a long fast zoom, you might get te shots you need, but you can just as easily end up framing the shot with arms and headsof people that get between you and the couple and they will be oblivious of you since you are so far away. if you are in a church with a balcony, that is a good place for a monopod and your long lens so you have fewer chances of people getting in the way and it affords a different perspective. this is a great angle if the bride has a dress with a long train.
for shots to get, i would search on google for a wedding shot list. even with the PJ style you are looking for, don't ignore the traditonal poses and if you have time and the opportunity take advantage of anything arund the venue if you can. if there is a garden area near the building or just a pretty hedge row that is in the shade of the building, that can be a nice spot to do some of the pre-wedding shots of the bride and the groom (separately of course) all decked out in their finery in a more inviting setting than the traditional "altar calls" you shoot after the ceremony. PJ style weddings are fashionable, but the families most often prefer the traditional shots. Grandma is not going ot want a picture of the groom's shoes as much as she will want a posed portrait of the new bride and groom posed on the altar behind or beside the unity candle or in front of one of the candelabras on the stage. this is an area where slow speed sync will help you a bit. use a monopod, pose the couple, drag the shutter a bit, so som of the background under the ambient light will show and the couple will be lit by the flash but not so overpowered that they are the only thing exposed in front of a dark shapeless background.
about the altar calls... in PJ weddings these shots are becoming more and more rare. they take time, poeple hate to pose, no one wants to wait, but that is why the guests are dismissed to the reception to entertain themselves for a bit while the wedding party gather themselves to face the crowds more directly. this is where you will need to step up and give some direction. the bride and groom and most people in the wedding party are not professional models most of the time and yur directions will need to be simple and direct, but you have to do this. don't let them just mill around and slouch in all the shots. it makes the pics look like snapshots. if you choose to dela with the cake cutting process, there too, you can't anticipate what they might do on their own. so either you direct them through the process, or let the wedding coordinator do it. talk to the wedding coordinator or wrangler if they have one because this person will be a great helper or a great obstruction and you need them to be on your side otherwise they are prone to dismissing your wedding party to go to the reception or change clothes before you want them to.
lastly, to keep people happy, don't refuse to take any pictures even embrassssing ones.but if there is any argument about what pictures to take, always always always, remeber it is the *bride's* wedding and she will be the one to be your boss, not the parents, not the uncle and not the wedding coordinator unless the bride obviously is going to let them call the shots for her. try to find this out in advance so you wonlt have any question who to look for fot judgement calls or additional input.
2cents@large.
|
