What camera settings do you use mostly for weddings ?

jasonsony735 · 15 Sep 2017 at 08:59

Just interested to know what camera settings on you're dslr do you use mostly for weddings ? manual mode or one of the other options ?

I tend to keep mine on Aperture priorit for 80% of the day and move to manual when I use flash.

I tend to keep my ISO on Auto these days but did use to keep it on 100 all the time but ran in to lots of issues in low light so keep it on the auto setting now

Shutter speed I always try to aim for around 1/100 1/125 to keep the images sharp and avoid blur.

Just interested to know what settings others tend to use most ?

a1ex2001 · 15 Sep 2017 at 10:11

FULL MANUAL AT ALL TIME OF COURSE BECAUSE I'M SUPER PRO ELITE!

Back in the real world I'm not a wedding photographer but have snapped away at a few friends do's when requested, I like you shoot aperture priority during the day on auto iso and the manual in the evening with the flash on ttl. I've never asked a pro but I suspect most are similar but will throw in the use of full manual for specific shots or tricky situations.

Steeps · 15 Sep 2017 at 23:47

If I'm shooting a set where the lighting is fairly constant (standing in one place rattling off a few shots) or difficult (shooting towards the sun) I use manual and fixed iso, but if I need to move around a lot I switch to AV, if lighting is all over then I add in auto iso too and adjust the balance with the metering. Most of it you can read off the EV and adjust quickly anyway. Not too worried about shutter speed as long as it stays 1/50 or 1/FL, especially if using a flash at night I'll happily drop to 1/3 to get some of the natural lighting in.

voidshatter · 16 Sep 2017 at 00:11

The most convenient and reliable mode is A mode + auto ISO, with lower bound of shutter speed set at 1/250s.

If you use M mode, chances are that you can overexpose when you move outdoors and need to take a quick snapshot of some scene.

Andy90 · 16 Sep 2017 at 12:28

Never done any and I take my hat off to anyone that does. Lots to go wrong - masses of different lighting conditions to contend with - whilst the posed shots and groups are probably fairly ok, its the spontaneous shots that people like that would keep you on your toes.

I remember watching a few YouTube videos from a guy called Joe Buissink a while back. He surprised me in one video by saying that he stuck his Camera on auto and then watches for the shots. Seems to work for him, look him up, he does have a number of videos and comes across as an articulate likeable guy who is passionate about his work.

You'll probably end up with a lot of different answers, people probably get used to working a certain way and if it gets results who can blame them. I suspect there isn't a correct 'setting'

Steeps · 16 Sep 2017 at 17:05

Pretty much, you're there to capture the moment, that moment cannot wait for you to figure out your camera settings and apart from your posed shots and a few staged backups anything can change and most of the time the camera will react to the change better than you can. It's not as bad now with dynamic range but balancing the exposure of group shots with a white dress making sure it's not blown was why manual shooting was more popular than it is now.

D.P. · 16 Sep 2017 at 18:02

Aperture priority and auto-iso.

Schizo · 16 Sep 2017 at 21:49

Full auto......that's what its there for

Mint_Sauce · 17 Sep 2017 at 00:57

I stuck with manual through my ~10 years of wedding photography, with ETTL or manual for the flash units depending on the location. I found Av or any kind of auto modes were just as hard but in a different way. Having to view the scene, check the light meter then decide if it's above 18% grey or not in order to adjust the EC/FEC to get the exposure I actually wanted was just as much work if not more, than just using knowledge and the light meter to dial in what I wanted for the shot I was taking.

There's nothing elite about using manual and it becomes very easy to shoot with if you stick with it for a few days to get used to it. Also, having manual settings means if you focus recompose you're not having to dance around with EC all the time. Everyone has different styles and ways of working and whatever works for the individual is the correct way.

Just don't get caught out with leaving a very dark church after the ceremony, to turn around and take a photo of the couple as they walk out of the church and forget to adjust your settings now you're outside. *whistle*

Holst1981 · 17 Sep 2017 at 18:56

I will almost always use auto iso.

Then a mix of A or M depending on what I'm doing.

Understanding what the settings do and when and why to change things is the key.

If I'm not sure I will set a faster shutter speed and accept a higher iso.

jasonsony735 · 19 Sep 2017 at 09:28

I must admit the one thing i hate hate about wedding photography is coming home and seeing how many people have there eyes closed in group shots ! its a pain in the ass ! I tend to not let my shutter speed go any lower than 1/125 and I still get the issue. makes me mad when everyone else in the photo is perfect but i guess thats the way it roles, I also find that some weddings can go super smooth where eveyone listens to you even the kids but then I've done weddings where no one listens and the kids wont even look at you ! so yes it can be very stressful but also very rewarding when the day is over and you can't beat a clients reaction when they see the photos you have got for them, too me thats what keeps me in the game , I enjoy the challenge and I love editing the photos so i keep going and going , 3rd year for me and still going strong.

Steeps · 20 Sep 2017 at 17:16

That's the biggest advantage with digital, you can quite easily throw lots of shots at a group and not worry about it taking up too much space. I'll always do 2-3 sets of ~4 photo bursts with groups of people to reduce the risk of blinkers or those distracted briefly by something shiny.

D.P. · 20 Sep 2017 at 19:22

Schizo said:
Full auto......that's what its there for

For wedding sit is probably not common but you would be surprised how many pros will use a full auto mode (albeit a portrait or spots mode), and shoot to jpeg. Photo-journalists for example

D.P. · 20 Sep 2017 at 19:23

Steeps said:
That's the biggest advantage with digital, you can quite easily throw lots of shots at a group and not worry about it taking up too much space. I'll always do 2-3 sets of ~4 photo bursts with groups of people to reduce the risk of blinkers or those distracted briefly by something shiny.

Yep, I always try to take 3 or more photos. For a staged group, many more. Always people with eye shut, weird expression, suddenly turning their head.

Raymond Lin · 20 Sep 2017 at 22:21

I don't mind blinking but what KILLS me is when they look off camera, usually to a relative. It's one thing to blink, that's natural, but why look off camera when i am standing right there in front of them…I literally have to take like 30 photos for that 1 single photo where

1- In focus
2 - no one blinks
3 - everyone looks at me

It's like all the stars have to line up.

mrk · 21 Sep 2017 at 00:08

I typically use AV, and M when the lighting changes in a location depending on where the camera is pointing, but I know the exposure will be fine if I use manual exposure because there's a particular exposure I want for that whole scene regardless of a light source that might throwing off metering when using AV/VT etc.

I also shoot in RAW but have a custom picture style set to enabled (CineStyle), gives the LCD preview a flat neutral look with more detail in the highlight and shadow areas. This way, I am 100% sure if a shot will be too under or over exposed in preview, because if it is on the LCD with CineStyle enabled, then there's no chance of recovering any lost data in those extremes in post later to make an image usable again.

I also always shoot multiple bursts for certain photos where I know someone will no doubt blink or look away for a split moment. I can then photoshop their face from one where they were looking how I need them to be, onto the offending image if that was the better image of the group.

Schizo said:
Full auto......that's what its there for

Full auto won't get you the best out of a decent lens, especially when you've got a wide aperture prime lens, and want to isolate a particular subject, auto can and does tend to choose a narrower aperture which would not be what you want in that kind of scenario.

D.P. said:
For wedding sit is probably not common but you would be surprised how many pros will use a full auto mode (albeit a portrait or spots mode), and shoot to jpeg. Photo-journalists for example

Yeah photo journalists don't need to be shooting RAW or any other mode, their job entails getting a shot of a particular thing, then getting that shot to their editor's desk as quickly as humanly possible to go to print/web. Minimising as much faff as possible allows them to be highly efficient at their job, and saves a lot of time in the process at both ends.

D.P. · 21 Sep 2017 at 02:01

And their main goal is that the subject is in focus and exposed. If the camera has couch f/5.6 in portraiture but 2.8 would have and softened the background is relatively unimportant vs the inverse problem of too narrow a DoF.
sports togs also worry about buffer filling up which is not a concern with jpeg

mrk · 21 Sep 2017 at 03:10

High end DSLRs used for sports don't have a buffer filling up issue even in RAW, so that's not why they shoot JPEG

snow patrol · 21 Sep 2017 at 10:11

Raymond Lin said:
I don't mind blinking but what KILLS me is when they look off camera, usually to a relative. It's one thing to blink, that's natural, but why look off camera when i am standing right there in front of them…I literally have to take like 30 photos for that 1 single photo where

1- In focus
2 - no one blinks
3 - everyone looks at me

It's like all the stars have to line up.

i know...i know! So annoying. I'm always very polite, reminding people that they need to be looking into the lens, but invariably in one of the group shots they'll be someone who is looking off all the time. Even after being told again! Fools

snow patrol · 21 Sep 2017 at 10:15

jasonsony735 said:
I must admit the one thing i hate hate about wedding photography is coming home and seeing how many people have there eyes closed in group shots ! its a pain in the ass ! I tend to not let my shutter speed go any lower than 1/125 and I still get the issue. makes me mad when everyone else in the photo is perfect but i guess thats the way it roles, I also find that some weddings can go super smooth where eveyone listens to you even the kids but then I've done weddings where no one listens and the kids wont even look at you ! so yes it can be very stressful but also very rewarding when the day is over and you can't beat a clients reaction when they see the photos you have got for them, too me thats what keeps me in the game , I enjoy the challenge and I love editing the photos so i keep going and going , 3rd year for me and still going strong.

Do you have photoshop? Taking multiple group shots from the same position and then using layer masks in photoshop to paint over blinkers is very easily done once you get the hang of it and can really save the frustration of having a solitary blinker in an otherwise perfect group shot

I tend to use lightroom for almost everything, but skin smoothing, more tricky spot removal and fixing group shots i find photoshop a godsend, and not too hard to learn for certain things.