Need Help

[Vulcanman]

I am shooting a family event next week end. I am not allowed to use a flash inside the church during the ceremony. What can I do to avoid my pics being a little on the dark side and noisy?
Im shooting a Canon 30D with
Canon Lens 17-85 f4-5.6
Canon Lens 50mm f1.8

Thanks for the help in advance.

[Joe H]

rent a faster lens.

[Shane]

Rent a newer camera body that does better at high ISOs than the older ones do.

Go shoot some practice shots and show them what they are going to look like without flash. If they're happy with underexposed and noisy shots, then I guess you're good. But if they see what they will be looking at without good light, maybe they'll decide that a flash is OK.

[Hillary]

You really don't want to shoot inside of the church at f/1.8, you don't get enough detail.

The above advice is good, I would definitely rent a newer body and use the glass that you have.

[Vulcanman]

Do you know of any reputable places to rent
Lenses and what to rent?
70-200 f2.8?

[Hillary]

70-200 is gonna be too much for a wedding, you will be sore the next day.

24-70 is good, it gets you a wider shot and 70 should be plenty length.

But I am still gonna say, you will get more light, but shooting at 2.8 is going to give you too much bokeh. Resulting in pictures that could be easily out of focus.

I would rent a higher model camera to give you the higher iso for more light without grain, and have both cameras with you, put the 50 on your 30D, and put the 17-85 on the rented model.

[Vulcanman]

Ok, I see what you mean now. Any reputable places I might rent from?
By the way, thanks for the help everyone!

[yaqui]

You can rent from light tech or competitive camera. Rent a faster lens, one that has vibration reduction, and a camera that does well at around 800 iso if yours does not. I am not a canon person, so I can't be more help there.

Also use a tripod so you can drag your shutter to 1/30 of a second, if need be. Be sure and shoot at about 5.6 for depth of field, if you have more than one row of people.

Shoot with windows at your back or side, but be sure there is good fill on the opposite side too. If you are shooting at night, and can't use a flash, try not to put the people with the lights directly overhead.

Triangles, be sure if you have more than four or five people in one shot, that you space everyone in a way that their heads make a triangular shape with each other. Don't space people too closely. Do not line them up against a wall, be at least ten feet away from one.

The wider the better, try and stay between 20-50mm, and 35mm if the d30 is Full frame, and be sure you leave room to crop into your photo in post production. This also helps reduce distortion on the edges. And lastly, use a good pro lab. Walgreens and Sam's are okay, but for just over twice the price per print, you can get a tech that color balances each print. Full color in south east dallas is great, and inexpensive.

That should get you started.

Feel free to PM if you have any other Q's?