Shooting Wedding as Favor for Relative

[newlyinterested]

I have no photographic education and very little experience but my uncle has asked me to shoot his wedding -- shoestring budget and I come at no cost. He's aware of my lack of experience and I told him no guarantees. I would like to do a good job and have a few questions. I have a new advanced point and shoot, a Canon PowerShot S3 IS. It has a bunch of settings that allow you to make manual adjustments in composing pictures but they require some getting used to. I don't want to be experimenting too much and want to focus on getting good shots. I expect to have no control over lighting and environmental conditions. Should I use the fully Auto mode, Portrait mode or Program AE mode? The camera has a neat function called Auto Exposure Bracketing which take shots at 3 different exposure settings allowing you to keep the best and delete the others. However this function does not work with the flash up and it sometimes blurs a moving image. Am I better off using this feature or using the built in flash to get proper exposure? Many of the camera's ability to adjust setting don't work in the Auto mode. For example in Auto you can't set exposure compensation which I've found good for backlit shots. Using the auto mode with flash usually does not do well with backlighting. Do you advise using the exposure compensation (+1 seems to yield good results indoors). In the Program mode the camera has a setting to lighten skin tones (my uncle has a very dark complexion). Do you advise using this setting if it means sacrificing the Auto and Portrait mode? If I use the Program mode should I leave the ISO at automatic or select a particular number? Should I be concerned about getting too close and detracting from the ceremony while photographing the wedding? Any pointers on this? Other than limited flash range, are there other concerns/cautions with making full use of the 12X optical zoom to stay out of the way? Finally are there any other pointers for getting good results in this endeavor. Sorry for rambling on.

[Nicole]

Wow, you've got lots of questions, I'll see what I can do to help provide a few answers. There are a lot of people here who will hopefully be able to provide you with some tips.

First, there are a few good threads on the subject of weddings:
Hello- I'm a newbie that needs major help (http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=756&highlight=wedding) and
Wedding photography tips... (http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=355&highlight=wedding)
That should hopefully give you a good start.

Should I use the fully Auto mode, Portrait mode or Program AE mode?
If you have the time, I'd recommend learning how to use the Aperture Priority AE mode on your camera. The smaller the aperture number, the more light gets let in (however, less of the picture will be in focus). For more information on using aperture, there's a great article on the DPS Blog on Learning about Exposure (http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/learning-exposure-in-digital-photography/), and it covers aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. If the place where the wedding and reception are being held is kind of dark, you'll want to take advantage of your camera's IS feature as well, so that if you need to have a longer exposure, you won't have as much blur.

The camera has a neat function called Auto Exposure Bracketing which take shots at 3 different exposure settings allowing you to keep the best and delete the others. However this function does not work with the flash up and it sometimes blurs a moving image. Am I better off using this feature or using the built in flash to get proper exposure?

I wouldn't use the exposure bracketing because you will run out of memory on your camera really fast (about 3x faster than normal) and at a wedding, you're going to want to take lots of pictures. The built-in flash can be used, but be aware that it can really flatten out pictures and cause "deer-in-the-headlights" looks from people.

Do you advise using the exposure compensation (+1 seems to yield good results indoors). In the Program mode the camera has a setting to lighten skin tones (my uncle has a very dark complexion). Do you advise using this setting if it means sacrificing the Auto and Portrait mode? If I use the Program mode should I leave the ISO at automatic or select a particular number?

That link before on Learning about Exposure (http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/learning-exposure-in-digital-photography/) will help you decide if you want to use a set ISO and how high you want it to be. The higher the ISO, the more noise is likely in the photos. I'd try to stay somewhere around 400 or lower if you can.

Should I be concerned about getting too close and detracting from the ceremony while photographing the wedding? Any pointers on this?

Talk to the celebrant and find out what their opinion is on the matter. If they don't want you running around by the altar, then don't. So, even if it's just a quick conversation before the ceremony, make sure that you don't do anything to upset the celebrant or the couple.

Other than limited flash range, are there other concerns/cautions with making full use of the 12X optical zoom to stay out of the way?

As long as you're only using the optical zoom, you're ok, but if you start using the digital zoom, you'll lose quality.

Finally are there any other pointers for getting good results in this endeavor.

Read up on some of the previous threads on weddings, and make sure you talk to the bride and groom and see if there's anything in particular they actually want. Also, wear shoes you can run around in, and make sure you remember to eat and drink when you can, because it can be a very tiring experience :)

Hope that this has provided a few answers, feel free to ask more questions, and people here will do their best to answer where they can :)

[Digidave]

Wow!!!! Nicole, I gotta give you 10 Bonus Points for taking the time to type all that out. VERY NICE!! It shows True dedication. That's why I love this forum.

[jiminyClickit]

Digidave,

-Ditto

Nicole,

-If there's an Award for Above and Beyond at DPS, you get one.

newlyinterested,

-Your rambles may be questions we needed answers to, as well. Good shooting, and welcome.

[stuart]

wow you must be retired or something to write all that stuff nicole ,im green with envy. the only thing i can add is to go out and play lots with your camera,as long as he understands you can only do your best with what youve got. dont stress to much im sure you will do fine p.s. candit shots are the best .the photos you take when they dont know your taking them ,the expressions are more natural rather than ,this is us next to the church,this is us under a tree ect ect

[Nicole]

wow you must be retired or something to write all that stuff nicole ,im green with envy.

LOL! :) I wish I could afford to be retired at 25, but alas, I'm just a young'en and still have years of work ahead of me. I'm just a fast typist and really like to give complete answers :D

[newlyinterested]

Thanks a lot Nicole. You're GREAT. Hope I can find time to play with the camera to get a feel for what kind of results are produced with different aperature and other settings. Everything I read gave this camera high marks and it seems good so far but the icons and indicators are quite small. It will take some time to get really comfortable with it.

[Christa]

First of all how exciting that you get to do such a wonderful thing for your family.

Let me give you a context story of what I saw happen in a similar situation. My MIL (mother in law) and FIL (father in law) asked his brother to do the photography as he had a sweet camera and took good pictures.

When they got their pictures they were upset because some of the people important to them were not in the pictures nor was this moment captured. Sure all of the pics had good contrast, were focus but disappointment can comes across in other ways.

I am not trying to discourage you. But beforehand make up a list if questions. Do they prefer candid shots or formal party shots. Do they want pics of guests at the reception or shots of the head table and if anyone is speaking.

Do they want you to photograph the bride while she is getting ready. Look online and get lots of ideas through photographers galleries.

My photographer was amazing in that he photographed the bridesmaid's formal shots and pics of me with my dress before the ceremony so that the time in between he could focus on the group shots and some artistic ones.

He also went to the site before and knew where some decent shots could be taken without being intrusive.

Sure it's more work especially for someone not getting paid but your pics will show the work you've put into it and the couple will appreciate your gift all the more. HTH

[mdwsta4]

Christa you echo what i always say. make sure they are okay with no wedding photographer because there are no guarantees you'll come out with a single good picture. or you could come out with a couple dozen. but having that same camera in the past and using it for candids at wedding, they should not expect to have professional results. as long as they're cool with that, then go for it and have fun. if anything, it'll be good experience. just make sure they don't expect anything that way they won't be disappointed.
FWIW, i'm in a friends wedding this weekend and he also asked me to be the photographer. i kindly declined, but will bring my camera and do what i normally do (which is take pictures!). the plus side is they'll get what a pro-photographer does best as well as my off-the-cuff shots. plus i can enjoy the wedding and not run around like a madman trying to get every shot. whatever pictures i do get i give to them as an additional wedding present. everybody wins.