TV, AV, M MODE FOR SHOOTING WEDDINGS?

Question

I know everyone says to shoot in AV OR M mode for weddings but why can't you shoot in TV or in the basic modes? Would it be crazy to shoot in sport mode at a wedding to capture children or even the people dancing. And Isn't the TV mode good for actions and wedding are fast paced.
"Just asking...don't be to mean guy--just wanting to learn
Also is f/8 good to stay in to avoid shutterlag?

Answer 1

If you are using the built in camera meter, it doesn't matter which mode you shoot in M, AV, TV or P(other than automatic). If you need to over ride the camera's meter you need to be in manual. For instance, on Canon if you choose P you can chose the ISO and use the fly wheel near the shutter release to control the f stop while giving you a corresponding shutter speed. I will often switch between the different modes in the course of a wedding. I've been doing weddings long before automatic anything and can comfortably shoot manual but enjoy the ease of the auto settings. Years ago ( decades, actually) we used to shoot what we called "Blue f 8" weddings where you used a Vivitar 283 flash in the blue mode on f8 and were assured decent exposures. So, yes, f8 if you have the right ISO and shutter speed, should be no problem for reception action shots.For portraits you may want a shallower depth of field.

Answer 2

Your question tells me you are not ready to shoot a wedding. The last question "Also is f8 good to stay in to avoid shutterlag?" makes me wonder if you have a compact digicam since there is no shutterlag with a DSLR.



I suggest taking a few photography classes and, if you do have a point & shoot digicam, upgrading to a DSLR as soon as you can.

Answer 3

I think the reason they say that is because if you're good enough to shoot a wedding, you should feel most comfortable in full manual mode, changing the settings based on your skill and knowledge to produce the best possible picture for that particular situation. Relying on presets does indicate a lack of understanding of how the camera works. Weddings are fast-paced when people are dancing at the reception, but professional wedding photographers use external flashes and other lighting gear to capture those moments without worrying about motion blur. The built-in flash is just awful, though, so they'd never use that. Otherwise, I don't think you'd need shutter speeds as fast as you'd need for sports.



As for the aperture...I'm not exactly sure what you mean, but what you set your aperture to should depend entirely on how close you are to the subject, what the light is like, and what kind of depth of field you're aiming for. I can think of a lot of moments in a wedding where f/8 would create a lot of depth of field where I would it to be shallow.

Answer 4

ok its gonna be hard for people to not be mean to you with this question because sports mode and all those other "modes" are just presets of the manual setting for example sports mode is just a shutter speed above 1/500 but av mode and manual mode are modes where you control the shutter speed and what not so if you want a action photo you up the shutter speed then adjust your iso and aperture to suffice and for a more artistic photo you slow your shutter speed up a bit or open up your aperture and give yourself a more shallow depth of field now I am trying to be as nice as I possibly can but you have to understand its hard to see people asking questions that they can learn in their manual especially for a wedding that they may not necessarily be qualified to shoot but you have to start somewhere I suppose but may I suggest for to avoid future scrutiny and to seriously up your skills as a photographer read your manual and learn everything their is to know about your camera I promise you shooting will be a lot more pleasurable and fulfilling because you are creating the shot instead of letting a mode create it for you.

Answer 5

Generally speaking I shoot Av mode wide open. Usually at f/2.8

Answer 6

Because you don't shoot a wedding with the camera making the exposure decisions (well unless you want your photos to turn out exactly like anyone there with a basic point & shoot).



You shoot in manual, with fast lenses (for low light) and with supplementary off camera flash (where its allowed). You need to be skilled & experienced enough to know what setting will nail the exposure before you even press the button.



You also need a second DSLR body and flash in case there is a problem with the first.