[BigDave]

PS: It will be a strange affair. My daughter is gay and is having a Day of the Dead theme for the wedding.

AHHHH, Really? Zombies at the wedding? At least she doesn't have to worry about getting her gown messed up! (I hate zombie stuff).

Regards,

[aikilink]

I personally favor longer lenses over wider ones - it's how I am! If you have a 50mm 1.4, 1.7 or 1.8, that would be worth considering. If you like wider, I'm sure the 31 will work excellently!
Also, the 15mm might be fun with the zombies around...

[jeverettfine]

I have done a number of weddings over the years and the 31 should be perfect for flash free candids at the reception...first dance, garter and bouquet toss, cake cutting etc. I like being unobtrusive. I also have an 18-135 and it is a great general photography lens, but the 31 is better. I might even consider taking only that lens and perhaps a DA70. Except for group portraits and architectural shots inside and out, a wide angle would be my least used lens.

Day of the Dead theme is pretty cool. Really not a zombie thing, but a Mexican (south) celebration of ancestors. One of my favorite things here in Texas. You've got to have an altar to the ancestors with marigolds etc.

[TheOneAndOnlyJH]

If you can see the venue first, I'd suggest visiting to get an idea of the lighting and if your flash will be enough (or looking online to see how it's usually lit) since the lighting really matters. I personally hate relying on flash since it's distraction to others and you have to worry about angle, bounce, reflections, and recycle time. (Mostly since it's distracting though.) Also find out for sure if they've hired a pro photographer.

If it's bright enough I'd recommend the 18-135 by itself since it allows you to take long, short, and 'macro' shots without changing your lens. For the wedding ceremony itself it's also much quieter than a screw drive. The convenience of the zoom range is extremely handy, the main issue is if the venue has 'subdued' lighting (or dark and gloomy depending on how you look at it ). Same with the 55-300, but I would pick the 18-135 fist if you really don't want to change lenses.

If it's dark, I'd definitely say use the 31 and keep the 15 available in case you need it (eg: if you want to get a shot of the whole head table at once). If you find out there isn't a pro photographer you might also want to bring the 105 macro to take some pictures at the beginning such as her dress details, shoes, rings, centerpieces, decorative details, etc. It sounds like a very distinctive event, and years from now these pictures may be worth more than a thousand words when they try to explain it!

I recently had my 18-135 / K-3 at a wedding and it performed wonderfully in the brightly lit church, but I had to really pump the ISO at the reception because it was so dark. I left my regular flash at home since I have a baby and I didn't want to interfere with the pro photogs. Even at f/3.5 the images ended up so grainy (high iso) or blurry (slow shutter) that I ended up using my built in flash once the pros left. It really made me wish I had brought my DA 50 f/1.8 with me. (I don't even think my Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 would have been enough without flash.)

I do agree that you need to enjoy the event, but if you like things from your perspective I think it's entirely worth your time to spend a some 5-10 minutes in beginning, middle, and end taking a few memorable pictures, especially if there are no pros. In between you can even set your camera to full Auto and tell a few people to feel free to take some shots. I like the idea of letting a kid use it too since kids can take some wonderfully unexpected shots, but that also depends on how much you trust them with your camera.

[frogoutofwater]

Of course, I support the idea of dad focusing on enjoying the day (and his daughter's wedding), not spending time photographing it.

That said, you might think of spending the rare, free moments of the day photographing details from the unique perspective of being father of the bride. You'll have moments, and be in places, that others won't be. And you know your daughter, so you might be able to catch her candid, characteristic expressions and actions. Really focus on what makes this day important and/or unusual to you as her father - channel that feeling and leave the other photos to the pro.

[Sandy Hancock]

Zombie wedding? Awesome! That changes my advice dramatically
Definitely take the 31 and go bananas.

[noelpolar]

Best theme ever!

[clackers]

How does it feel to be paying for the banquet, John, when every course is brains?

[micromacro]

As a guest with the camera I got the best candids with Sigma 30mm f1.4
So, your 31mm ltd is even better. Shot for fun and enjoy.
Congrats!

[cgchang]

I was the backup photographer for a friend's wedding. My first wedding shoot too so I didn't capture a lot the "typical" wedding shots. Also I don't have a lot of experience photographing people, so candid shots were lacking. As the backup photographer I opted to shoot at longer focal lengths to not get in the way of guests and the lead photographer. Neither of us were "professionals". The lead shot with only a Canon + kit lens + in-body flash from I could tell

I brought my Tamron 17-50 f2.8, DA 50 f1.8, DA 15 f4, DFA 100 f2.8 macro, and Nikon SB600 flash. The Tamron was the most used with the DFA 100 mostly being used during the portrait shoots. The DA 15 and DA 50 only came out at the very end for a couple shots. I used the flash a couple times but I'm a flash noobie and got really self conscious about it especially during the ceremony.

Here are the final images from the day Gabrielle & Joseph by Chris Chang

[darylk]

For the wedding I'm with the majority recommending you focus yourself, not your camera, on this once-in-a-lifetime event of paramount importance to your daughter. When my daughter was married I took a lot of shots of the decorating activities the day before the event. I also took some shots the day of the wedding before the official activities began. The rest of the day I trusted the professionals to do their job, which they did reasonably well. My shots: https://darylkottwitzphoto.smugmug.com/Family/Leah-and-Tims-Wedding/n-6GFPf/

[Johnontheroad]

My daughter had her wedding, and I did take some pictures. A professional photographer was there, these were just for me. So I decided to use my K3ii, with the 31mm f1.8 and the 15mm f4. It was my intent to take mostly available light, but I did bring a small Metz 24AF1 flash.


When we got to the reception it was obvious light would be poor and the flash would be needed. Now I hardly ever use the flash, in fact, this was my first use of the flash with Pentax. And although the images looked OK by chimping, I noticed some unusual things.


First of all, I shot on the "X" setting (maybe my first mistake?) I never did figure out why the ISO now reads things like -4.5 or -3.0 etc. And all my images were at 1/180 (which I expected) and at ISO 3200 (not expected.) Fortunately, the K3ii handled the high ISO well, but it was not my intent. Most all the images used bounce flash, but the ceiling was white.

After I switched to the 15mm lens, I left the camera on TAv and I got results more like I expected. So what should my process have been with small flash? Or should the "X" mode only be for studio flash? Next time I need the flash I would like to do better.... Images can be seen below, in my blog, and on my album here:

https://johnlaninga.smugmug.com/2016/Dallas-area/Family/Stacy-and-Dallas-Wedding/

[darylk]

I'm not a flash guru, but have used it enough with my K3 to manage fairly well. I do use "X" setting when using the flash. I manually set the ISO to what I want, basically adjusting it to avoid overstretching the flash's capability. If I remember correctly, ISO 400 or 800 is fairly typical. I agree with using bounce flash, especially with white ceilings. I also use the pull-out white card on the flash to get a little catch light in the eyes and perhaps provide some added fill light from the front. With my K3 I pretty much abandoned use of PTTL because of the slight shutter lag (maybe a half second or so?) which was annoying. Instead I went to using the flash's auto thyristor which does pretty well. Unfortunately most flashes these days don't have auto thyristor.
I'm glad to see you were able to get some fine shots. Congratulations on your daughter's wedding!
Daryl

[TheOneAndOnlyJH]

On my K-3 I've found that if you use Auto-ISO with P-TTL the camera almost always uses a much higher ISO than necessary. TAv is my favorite in low light, but when I need flash I use A, M, or X, with fixed ISO, wide open or slightly stopped down aperture, and the slowest shutter speed I can to avoid motion blur. The flash compensates most for exposure, but I chimp every now and then to see if I have enough light or need to change ISO / shutter / aperture.

[narual]

AHHHH, Really? Zombies at the wedding? At least she doesn't have to worry about getting her gown messed up! (I hate zombie stuff).

Day of the Dead and Dawn of the Dead are not particularly related despite the similar names.

---------- Post added 06-27-16 at 03:26 PM ----------

I think the X setting is just for use with completely manual flashes. If the camera knows there's a flash attached, it'll automatically limit the shutter speed to 1/180 anyway, no matter what setting you use.