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I'll be shooting my sister's wedding in a few weeks. This will be my first "official" wedding shoot, although I've have decent results with more casual photography at several previous weddings. This time it's a little different though, being a winter wedding. I'm wondering if anyone has had experience with a wedding where outdoor photos may be difficult. We're hoping the weather complies enough for some outdoor shots, but a lot of the photos may end up being indoors, being northern Saskatchewan and all.

Equipment will be:
A couple Nikon DSLRs
18-55mm VR
55-200mm VR
70-300mm VR
Probably SB-600 Speedlight

I'm thinking that I should pick up a 50mm f/1.8. I'm not sure what's available for rental in the area, I doubt very much if anything. My sister knows a photographer we may be able to borrow some lighting equipment from, so that might help. Any recommendations?

Proper exposure with blankets of white all around is challenging. If your Nikon bodies are good enough, maybe try some of those nifty HDR shots. Either way, get yourself the best flash you can afford (to buy or rent), as it will make or break your pictures.

Get the best flash you can afford, and get time to practice with it.

I'm guessing you're shooting DX nikons only, otherwise the few hundred for a flash and fast prime wouldn't matter. Look at the 35mm 1.8, the 50mm 1.8, and the 50mm 1.4. Any of those lenses will help tremendously indoors.

The cameras I'll be using are a D80 and a D40. Neither are spectacular at high ISO so I know I'll definitely want the flash and will need to make the best out of available light. I'm planning on shooting entirely in RAW to negate white balance issues and get the most exposure latitude possible. Admittedly I don't have a lot of experience using an external flash, but I know the fundamentals and will be practicing with various techniques prior to the wedding. Christmas is a great time for photo ops so I usually have a camera on me anyway.

crazybus wrote:

The cameras I'll be using are a D80 and a D40. Neither are spectacular at high ISO so I know I'll definitely want the flash and will need to make the best out of available light. I'm planning on shooting entirely in RAW to negate white balance issues and get the most exposure latitude possible. Admittedly I don't have a lot of experience using an external flash, but I know the fundamentals and will be practicing with various techniques prior to the wedding. Christmas is a great time for photo ops so I usually have a camera on me anyway.

It would be wise to have a fast lens, too. 1.8 would be good. A faster lens without a flash will prevent the pretty scenery from being underexposed indoors, and a proper flash will keep shadows from being ugly. As a main light source in a large room though, a flash will leave the background very underexposed.