Help! I'm shooting a wedding next month that is in a large open ballroom in a hotel (I'd say the height and width of the room would be like a square gymnasium/b-ball court)...the floor is old-school shiney linoleum (SP?) the only lighting is from like 40 watt tungstens on the far outer walls (which are rust-red brick and underneath a balcony that lines each side) and four "lamp posts" at each center corner of the room (about right where some b-ball goals would be placed if it were a square court with 4 goals!) The lamp posts have these crazy day-light-like bulbs in them...pretty much comparable to the time of day the cock starts to crow...the posts will also be wrapped with white Christmas lights and the round tables (I figure they'll get a dozen and a half 6 footers in at least) will have white table cloths and candles on them...

My gear:
Nikon D200
50mm 1.8
17-55 2.8 (Tamron)
SB600

The midieval lighting is only for the ceremony...she's thinking about adding some yummy flourescents during the reception (which is in the same square b-ball court ballroom). SHE WANTS AS LITTLE FLASH AS POSSIBLE. Any suggestions for how to conquer this one would be much appreciated!

Thanks so much!
~Jaren

time to consider a d3

Try to find a retailer that also rents equipment... The D3 or even the D300 can be a great addition on that day...

If they have them but are not available, try reserving them for the week before or the week of...

Calumet will ship them to you for the weekend... but they are in high demand...

JC

LensProToGo.com has some, better call them.

In all seriousness, I'd love to hear how people would have done this WITHOUT a D3. I'd pray hard if it were me.

tripod and really fast primes....
i know nothing about nikon lenses.....i assume they have all the fast primes that canon does right? I would be practicing in candle light as well so I sorta knew the setting i would want to be using on the day of .....
might want to explain the basics of photography to you client as well
maybe they like silhouettes...i do!
GL

Do anything you can to rent a D3 and the 50 1.4

Do you think they would allow a soft video light?

Edit: you can propose it like you're giving them a free soft spotlight so people can see their expressions better

Find out from the venue the minute the room will be set up. Schedule to be there to practice prior the ceremony.

RE: the D3/D300...but I'm still trying to figure out my 200!!! But thank you for the suggestions...I'll experiment with it in the future. I'm liking the idea of the video light...and found these on Calumet:
http://www.calumetphoto.com/rental/continuouslighting

The great thing is that I will be taking the wedding party/bride and groom outside to a park for their formals (so, yes I'm praying for a SPECTACULAR sunset And if it rains, we'll go to a nearby church (with huge windows for some natural light, thank God)...so I'm thinking the video light might add a nice effect...? HOWEVER, I've no experience with video lighting...so I need some suggestions here too!

Thanks so much!

PM'ed you back on it, but I also don't know which ones would be best, or how powerful the wattage really is....

any one with experience on the video lights want to chime in for us?


I think some Uncle Bob I had at a wedding who had this light that LIT UP THE WHOLE ROOM LIKE THE SUN said it was like 1500 watts... so that would be far far more than you need

I'd love to know what people think is a good light for a moderately strong video light, too. Enough to reach half way across a room but not overdone and so strong that it dies on battery after 15 minutes...

check these out for some inspiration. his name is ben chrisman and his work is amazing in available light.

after you enter his site, go to frames, red letter days, then look at the vicki and jacob gallery. looks like the ceremony is all candlelight.

Ben is awesome awesome awesome!!!
I was so thinking the same thing!!!!

Jeff Ascough regularly shoots in dungeons and from what I have read, he rarely uses flash. Take a peek at his work to see what is possible.

Here is a great post on photo.net with Jeff's work. Definitely worth studying.

jeff used to shoot leica with a superb lens arsenal - for example, f/1.0.

the bottom line is, you need a little light, and manage this clients' expectations.

I agree that renting a camera with a better ISO performance is really one of your best options. Primes are also a great bet. Maybe you don't wanna "rent" the hushpuppy, however, perhaps you know someone who can let you borrow it. You did not specify the time of day or whether the room will have windows but I would be sure to know well in advance how much light there is to work with. Candle light is great with the proper equipment, however, if you can't get your camera and lenses to perform...this will be a very sad day. Definately keep us posted with your final selection and the outcome.

Peace,
Parris

Matt,

Thanks for the resource.

Mike

A LED LitePanel Micro, about $300, which is basically a LED powered constant softbox that is shoe mountable and able to be gell'ed to match the color temp of candlelight may give you just enough additional light to overcome those "too dark" situations your likely to encounter. Posted a similar reply in another thread about photographing without flash in a helicopter so you may want to look there for other ideas too.

WOW!!! WOW!!! WOW!!!
Awesome site. Thank you for sharing Ben's site. I have a new idol....