Minimum shutter speed for Wedding Reception?

[Vich]

OK, yesterday's wedding was my 4th. I should know better, but my inexperience was revealed in about 1/2 my indoor reception shots!

The lighting was great (3 sides of floor to ceiling side to side open windows with bright sunlight outdoors) so I put my 24-105 f4.0L IS on, turned off the flash, and figuring I didn't need to worry about camera shake much, I used the following settings:

ISO 400
F4.0
SS: mainly 80 and sometimes 60 or 100.

I used 24mm (on a 30D) most of the time, but zoomed in without regard for SS due to the IS.

I got home to discover about 1/2 of my shots were slightly blury, many unusably so. There was a lot of dancing, cho-cho train around the room, ... a young wild bunch - esp. the 5 beautiful bridesmaids.

I'm so glad that I usually take multiples (sometimes 8 or 10) of the really good poses, and I had a 2nd, so it'll show well, but I'm just killing myself over all the great wasted shots!

The outdoor bright sunlight beach ceremony had it's own challenges, but they actually turned out great (my flash at FEC +1 on most). I thought it would be the other way around (indoor looking great, sunny shots lacking).

So; what is your minimum SS for indoor high-motion wedding (or party) shots using an IS or short (35mm) non-IS lens?

[D Thompson]

typically, 1/60 or slower will not freeze motion. I would've thought that your 1/100 shots would have been fine, unless they were really moving around. The 1/80 is in that in-between stage where depending on the motion whether it would have shown or not.

Congrats on #4!

[pagnamenta]

I shoot a lot of parties for friends and always end up using flash. I generally can shoot at 1/80 with bounce flash and freeze the action perfectly. You might have wanted to use the flash instead of going all ambient.

[noyjimi]

So; what is your minimum SS for indoor high-motion wedding (or party) shots using an IS or short (35mm) non-IS lens?

doesn't usually matter as i'll use the flash to freeze it. all i know is that ambient will be set 1-2 stops underexposed depending on what effect i want... so ss usually falls in the magic values of 1/15, 1/30 or 1/60 on the apertures I tend to use, iso 400 or 800 if i'm concerned bout conserving flash battery. YMMV.

[Vich]

I shoot a lot of parties for friends and always end up using flash. I generally can shoot at 1/80 with bounce flash and freeze the action perfectly. You might have wanted to use the flash instead of going all ambient.
As you've all inferred, flash with ambient -3 stops will freeze action. -1 ambient will cause some shadowing. -2 ambient is sort of in between.

I tend to like the ambient light look because the backgrounds have less noisy shadows, differing color balance, and more natural looking face shadows; so allow me to rephrase:

What min. SS for getting clean existing-light shots with a short to medium range IS lens (like the 24-105L)?

[CraigLowen]

Your shutter speed should be the inverse of the focal length. E.g. if you're shooting with a 50mm then 1/60 sec will eliminate blurring from shaky hands, whereas with a 300mm lens you can't count on anything slower than 1/125.

If your hand is steady enough you can go for slower speeds (up to twice as long) but hold your breath and brace your elbows on something.

As for motion caused by fast-moving subjects, my friends and relatives all move slow enough that 1/60 sec is generally fast enough.

P.S. - I got an f/1.4 lens specifically for that purpose, and compromise on film speed as much as necessary to keep the shutter speed faster than 1/60. Not a perfect solution but at least I don't have to use a flash.

[D Thompson]

As you've all inferred, flash with ambient -3 stops will freeze action. -1 ambient will cause some shadowing. -2 ambient is sort of in between.

I tend to like the ambient light look because the backgrounds have less noisy shadows, differing color balance, and more natural looking face shadows; so allow me to rephrase:

What min. SS for getting clean existing-light shots with a short to medium range IS lens (like the 24-105L)?

If you're talking about stopping the motion of the people then 1/100th or faster. Anything slower will show the movement.

[Vich]

If you're talking about stopping the motion of the people then 1/100th or faster. Anything slower will show the movement.
Thanks Dennis. I know it's subject to how much motion, but typical reception activities I was just wondering what you've found successful. So; 1/125 probably safe, 100 in a pinch, lower only for real steady stuff.

I was a little dumbfounded that 1/80 didn't work out. I'll figure out more on what shots really did or didn't come out, but I know I didn't venture above 1/100 for the whole indoor part. Amazing what that extra 25% in shutter speed will buy.

I've also though of getting out of the f4.0 range and heading more for f5.6, esp. for dancing unless I'm pretty far back.

So far, my indoor stuff has been too dark too allow non-flash and using a flash, it hasn't been an issue. Oh well; plenty enough came out, so it's not a huge repercussion, but I DEFINATELY want to learn on this mistake and not repeat it, EVER (errrr, almost never I guess). ISO 800 was probably called for - or flash.


Your shutter speed should be the inverse of the focal length. E.g. if you're shooting with a 50mm then 1/60 sec will eliminate blurring from shaky hands, whereas with a 300mm lens you can't count on anything slower than 1/125.
Craig: thanks for your response. With a modern IS, I've managed to break those hand-held rules on stiller subjects. It's more the party scene I'm trying to capture.

[D Thompson]

Thanks Dennis. I know it's subject to how much motion, but typical reception activities I was just wondering what you've found successful. So; 1/125 probably safe, 100 in a pinch, lower only for real steady stuff.
Yeah, 1/125th should stop most motion at a reception where I'm assuming you're talking about when they are dancing. 1/100 should stop most as well. Sometimes its kinda cool to drop it down to the 1/60-1/80 range on a faster dance to show the motion. Of course you can always add a little post to represent the motion if you want.

I was a little dumbfounded that 1/80 didn't work out. I'll figure out more on what shots really did or didn't come out, but I know I didn't venture above 1/100 for the whole indoor part. Amazing what that extra 25% in shutter speed will buy.
I would think it would've been ok on some of the slower moments. Let us know what you find out after looking at them.

[cwphoto]

I agree with Dennis, I would have thought 1/125 would have been OK.

[jamison55]

I've had the exact same thing happen to me at a wedding in '05 - my heart sunk when I downloaded all of the "Great" (on the LCD) shots, only to find out that there was too much motion blur to use. In situations like that - with lots of available light coming in through the windows - I now don't shoot at anything less than 1/125...

In a dark room where my flash is the primary light source and ambient is -2 and "blinking" I'll go down to 1/30...

[Vich]

I've had the exact same thing happen to me at a wedding in '05 - my heart sunk when I downloaded all of the "Great" (on the LCD) shots, only to find out that there was too much motion blur to use. In situations like that - with lots of available light coming in through the windows - I now don't shoot at anything less than 1/125...

In a dark room where my flash is the primary light source and ambient is -2 and "blinking" I'll go down to 1/30...
Thanks Jamison (and CW). CW, I'm wishing I had used 1/125 but mostly it was 1/80 (on my main body).

I'll be checking out more tonight - spent most of yesterday buying a new computer and installing software, then PP on a different event I "owe" a customer by mid-week.

I did have higher SS on many shots. I had 2 bodies and my 35 on the 2nd (at f1.8 or 2.0) kept the SS well up there - but then focusing wasn't always on and DOF was tricky. Not bad, but very big aperture has it's own problems (and advantages).

Here's a sample right after the Dad Dance: This one was 35mm (+camera crop), 1/2500th, ISO 800, f1.8. I'll get a sample or two of 1/60, 1/80, and 1/100 tonight.

http://newportphotoworks.smugmug.com/photos/133813307-L-1.jpg

It caught the scene well enough, but the 1/2500 is a little excessive. ISO 100 and about 1/400th @f1.8 would have been fine for this part of the room and would have been cleaner.

Back on topic ... For future well lit situations, I swear to never go below 1/125 unless ambient is well below or I'm going for motion blur (and have an IS lens or monopod).

I was thinking of 1/160 but maybe that's an overkill. Still; I think I'll opt for 1/160 or above if I have the luxury and I'm not leaning on the flash too much (ie: none or fill flash).

I'll post some samples tonight of 1/60, 1/80,and 1/100.