Natasha & her Canon XT DSLR on our first lesson with the Vinoy Hotel in the backgroundNew DSLR Photography Lesson student, Natasha, will be helping photograph her friend's upcoming wedding in April. Thus, she has booked my new 4-lesson discount package in order to get up to speed as fast as she can by then, as she already previously has some photography knowledge. In addition to learning the basic settings (aperture, ISO, WB, focus mode) that are in need of regular changing, one must also know their gear well. Natasha's friend will be arriving at her wedding location in a horse-drawn carriage in the middle of the afternoon (tricky lighting). So to photograph this well a fast enough shutter speed must be used to freeze the action and certain moving subject shooting skills need to be refined.
We simulated this scenario by having me walk in an arc around her while she was in AI-servo (AF-C for Nikon) and burst mode. Through several practice rounds we found out what were the best settings to use in broad daylight, and most importantly how fast her DSLR/lens combination (Canon XT) could get a focus lock on a moving subject. It is critical to know how many usable shots (six or two or four, etc.) one can get in a given space. This exercise helped give Natasha some idea what she can expect when photographing the bride arriving via horse-drawn carriage for real and what can be expected of her photography gear.
We will cover more topics and scenarios like this in our next three lessons so hopefully come her friend's wedding day, she will feel as prepared as possible!