I am shooting my first wedding this Friday afternoon. I feel fairly well prepared - I had a test session in white w/ bride and groom on the beach (they have an outdoor wedding), and the shots turned out well - I used a speedlight with flash bounced off 48" white relfector for even results, and the whites are exposing nicely.
Here is my dilemma: the bride assured me that the banquet hall was a "uniform room with medium height, white ceilings." LOL. I just researched the site, and have learned my lesson to do more research in advance: the room is huge, surrounded on three sides of windows, with vaulted wooden ceilings. Bounce flash could be, um, interesting to say the least in those circumstances, and I'm very worried about all the windows once it is dark. I have an assistant who can hold up my reflector for more formal shots, such as first dance and cake, but any suggestions on how to best take spontaneous shots given the circumstances?
1) Should I consider skipping flash as much as possible, given odd bounce conditions, and just use high ISO? Experience teaches me that as long as photos aren't underexposed with high ISO in my 30-D, grain isn't too big of a problem.
2) Any tips for how to avoid bizarre reflections in all those windows once it's dark (other than the obvious of avoiding flash entirely)?
3) Any tips for bouncing on a vaulted wooden ceiling?
4) Any other must do's / tips? I have the "88 essential photos" list, extra cards, charged batteries, and a backup 20-D.
5) I'm doing this free, as it is my first wedding, but I still want the results to be stellar if possible, of course.
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