Taking photos in a marquee

[averageandy]

Hi, my mate's fiancee has asked me to take photos at their engagement party, but the conditions are not what I have typically taken photos in before.
The party will take place from around 5pm (just before sunset here), and run late into the night. These are the details, "I have organised for a 6x12 metre marquee to be the 'venue' as per say, which will be lined with silk, fairy lights and lanterns. At the beginning of the night it will mostly be tables and chairs for the oldies, but as the night progresses the jukebox will but turned up and tables put away! We are looking at aprox 80-85 people attending."
I am happy to rent some gear as he's a good mate of mine, so if you guys could help me out as to what gear would be mandatory and what gear would be nice and what techniques I should use.
Currently I have:


Nikon D3300

35mm f/1.8

55-200mm f/4-5.6

Speedlight SB-700

Thanks for the help guys, I'd really like to make the most of this for them

[I @ M]

The camera should be capable of good quality images at high iso levels under the prevailing light ( hopefully there is more rather than less light ) in conjunction with your 35mm lens used at fast apertures. I would look at hiring / borrowing something like the Sigma 85mm F/1.4 lens to grab portraits from a little bit further away from subjects or as frame filling head shots either with or without the flash.
Your flash if used correctly will provide plenty of light, avoid direct flash on people and try to bounce it off the roof or walls of the marquee to provide a softer more even light. It would be better to get it off the camera entirely if you can and under those conditions I would rather run it in manual settings rather than having the inconsistency that TTL metering can bring under adverse conditions.
Something like between 1/60 and 1/125 at 800 iso, F/1.4 1.8 and 2.8 and mid flash power levels should be good for a range of images either losing or keeping the ambient light in the shots depending on light levels and shutter speeds.
It really is one of those times where you will need to be there early and experiment with the "tent" before starting the serious photography to see what works the best.

[Mark L]

.... avoid direct flash on people and try to bounce it off the roof or walls of the marquee to provide a softer more even light. It would be better to get it off the camera entirely if you can and under those conditions I would rather run it in manual settings rather than having the inconsistency that TTL metering can bring under adverse conditions.

If bouncing the flash off the roof, pull up the reflector card. May help with less shadows and give a little catch light in the eyes.
If you're not confident with manual and have to use the flash on camera and not bounced, dial back the exposure compensation on the flash.
Check how your early photos go and adjust accordingly.
OR,
tell your mate you are not sure you can get quality photos, so if he wants quality photos, hire someone. Then you can relax. :beer_mug::)

[ameerat42]

If bouncing ...
OR,
tell your mate you are not sure you can get quality photos, so if he wants quality photos, hire someone. Then you can relax. :beer_mug::)

Sage and Thymely advice Mark, but true.

(Is True a herb?)
Am.