I have not really shot people before. My sis-in-law is getting married and asked me to shoot them around their college campus.
So I am asking for any and all tips regarding this.

Shade or no shade better?
Sunny or overcast better?
Flash or no flash?

All I have is a 17-85mm tele lens to work with.

Thanks.
Andrew

good lens, SHOOT IT AT THE LONG END
shoot aperture or mannual, not AUTO
meter the face - use spot or area metering but be careful of bright, or real dark backgrounds and they will cause issues with your exposure
shoot fill flash - but dont use it as a main light in shadows, and turn it down a bit, like -.3 or -.7 or even -1.0 EV is it's too hot. . .
shoot at iso 400 or higher -
use a reflector - get an assistant
shade if you have it - CHECK WHITE BALANCE IF YOURE SHOOTING DIGITAL - the flash will be a different color than the shade, shoot with a diffuser over the flash. . .
Wait for an overcast day for best results, but use fill flash to open shadows and get a catchlight. . .

Hey Andrew,

Congrats on the wedding work. Depending on the time of day will affect where you shoot and when. Certainly, for mid-day photography, you are going to want to find some nice shade areas...ideally without patches. Try photographing with both flash on and flash off for formals. I agree with Tony - meter off of the face.

If you have a second person, you may want to consider the following things:

(1) Have a reflector to brighten up shady areas.
(2) Use a video light on the couple when you are doing close candid work with them. It creates a nice warm light that is better than flash (which I generally try to avoid).

If you wind up having to photograph in direct sun, you will need to use flash. Meter off of the face and kick the flash up +1. This will help eliminate the shadows that occur on the couples eye's that occurs when photographing in direct high sun. You may have issues with the dress blowing out...so be careful.

Last - try these things out on a dummy (i.e. friend, child, etc) before doing it on the wedding day. Practice is everything.

I hope this helps
James

Thanks for the tips!
I was not clear in my initial post.
These are just candid engagement photos. Nothing formal.
So at least I don't have to worry that this will be their only set of memories...
I don't think I'm ready for the real thing yet!

Andrew