What rentals and new equipment?!

[BrittneyA]

Brian, 

 

I certainly will practice! I apparently won't get the 85 until Thursday or Friday. Smh.. At least it'll be here before Saturday afternoon. I'll get up early every day before my kiddos get up to get some practice in. (additional, that is..) 

And I will definitely take her course, thank you for recommending it. I'll be relying on you until this wedding is over though! And I figured you had a job and photo shoots, so I am patient and am just happy when you have a chance to reply. 

 

I think I offered the mini shoot as a gift to act as icing on the cake, so to speak. Especially since my outdoor work is better, lol. I normally would charge more for that. I guess I figure if my photos are not as good as I hope (I hope they are!!!) then the mini shoot will help?! lol. Wishful thinking. But I am going to keep at it here. I'm so stressed I'm sick. 

Okay, I'll plan on $500-$600, and that will include the hours from 3pm-9pm. If she wants more time, I will charge $50 per half hour. I sure wish you were local so I could become your parasite and follow you around. Lol. For $300, for the last wedding, the bride received 89 photos. Some were duplicates in black and white. For this wedding, should I provide around ...? 200?? 300?? I want to get into IPS eventually, but not quite there. I JUST started offering some digitally with the option to buy more for $10 per photo. 

Since I don't have my 85 yet, I'll just use my 50 or  35 this evening. The bride said I can bring my kids on Friday evening to the rehearsal to check out the church. My husband works late, so I will have to bring them. Twin six-year-old boys and a girl that just turned two. I assume it'd be a good idea even so? 

AHHHHHH. I'm freaking out... 

 

 

[Brian]

Yeah, kids aren’t going to be a good idea. You can try, but won’t get much accomplished. Besides, during the day you will be running and gunning. You won’t stop. Any “Plans” you make on Friday night will go out the Window on Saturday. That’s a Wedding. Something always happens. 
 

For now, set your camera up and get used to shooting in AF-C Mode @ 4fps. Use what you have, and shoot at f/2.8 - f/4. That is the typical range that I’m at during weddings. Sometimes f/5.6. 
 

For the amount of photos, a typical Wedding 8-hr should yield 600-800 photos delivered to the client. Sometimes less, sometimes more. It really depends on how much stuff is happening and how many people are attending. If there are less guests and not much going on, you could have 300-400 delivered to the client with an 8 hour Wedding.  Or you can be an amazing $10,000 photographer and deliver 75 photos that are completely amazing and could be featured in an Art Gallery. But this is all very subjective and varies from wedding to wedding. My goal is for 500 photos delivered to the client across the board. That’s why I say a 8 hour Wedding is 40 hrs of editing on the back-end. Figure 3-5 minutes for each photo edited and you work out the math. 

Today’s Brides want photos on their phone. They want to Humblebrag on FB and make all of their single female friends jealous. LOL!! Modern Brides look for lots and lots of photos. They want pictures of EVERYTHING. 
 

My best guess is you are probably looking at 200 photos delivered. Yep, that’s right…suck-it-up-buttercup. Between the getting ready, Bridal Portraits, Formals, the ceremony, first kiss, entrance / announcement of the B&G, table shots of all the guests, detail shots, plus the various other things that happen during the ceremony, 200-300+ photos should be easy to do with a 6 hour wedding. No cheating and just converting some to B&W. At least 200 different and edited photos is your goal. 
 

Welcome to shooting a Wedding!
 

It’s no wonder that Photographers charge as much as they do. This isn’t a family session at the park where 50 photos is more than enough, it’s a Wedding that you are documenting. 

[BrittneyA]

Brian, 

 

Sounds good. I definitely will make sure I have at least that many different photos. I am sure that's quite easy to do.. Plus the detail shots, the bride being laced up in her dress, her shoes, the dress hanging, close ups of makeup and hair, far away shots of these, the cake, food, the dj, the brides family, the grooms, different groupings, individual shots, candid shots, posed, the ceremony, etc etc. I am not worried about quantity. It's quality lololol. Okay, I'll be practicing today with those settings today and this week. I hope I'll get my rentals and other lens in asap... I'm SUPER DUPER anxious. Obviously! Thanks for helping me, once again. I'll probably have questions about setting my menu up. My baby is also super sick. So juggling that with my twins, and this stuff has been difficult. But I can usually make things work. But I need to wake up early and go to bed late every day this week. I would love to see some of your wedding photos. I'll check out Instagram. I'm not a huge user of it yet, but plan to be. Thanks again, you're the best. 

 

Brittney

[Brian]

Since I’ve been a 2nd shooter (by choice) for the last 5-6 years, I haven’t been good at posting my own stuff. I have the Raw images, but since I’m a “Contractor,” the photos are technically owned by the woman I shoot with. That said, I should get off my lazy butt and post a few of my favorites over the years.  
 

I just checked the website that my photos are on. My friend Jacki has a few of mine in her main portfolio/sample gallery. Like the guys with the truck, the 1st one. Basically anything you see with the guys or a wide landscape/environmental shot is probably mine. SilverPixels.com. Our styles are similar and are growing closer as each year passes, and it’s getting tougher for me to remember who’s shot is who’s. 
 

That’s actually a tip. If you do end of with a second shooter, your goal is to not be able to tell who shot what. The styles should blend, and as the customer is concerned all the photos were taken by the same person. Basically, I try to give Jacki a whole Wedding minus the Bride. If she needed me to, like if something terrible happened, I can become the Main Photographer in an instant without skipping a beat. 
 

Here is the FB Page: https://facebook.com/pages/category/Design---Fashion/SilverPixels-Photography-120921633317/

[Brian]

Did the rental equipment arrive yet? 

[BrittneyA]

Brian, 

 

Ughhhh FINALLY! About to go pick it up from the FedEx place inside of Walgreens. I'm nervous and excited. And sick to my stomach. At least they're here! The 85 isn't yet.. 

 

 

 

Brittney

[Brian]

I have a late Wedding to shoot tomorrow that’s 2.5 hrs away. 3-11 PM East Coast Time. So if you have questions, better hit me up by this evening because I won’t be around Friday. 

[BrittneyA]

Brian, 

 

Ahhhh crap. Okay, with a sick baby it's been hard to do everything I want. I will put her down for a nap soon and make sure my setting are good. Then maybe you can walk me through on how to sync the flash. Since  you're East Coast, I'll just get up super early before the kids and hopefully you can help me if you have any time. Or even Saturday morning too. I'll be back on here as soon as I can make sure My settings are spot on. Thank you.

 

 

Brittney

[BrittneyA]

BTW I have been practicing in A mode.. I set it to f2.8 as you suggested, then found that pics were still blurry. So bumped up my ISO like you suggested. I set it to 1000. Much clearer. Thank goodness. I'm still playing around with it!!! 

[BrittneyA]

 

This lens... HOLY smokes... It's super heavy and even more fantastic. I'm gonna be poor soon.

[BrittneyA]

I'm still struggling with blur though.. If my kid or a kitten or anything is moving quickly it's blurry blurry blurry. I'll have to look at my settings again. 

 

[BrittneyA]

Oh, and to answer your question, it doesn't seem that in A mode that the flash pops up automatically. I think it does in M  mode. I'm trying to shoot in A. 

So I am taking pics of my baby, even standing, and she looks grainy at times... Even standing still.

[BrittneyA]

So I went over my menu settings, I changed it to rear curtain and that seems helpful. One weird thing I've noticed though is that my flash NEVER comes on anymore. It wont take photos in a room that really dark, it'll say, Subject too dark. I have changed everything else the way you suggested. How do I make sure it's in RAW? It says under the Shooting Menu under storage folder, Image Quality:RAW. Then White Balance: AUTO. 

[BrittneyA]

You should shoot RAW. If you can, select 12-Bit Uncompressed. But I don't think the D5100 has that option. I think it's 14-bit only. Oh well. Regardless, SHOOT RAW.

 

Where do I find this? Thank you!

[BrittneyA]

Oh I just got my 85 as well. Just to confirm.. I can keep my menu setting the same forevermore right? Even outside? And how high should I have my ISO at the church? Thank you again.. lol. Sorry I will likely keep typing to you all day. BTW, I feel ever-so-slightly better about the wedding... Slightly. lol. Thank you so much.

[Brian]

 

2 hours ago, BrittneyA said:

I can keep my menu setting the same forevermore right? Even outside? And how high should I have my ISO at the church?

This is the part where you need to LEARN YOUR GEAR. You tell me. Can you keep the menu settings the same forevermore? Quick answer is "Yes." Long answer is "It depends..."

For me, I have found that Continuous Focusing mode works better for my style. When you are on AF-C Mode, when you press the button half-way, the camera continues to focus. Inside or outside, it really depends. Again, short answer is "Yes." The person who I shoot with, she can't stand "Continuous" and prefers AF-S (Single Mode). Remember, YOU as the Photographer make the final decision. Don't think for a second that since "You have a nice camera!" that you can be lazy and let it do all the work. Remember, you are shooting with Consumer Grade equipment. Your camera body has limitations and I want to see these "Blurry" photos you are talking about and what Shutter Speed | Aperture | ISO was used. I need this info, no excuses. 

What shutter speed are you at? What focus point? What Focus Mode? I'm very concerned. There is no way editing out a missed/blown focus photo. So let's see these current shots, pronto...tonight if at all possible. I won't be around tomorrow and you have the gig on Saturday. You can't be e-mailing me then.

Also, when it comes to lenses there is a Minimum Focusing Distance AND a Maximum Focusing Distance with each and every lens. When it comes to a Minimum Focusing Distance, this is self-explanatory. If your subject is too close to the lens/camera, it won't focus well. Likewise, lenses perform their best in terms of sharpness if the subject is within a certain amount of feet before the image starts to fall apart. The Nikon 17-55 lens that you rented is one of these lenses. This next paragraph you need to pay attention! 

When it comes to the 17-55 f/2.8, subjects that are physically between 5 feet and 15 feet away from the camera/lens are TACK SHARP. (Well, should be, this is a Rental Lens after all and people tend to abuse rental gear.) Subjects that are between 16 feet and 20 feet away are "OK" Sharp. Any subject that is 21 feet or more away, and I'm using my 70-200 lens. So your assignment for tonight is to get a tape measure, one of those 25' ones, and have one of your twins help you. You stand in a spot outside and have them walk away 15 feet from you. Make a mental note where they are standing. Then memorize this. This way you will know come Saturday when you need to physically move in closer to your subject.

How do you figure out the Min/Max with each lens? You use them. You shoot with them. Each lens has it's own personality and quirks. No two lenses are identical, they have minor variations. When you purchase a lens, that new lens SHOULD LIVE on your camera. You shoot EVERYTHING with it. You learn what it will and what it won't do. Then when you see a scene unfolding before your eyes, in your mind's eye you can picture which lens you need to take the shot. It takes practice and experience and something you can't learn overnight. You need to fiddle and play. Not watch YouTube Videos; physically pick up the camera and shoot with that lens. Eat - Sleep - Breathe with the 85mm. Then do the 50mm. Then the 35mm. Then each and every future lens / camera body. Bring the photos into your computer and Pixel-Peep. This is how you learn. There is no recipe that I can give you; it's not that easy and I don't care WHAT you have seen on FB or YouTube. This is reality and not some schmuck trying to sell you something to "Take Your Photography to the NEXT LEVEL!!" Those things are usually total Bullshit.

As far as high ISO, again...you tell me. Most modern cameras should be fine up to ISO 1600 and "OK" around 3200. When you go higher it really depends on the camera body/sensor. Some perform better than others. I think you mentioned that the Church doesn't allow flash, so fiddle with some test shots tonight. Use the 17-55, set it to f/2.8 and ISO 3200. Then ISO 6400. Then go higher if you need to or can. Some camera bodies max out at 6400, or less. Fiddle and play, bring the images into your computer and see how noisy the images are. Then you will know.

 

2 hours ago, BrittneyA said:

How do I make sure it's in RAW? It says under the Shooting Menu under storage folder, Image Quality:RAW. Then White Balance: AUTO. 

That is what you want. I don't think you have many choices for the type of Raw as my cameras do. The Pro-Level stuff has A LOT more things in the various menus. My D4s...I can change WAY more than my other cameras. As long as you are Raw and the WB is set to Auto, leave them there.

One last thing before I forget, what AF-Area Mode are you set to? You need to set your camera to SINGLE-POINT AF. If you are on the wrong AF Mode, that can screw with things. Here is page 42 & 43 in the reference manual:

Page 42:

Page 43:

SEE THIS ON THE LCD WHEN YOU GET TO THAT SECTION?

The very top one, THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED TO SELECT!!! This way YOU pick the AF Point and the camera uses that to base focus on. Any other modes are Auto Modes and to be brutally honest, the D5100 isn't that smart. You need to be on Single-point AF. If you are on 3D or any of the other focusing modes, even though you choose the AF-Point, the camera will interject and choose a focus area that it thinks it's better. Often, it's wrong and you will blow focus constantly. 

To get into this area, you it the ~ i ~ button on the back of your camera and use the directional pad and arrow down to the area. Then select the Single-point AF and press OK. (Usually the center button in the directional dial is the "Enter" button.)

Now try taking a few test shots. Move the AF point to different areas, from the center to the outside edges and take a few test shots. Try to be at a Shutter Speed of 1/250th or higher. Post your results here.

 

[BrittneyA]

Brian, 

 

It was on AF Auto, I changed it. I also now know that it was because my baby was too close to me. She was only 1.5-2 feet away. That's probably too close then. I figured out the flash, it's actually quite easy to use. GOSH it's all heavy! But I'm not too worried about that. I'm getting better photos now for sure. The church WILL allow flash. I was just saying it'd be awful if they didn't lol. Thank goodness! That lens, the one I rented, is amazing. I see what you mean about thinking my stuff are toys.. lol. OH! I need to know how to set it to take four photos in a row quickly, continuous shooting? I'll go back and see if you included directions. I forgot that part. I'll send some photos to you today that I have been taking. They're simple, but you'll see the quality. 

[BrittneyA]

Oh, and by the way, I got the second list the bride wants. Everything seems pretty standard. She even said those were a reference and not a must. Just the few key shots. I'll take that with a grain of salt and expect to get those shots. I plan to print an easy to read list and laminate it for myself. Also, I decided to charge her $600 for 6 hours, with $50 per half hour after if she needs a bit more time. I told her I'll deliver 200-250 *or more digitally. She also wants to order prints... Okay. I know you and Damien seem to hate Millers? That who I just signed up for to send my 160+ school kids to print their packages.. We can get into printing etc later.. Did I tell you thank you and you're the best yet? lol

 

 

 

[BrittneyA]

Brian,

Here are some with the rental lens and flash.  So these are ALL f/2.8 and ISO 1250. 

 

1: 1/20 s  17-55@55 mm

2. 1/13 s  17-55@50 mm

3. 1/40 s  35 mm

4. 1/250 s  17-55@44 mm

5. 1/50 s  17-55@55 mm

6. 1/60 s  17-55@55 mm

7. 1/125 s  17-55@55 mm

 

I didn't change anything at all with these. These are also a variety of different light settings. None too bright. The bathroom cupcake bath bomb one was pretty dark. What are your thoughts?

 

Thanks. Oh p.s.~ They're not edited either.. please excuse my messy kiddos!!! HA! Love them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Brian]

1 hour ago, BrittneyA said:

It was on AF Auto, I changed it.

Thank God. Now your camera won't make decisions on its own.
 

1 hour ago, BrittneyA said:

I also now know that it was because my baby was too close to me. She was only 1.5-2 feet away.

Yep! I'm so glad I brought this up!

You can't get that close with lenses, unless you are using a Macro Lens! Now each lens varies, but a rule of thumb is to be no closer than 3-4 feet to your subject. My Gawd...1.5 Feet. No wonder!! That's TOO CLOSE with any of your lenses!! It won't focus well at all...period. I'm surprised that the camera took the photo at all. (Probably because it was on a Auto Focus Mode.)

1 hour ago, BrittneyA said:

I figured out the flash, it's actually quite easy to use.

GOSH it's all heavy!

I see what you mean about thinking my stuff are toys

Yeah, the "Pro" stuff is actually easier to use! Why? Because the Pros do not have the time to be digging through menus and letting the equipment make decisions. That's how you miss shots...those stupid "Auto" modes. The better the camera body, the more external controls you will have at your fingertips. So if you are going to do keep doing stuff like this, start saving for a new camera body. We need to get you to Full Frame. Since you have a 50mm and 85mm, that's a good foundation to start with. The 24-70 and 70-200 can come later if you go that route. But that's a whole other discussion.

You have no idea of what "Heavy" is. When I have my D4s, 70-200, SB-5000 and my Flash Rig combined (It's a device that keeps the flash stationary while I flip the camera to a vertical position,) I'm holding / carrying around 7-8lbs of gear. I'm warning you now, you will probably get "The Claw" at the end of the Gig. This is where your hand looks like a Lego Miniature's hand; I know this very well. Your arms will also hurt. Remember when I said the 70-200 is 3lbs all by itself? I wasn't kidding. Just think, the 17-55 is about half of the weight of a 70-200.

There is a difference between a Professional Grade piece of equipment and a Consumer Grade model. Likewise, there is a difference between a $200 zoom lens and a $2000 zoom lens. Now you see how I spent so much over the past 14 years. The problem is, I now have all of the "Good" stuff for what I shoot, the next step for me is $10,000 - $14,000 lenses and I don't expect to purchase those anytime soon.

 

1 hour ago, BrittneyA said:

Oh, and by the way, I got the second list the bride wants.

Yep, that's typical. Pinterest and Lists from The Knot / Wedding Wire are annoying. But since you are starting out, they can be helpful. Most of them, it's common sense stuff. You are there to document the day, not be a guest. That's the thing that trips up newbies. For example, I knew of a Photographer's Second that would get fixated on the Couple cutting the cake for the 1st time. She was like, "Get your head in the game and start photographing!!!"

 

 

1 hour ago, BrittneyA said:

I know you and Damien seem to hate Millers?

Yes. Avoid Miller's like the Plague. Why? Because they are stuck in the 1990's and their photos print too warm. They are nearly impossible to get your monitor calibrated against, which is why Damien and I really don't like them. Yes, we know...their customer service is AMAZING. We get it. But what shade of orange/yellow do you want your skin tones to be in prints? Most monitors out of the box are too cool, so you might think Miller's is awesome because they are compensating for you not having a Calibrated Display AND know how to edit properly. Once we get you fully straightened out, you will understand why. But if the prints match your current screen now, I'm not about to tell you to change things, at least not for this Gig. Stick with what you know and like I said, we will get you straightened out.

I'm going to do the 4fps / photos in the next comment box...

[Brian]

Sidenote: You have ISO 100-6400 to play with. The lower the ISO, the less noise you will have to deal with in Post and the better the Dynamic Range. I find that ISO 400 is a good place to start with for a "General" ISO with a Wedding. It's sensitive enough to keep that shutter speed up, but doesn't create noise that can't be fixed in Post. Now, ISO 100 is technically "Better," but "Your Mileage May Vary." It all depends on the current lighting conditions. It's another one of those, "It depends..." answers that I give. Sometimes ISO 800 works better. Sometimes ISO 200 is what you want. Or not.

Speaking of ISO, and Flash...here is the Golden Rule of Flash:

• Aperture relates to Flash Power
• Shutter Speed (and ISO) relates to Ambient Light.

One of the things that ISO will do, when using your flash, is include or exclude the background. So if you want to capture photos of the Dance Floor and not have where people sit in a black void, you can raise your ISO to something like 1250 and lower your Shutter Speed to 1/80th or even 1/60th. Normally, I will tell you to set your SS to 1/200th, which is the maximum sync speed of your camera with a flash. You can not set your camera to 1/500th or whatever and expect to use the flash. Now, if you are thinking, "...but I need to keep my SS speed up, to keep things sharp, right?" the answer is yes and no. When it comes to flash, the "FLASH!!!" and it's quick duration "Freezes" your subject. This is why the backgrounds are dark with a low ISO and fast-ish Shutter Speed (1/200th in your case). If you slow the SS and increase the ISO, you are letting more Ambient Light into your photo. This is a Artistic Taste. If you want to make your photos less "Flashy-Looking," include more of the background or learn how to bounce the light off of something. (i.e., Ceiling, Walls, etc.) I try to avoid wood, as the stains used usually create a color-cast that I have to deal with in Post.

[Brian]

4 Frames Per Second Mode...

Page 35 of the Reference Manual.

• Hit the ~ i ~ Button on the back of your camera.
• Arrow down with the Directional Pad to the Release Mode Options. It should be the one just underneath the "ISO Being Used" Section
• Select it and Press OK

• Choose the Second One from the Top and click OK. It's the one that looks like it has multiple photos stacked on top of one-another.

(The 10s and 2s is the camera delay mode.) This mode might be helpful in the future, but for now, leave it on the 4fps Mode. The "S" mode is to take a single photo, one at a time. I don't like this Mode for any of my cameras.

That's all there is to it!

 

[Brian]

Now for the photos and the Shutter Speed stuff.

First...YOU NEED KIM'S CLASS!! Stop wasting your time on YouTube, and take her "Learn to Shoot in Manual" Course! But we don't have time for that, you have a Gig on Saturday.

I want you to pay attention for what I'm about to write next...ready?

While photographing hand-held, NEVER-EVER-EVER-EVER GO SLOWER / BELOW 1/60TH OF A SECOND!! GOT IT?!?!!!

Each time your heart pumps blood, you hand moves a little, even if you think you have "Steady" hands. Understand? The lower your shutter speed, the more light you are allowing to hit your sensor, but the less you "Freeze" your subject. Now it's true that proficient photographers can shoot at 1/30th hand-held, but that was back in the film days. Digital is less-forgiving. So I want you to Promise-Promise-Promise me that you won't go beyond 1/60th of a Second! In reality, I want you to be at 1/200th with a flash and no flash, at least 1/250th of a second (or faster.) Got it? Now I know this contradicts what I said above, but 1/60th or 1/80 are only to be used if you want more ambient light / backgrounds included in the photos when using the flash. If the flash is powered off, your Shutter Speed needs to be higher. Got it?!? 

The slower shutter speeds, like 1/30th, 1/15th, 1/2, 1 Second, 2 Second, etc. REQUIRE A TRIPOD and a stationary subject! Even things like Waterfalls will become the "Dreamy/Blurry" Wisps of Water when a 2 Second Shutter Speed is used. In fact, here is a shot that I took of a Waterfall, handheld:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAlWtT9sokR/

 

Now the ONLY reason I was able to hand-hold it at 1/10th of a Second was due to my lens. The 24-70 f/2.8E VR Lens has a Vibration Reduction Element in it that helps with camera shake. If I was using my Non-VR 24-70, this shot would have been impossible without a tripod. Got it?

Again: No Shutter Speeds lower than 1/60th for ANY OF YOUR LENSES!!!

This is why a lot of your photos are blurry! Your Shutter Speed is TOO SLOW.

But what if you want to keep your ISO low to prevent noise? (I'm sure you are thinking this.) The answer? You can't change the Laws of Physics. You either need to "Open up" (Use a Wider Aperture, like f/2.0) or increase your ISO if you want a faster shutter speed. Why not shoot all-the-things at f/2.8? Because sometimes you don't want a blurry background or one subject that is bokeh-ed out while the other isn't. For example, it would really suck to have the Bride's head in focus during the First Kiss but not the Groom's. Understand? That's what f/4 or somewhere around there is for; that's called having "enough" Depth of Field or "Deeper" DoF. So you need a fast shutter speed and need to use f/4, so in order for that to happen, you need to bump up your ISO. Understand?

Kim explains all of this in her class, and I think you would really benefit from it.

----
Man, there are way-too-many "Got Its?" in this comment box. But I want to emphasize. No slow Shutter Speeds for YOU!!! NOT YOURS!!!

[BrittneyA]

Brian, 

 

Bear with me here a second please! Okay, so I think I'm a bit confused. I set all of the photos I sent to you at  f/2.8 and ISO 1250. The other numbers I listed with the list are the shutter speeds, right? I didn't determine these, they just changed with the light etc themselves. I'll definitely have to study that last info you sent me.. What did you think of the photos you sent me? What was good and what was bad? Was it all bad? Thanks.

And I will definitely take Kim's class! 

 

 

[Brian]

THESE ARE THE NUMBERS I'M REFERRING TO:

Those are Shutter Speed Values, NOT Aperture.

Shutter Speed:

1/15 - 1/30 - 1/60 - 1/125 - 1/250 - 1/500 - 1/1000

Aperture:
f/1.4 - f/2.0 - f/2.8 - f/4 - f/5.6 - f/8 - f/11 - f/16 - f/22

ISO

100 - 200 - 400 - 800 - 1600 - 3200 - 6400

This is what happens when you shoot in Aperture Priority. You pick the Aperture, and the camera picks the Shutter Speed to make that happen. This can be BAD IF YOU AREN'T PAYING ATTENTION, which I have a sneaky suspicion that will bite you in the Ass come Saturday. So while the "A" Mode (Aperture Priority) is useful, you need to be mindful to what shutter speed you are using in the viewfinder. This is another draw-back to your camera body, you may not have all the read-outs in the viewfinder at your disposal. These consumer-bodies try to do the thinking for you. Which isn't a good thing in your situation.

So keep those Shutter Speeds up regardless if you are in Aperture or Full Manual!