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Hi All
I am attending a wedding at the weekend and have been asked to take candid style shots of the day as well as formal shots of guests arriving at the church. I am only an extra as there is a pro on hand for the official photos (so no pressure on me ..)
Just wondering what is the best film to use for this type of photography? I was going to buy the 36mm 200 type of film - will this do?
thanks
I'll second Debbie.
Although I'll suggest Fuji NPS 160/NPH 400 rather than Kodak ! 
It won't cost you much more than a cheap roll of either supplier and as Debbie says it copes with the dark and light tones much better than standard print film.
Most consumer print film is designed to give punch to the primary colours usually found in "snapshots" (beaches, kids in bright clothes etc). You will want to preserve the subtlety of the white dress/dark suits and the skin tones.
If you (or the couple) can afford to then get someone like Peak Imaging to D&P the negs using their pro service which gives an individual hand assessment of each frame - again not much more expensive than a high street lab. You will notice the difference.
HTH
Mike.
No never,
I used Peak Imaging for my pro work (mainly 35mm slide and 6x6 portraiture), and then when I moved to digital only I changed labs, and now use PRC (in Liphook, Hampshire) as they will pick-up and deliver to me every day, can print "Montage" albums, and are also a Spicer Hallfield distributor.
Mike
Hi Donzer
Another fuji roll to consider is Reala 100. Obviously is slower than the others but I've had great results with it. If you want versatility for both indoor and outdoor (especially if its dull) then I'd chose Fuji NPH
Adam
I use the same film Debbie does. Very good film. I prefer it to the Fuji offerings, but it is down to personal preference, either Kodak Portra or the Fuji NPS/NPH films will be a good choice.
Colin
Daviescolour, well I never. Used them back in the late 70s and early 80s but went to Photo Colour Wales, just a mile up the road.
I used Fuji NPS and rated it at 100asa, but shot as tight as I could with a hand held meter and Mamiya RZ67. It's not a bad film on 35mm either.
Film
I use Portra 400 NC for colour, Ilford XP2 for b&w. Rate either at 250 ASA to make sure you have plenty of shadow detail. The extra speed over the 160 emulsions is very useful when you're on the hoof.
Also, the grain is almost as fine as the slower films, and far less obvious than the consumer films like Kodak and Superia (the high contrast and saturation of these make them a terrible choice for wedding/portrait work).
Some people will suggest Fuji NPS160 or NPH400, and these are similar. I feel the Kodak films have the edge for skin tones, but it's down to personal choice.
D&P
Colab's Pro-Am service (click link for prices and PDF order form) does an excellent job printing Portra, and will produce full frame 7.5 x 5" from 35mm. You get sharp, well exposed and balanced prints, which is better than a lot of places I've tried. As with most labs, ordering extra sets at the same time is a lot cheaper than retrospectively.
If you use a mail order service send your films off by Recorded Delivery, with your surname and postcode on the barcode area of the film cassette.
I've just done a wedding at which I used both Kodak Portra 400VC and Fuji NPH400 which I switch too when I ran out of Kodak.
All the films were processed at Colab like Simon uses and have come back perfect.
I found that the Fuji film is richer in the greens such as backgrounds but the Kodak is better on the skin tones.
These were all shot using a Mamiya RB67 and a lightmeter. I'll try and get round to posting a couple at some stage.
Dave
Let's just hope the B&G don't notice the colour differences !
Mike
I doubt they will to be honest. I only notice because I remember what shots came from which film 
Yes,
NPS and NPH are designed to be used together - in so far as I would have used the 160 outside and the 400 inside....
I think NPC is a more contrasty film ? assume you made a typo there....
...try not to change the ISO of the film in the same light as the subtle difference would be more noticeable.
Mike
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