Jim Bob

What shot?

WessoJPEG Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

(Download)

WessoJPEG Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Look below. it took a long time, computer like me is old, Thanks.

jpgto Loc: North East Tennessee

WOW. Nice, visit often?

Jim Bob

Not bad.

SBrodsky Loc: Northern Colorado

Have owned a 7200 for almost 2 years. I run a Nikon 700 Speedlight, with it. I often use a Gary Gong diffuser, both of which are mounted in a vertical position. Use TTL mode on the flash. With these, the flash button on the pop up now becomes, the way you can back off, or increase your flash power using the command dial.

ABJanes Loc: Jersey Boy now Virginia

Try your flash set on TTL but with increased ISO's 800-1600 so the flash is a softer touch of light. Also checkout the iPhone App "Simple Depth of Field" which will help you plan what is in focus and what is not. Step back a bit as well vs trying to fill the frame with the 50MM. Try Aperture Priority with Auto ISO as well without flash. I sure would do some test shots on location as well (prior).

Ira

I have the D7200. I wouldn't go over ISO-1600, It will start to look noisy if you go much higher. Try to keep it as low as you can.
I also have the D750 and It is much better in handling low light.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Some suggestions:
Expose at the lowest ISO you can manage.
Get a Nikon 35mm F1.8. It's a decent portrait lens and does well in available dark.
Consider a tripod for mug shots.

As for flash, I like to walk around with my SB600 TTL mounted on my D7000 with a Lite-Scoop for diffusing. It's great for near to moderate distances. Any decent diffuser would be OK, or bounce flash if indoors. If you do flash, put the flash in TTL mode, the camera in Manual mode, ISO 400, 1/200, and F4 for starters. This allows the TTL flash to control exposure and minimizes the effect of ambient light in low-light conditions. In brighter light outdoors you can set your camera to use very high shutter speeds up to your max of 1/8000 and darken day lit backgrounds. The flash controls the exposure on the subject. You can also increase ISO to give the flash a little more boost in range or change the F stop to effect depth of field. The TTL flash adjusts accordingly.

pappleg

I did weddings for 35years to support my hobby and if this is an indoor wedding I would not even consider doing it without flash. Most of the gripes about flash are because someone was talked into an inexpensive/underpowered unit. Rent a good zoom capable Nikon unit from a reputable dealer and spend $20 on a bounce attachment-that will soften the flash effect. I can virtually guarantee that indoor wedding venues will have uneven lighting that will give you major shadow problems and/or excessive noise if you use auto-iso to make up for the lack of light. Most venues think dim "candlelight" effects are sexy-nothing but trouble for you and what will your friend think if you botch it!!
Good luck

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Be honest, does "hate flash" mean........don't know how to use Off Camera Flash? (OCF)
As a wedding photographer for over 33 years, I can tell you that you really want to have flash available. Maybe not for the ceremony itself (usually frowned upon), but remember this. The shadows have less color saturation, so a beautiful Indian wedding will come out blah, and not show the true beauty.

Shooting an entire wedding with a 50mm prime? expect to be the center of attention. Better to rent what you need. For the majority of my life, I rented top end equipment to do weddings, and didn't have to spend the money to actually own it.

I'm not the "don't shoot a wedding if you've never done it before" guy. But.... I am a, you really need to practice, research the heck out of it, get bridal magazines to check out what's hot, and have at least 2 cameras in case one fails......yes, even new cameras fail. Your friends won't be friends long if you say "oops, sorry, camera troubles" Even if you aren't charging them anything, not giving them photos of their once in a lifetime day is going to really upset them, when they could have just hired someone, and been guaranteed that the person they hired will be prepared with back up equipment.

Skiextreme2 Loc: Northwest MA

If you can go to where the wedding will be, go there at the time the wedding will be and take some photos. Ask a friend to come with you so you can photograph a person. Bring a laptop so you can download the photos to see how much noise you will have without flash.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Fast lens are great tools but they also have limited DOF when shot wide open. With your camera and 50mm f/1.4 at 15 feet from the subject you will only have an acceptable DOF of 1.54 feet according my DOF calculator. At 10 feet it drops to .68 feet or less than half the DOF. Perhaps you should get and play with a DOF calculator as part of your preparation and understanding too. Adding light if possible will be better than pushing ISO in my mind. But if you can't or don't want to use flash you may also want to consider renting a great high ISO body to do the shoot. Lots of things to consider...and you only get one chance to get it right...

Best,
Todd Ferguson

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Three comments that have not been raised in the responses. I am not trying to rain on your parade, but add a sense of reality to your situation.

1. If you want to keep these people as friends, find another gift that you can give them and sell them on the idea that they need to hire a professional with a good track record. This is one of the most important days in their lives, and you don't want to make a mistake. An experienced pro will arrive with a helper/second shooter, multiple cameras, lenses, lighting (mono lights and/or speedlights), reflectors and softboxes/umbrellas (for posed, formal shots), and a bag full of stuff to be completely prepared for any and all situations that will arise. If you don't have this, then you should not be taking on this responsibility. Shooting a wedding with a single camera and lens can be a disaster if either develops a problem. If you are relying on natural lighting, the 18-200 is not a great choice. You will need something faster.

2. If you decide to go through with your plans, and you hate flash, you'll need to get over that immediately. There are certain parts of the ceremony that may not allow flash, but the pre- and post ceremony candids, and the reception will probably benefit from some sort of lighting. Don't put a flash on your camera or use the pop-up flash and expect to get anything better than what Aunt Suzie will get with her cellphone. Again, this is an important event, and they deserve better.

3. Shooting a wedding should be a lot more than just showing up with a camera and taking snapshots. Good wedding photography requires meetings with the couple to find out what they are expecting of you, planning and logistics, which includes a list of "must have" shots, flawless execution on your part with no excuses for malfunctioning equipment, a creative approach to posing and lighting, and quick turnaround on the proofs and albums. From the tone of your post it does seem that you are not really prepared for any of this. So I go back to my initial recommendation. Don't do this to them or put yourself through this. High ISO is the least of your worries.

You may want to take a look at this photographers work and advice on lighting - he is one of the "good ones."

https://neilvn.com/tangents/wedding-photography-tutorials/

You might want to take a look

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Gene, I agree with what you are saying, but I have also seen so called Professional Wedding Photographers show up for a wedding with basically a single camera and zoom lens, an inexperienced second shooter and no proper lighting equipment. Too many people are looking for a cheap deal and believe that natural light is fine. Of course these are the same people who are probably calling the images posted on Facebook Awesome and Great!!! I suspect that they often end up disappointed in what they get for their money.

Best,
Todd Ferguson