I agree with mooseeyes. To say that you just need to "talk" to the DJ and "talk" to the couple AFTER contracts or deals have ALREADY been made, WHILE the event is in progress is rediculous! Breach of contract was already committed, meaning the damage was done. Your artistic and professional abilities were already compromised in my book. What should have happened was who ever planned that wedding should have put 2 and 2 together and consulted the photographer ahead of time. There could have even been an arrangement where as the DJ gets to take candid shots during the reception and thats all, and EVEN THEN be in agreement that his shooter is to be no where near the same angle or area as the professional shooter and the Pro gets absolute PRIORITY on his angles and shots! A DJ is for music and to give photography concession to someone who is paid to play music over someone who is paid to provide professional high quality images is, again, rediculous!

I have CS2 at home on my MAC and CS3 at work on my PC.

I didn't read ALL of the replies but I'm sure you have been given some good specs given what you have.
I agree with using a flash. Since it is not a hockey GAME, you should be OK. A speedlight or mountable flash would be great. One of the cheapest out there is Yongnuo YN-560. They are only like $55 to $75. If you can afford $160 there is one that some boast is as good as $400 SB Flash! It is called LumoPro LP160.
No flash? If no one has mentioned, give panning a try. As the skater skates by follow them with your camera and rattle off 3 or 4 shots. Settings for this should be the lowest f stop number ( I think you said 3.5? - also don't zoom because that will raise tht number automatically, and experiment with shutter speed of around 100. ISO 800 or more. Remember to set your camera on multi frame mode. That also said, you can not use a flash for this technique because the flash can not go off more than once that fast. Your result, if done right will be the skater is in focus and the background will have this cool motion blur!

If you do have a flash try an inexpensive (there are even some DIY concepts that work great) flash diffuser. With that over your flash you can point the flash directly on the subject (since you can not bounce off of a ceiling) depending on your distance from the subject, this will soften that harsh contrast exposure that is ont very appealing. Just experiement with how close or far away is best.

The biggest thing I wanted I wanted to share is on the computer side. If you are using Photoshop try going to Ctl+L or, Cmd+L for MAC, to bring up Levels. Slide the middle adjustment traingle to the left to adjust your exposure to be lighter if you have some images that are dark. This is the first adjustment I go to if I am shooting in JPEG which I would recommend for fast action or candid shot situations. Levels is faster and more simple to use than the Exposure adjustment option under Image / Adjustments. Shooting RAW is slower (writing the image to the memory card) for some cameras but if you have not learned about RAW format, do so. It will change photography for you!
GOOD LUCK, but more importantly, HAVE FUN! I have learned that its better experiment and to shoot a lot and have a couple of really great shots than to strain and stress on settings to MAYBE get a few more great shots but with almost zero fun out of it.

Hi Photogrl -
I've been shooting RAW for a few months. I have found that it is not so much that you need special manual settings for RAW so much as that in RAW you get a big extra allowance in exposure error, and if you are hitting the exposure settings pretty well, you get to still make improvements (even slight ones) where you would not have when shooting JPEG. Are you using Photoshop to edit?

Also, I have an XT too. You can set it to shoot in RAW and JPEG simultaneously. I found this to be good at first so that I could campare. It's not effective for sports though because the camera is slower in writing the images to the card and your card will fill up fast if you are shooting a lot of frames to capture action.

Coming from someone with your great experience CamObs, I really appreciate that. Thanks so much. I am one of probably many who was more familiar with Photoshop BEFORE learning my way around a DSLR. I don't think I will ever mater either but I am enjoying the ride none the less!

Thanks Silver, I truly want to improve my ability to "see" good BnW situations... beyond the obvious high contrast shots anyway. Selecting Monochrome in the channel mixer was a great advance in that pursuit. Also, I've been shooting RAW for only a few months now and, wow, that has also been a great revelation for my photography all the way around!

No pardon is needed Lenee.
Thanks for posting the beautiful city scapes.
Small camera or large, amateur or pro, it is capturing what interests you that counts!
Thanks for sharing.

Malaysia.
Awesome! I understand that there is a wealth of subject matter where ever you live but it definitely doesn't stop most photographers from dreaming of traveling the world, with camera in hand! I would love to spend at least a month shooting in Malaysia.

It's great to have students in a forum. Like those of us with a lot of experience, but no school knowledge - there is a lot that we can share!

My name is Hector. I'm really looking forward to getting involved here. I don't mind critisism but also love to share what I know. Career wise, I'm graphic artist. I am currently producing web graphics for a tax service company. For the last 10 years I have (finally) been 'meshing' my knowledge of graphic art to my passion for photography.
I have a small ('brochure' or portfolio) web site at
http://HR411design.com
I'm still a hobbiest/amateur but have been paid for a hand full of "gigs" just over this last year to date (Nov 2011).
I don't shoot everyday, but I really do LOVE photography.

Carpinteria, CA


Prom


High Jump

I highly recommend a $100 50mm prime (it does not zoom) lens.
The biggest reason being the f/1.8 capability. I think the price has gone up about 20 but still a great lens for the price.
If you are getting more serious about photography you will find this lens to be the one you will end up using the most because of it's low light f/stop capability - at least until you can afford more. Here is one site that has an article about the 50 mm prime. If you search photography must-have lenses, this one will come up on the list!
http://www.pixiq.com/article/fixed-focal-length-50mm-lens
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=30
GOOD LUCK! :-)