Lenses for Weddings

[Raskill]

I'd be interested to hear from anyone shooting weddings etc about the lenses carried and used. I've been asked to shoot two weddings in the next few months (one in Melbourne) and I'm curious about focal lengths.

I figure I need something nice and wide for detail shots, like the Sigma 10 - 20mm, something around the 24 - 70mm (f2. mark and maybe a 70 - 200mm(f2..

I have two D2h bodies, 2 speedlights, about20 gig worth of cards, plenty of batteries etc.

Please point me in a direction if I'm off the mark.

[Jeff]

Hi Alan

I don't know much about wedding lenes but if you would like to borrow the Sigma 10-20 you would be more than welcome.

Jeff

[johnd]

Hi Alan, I think your lens choice is spot on. I was going to suggest a 24-70 (or 28-70) and 70-200 (or 80-200) plus the 10-20 for the wide group shot. Sounds like you've got access to a 10-20. Good luck with the rest.

Cheers
John

[methd]

Hey there mate

I use:

10.5mm for fun creative stuff as long as u keep the couple in the middle so they dont get distorted.

50/1.4 for reception dance shots

85/1.4 for reception dance that is a bit tighter. Also use it for portraits in the morning, at church if there's not enough light, and available light candids at the reception. Sometimes I pull it out during the shoot, but it's more an effort with a prime than a zoom.

14-24 for shots where you have no room and need to go wide. Sometimes you want to shoot the dress in a tight area, so this lens comes out. Also great for entire church shots to cover the whole church. I'd also like to use it outdoors in a landscapey sort of shot with the couple one day, but haven't got around to it yet. I've also used this lens a lot ont he dance floor to shoot everything in one hit, then crop later.

24-70 I use at least 70% of the shots for pretty much the entire day. it's good for set shots, portraits, family portraits, church procedural shots, and anything really that you need the couple to stand in the frame or tighter. Standing distance on this lens is usually about 1-10m max.

70-200 is for candids, usually used outside of the church at congratulations. this is when i like to shoot close up face and shoulders only to get expression on the face. I also use this lens inside the church for the same purpose. On the shoot, i bring this lens along, stand right back and shoot the couple in the frame. It gives it a wonderfull effect with the DOF. Standing distance is always greater than 5m on this lens for me.

[Mal]

Timely post for me Raskill, I have my first wedding to shoot next weekend as well, so thanks for the question and thanks also to methd for your answer.

[losfp]

The 3 you've mentioned will do quite nicely.

I will be doing my aunty's wedding in Feb and I will have 3 lenses as my main kit - Tokina 12-24, Tamron 28-75 and Nikkor 70-200VR. I will probably have the Tammy 28-75 on my camera most of the time.. But I will dig out the 12-24 for some special effects shots during the formal photos and the 70-200 for when I want that extra reach.

I will also have the 85/1.4 in the bag for low light situations.

[harry03199]

Hi, Last couple of weddings i've done. I've used EF-S 17-55 F2.8 on a 350D then rotated a EF 50 F1.4 with EF 85 F1.8 and a EF 70-200 F4 on a 40D as needed.

But one thing, on the last wedding i wished i had setup more lighting.

But Thats life.

Harry

[Yi-P]

I have done many weddings using the D2H, and it's a wonderful body on the outdoors. You should watch out a bit when you're in the church or at reception, because you need somewhere of ISO800 or higher.

Here are what I use most from the weddings:

28-70: pretty much glued to one of the bodies, its essentially the primary thing I use. (A 17-55 may replace this lens if you are looking for wider, or larger group shots, but I just step a few step back for my wide angles)

85/1.4: Essential lens for the portraits and close ups.

35/2: Great for indoor and reception/dance.

10-20: great thing for those creative shots but watch out for distortions of people around edges.

70-200: candid and even closer portraits, and works great in the church too.

For the flash, always keep it off camera if possible. Its much more pleasant and gives your photos much more dimension.

Good luck for your shoots

[Grev]

Yeah, those fast 2.8 zooms all serves a purpose in a wedding. Can probably get away with a kit like a 17-35, 70-200 and 50 1.4.

[devilla101]

The lenses I use are in order of importance

17-55 2.8 IS
70-200 2.8 IS
16-35 2.8 mk II
100mm Macro
50mm 1.4

But the top two are my main ones

[shutterbug]

17-55 and a 50mm

Vince

[jdear]

I would use the 10 - 20mm sparingly... if you are shooting close to people and they fall at the edges of the frame they will distort.

can't go past a macro either - 100mm is on order replacing my ef-s 60mm.

I wouldn't use primes too much until you are confidently shooting weddings - requires a bit of swapping and you can overdo shallow DOF.

Jonathan

[methd]

I would use the 10 - 20mm sparingly... if you are shooting close to people and they fall at the edges of the frame they will distort.

can't go past a macro either - 100mm is on order replacing my ef-s 60mm.

I wouldn't use primes too much until you are confidently shooting weddings - requires a bit of swapping and you can overdo shallow DOF.

Jonathan

or u can get away quite easily without using it at all.

[jdear]

or u can get away quite easily without using it at all.

you can do without one... although I miss having a macro now for details shots.

[GK]

i was at a wedding and the photog only used 70-200 F2.8 and 10-20 on D200 body. Was very happy with it in low light and outside conditions.

Cheers,
GK

[methd]

i was at a wedding and the photog only used 70-200 F2.8 and 10-20 on D200 body. Was very happy with it in low light and outside conditions.

Cheers,
GK

not sure what style he/she shoots, but he/she is missing what i believe is the most important range!! i'm confident most wedding togs would use 17-55 (crop) or 24-70 (FF) or similar as their main lenses.

[gstark]

When I was doing weddings (in the dim, dark past) I used two 35mm bodies, armed with maybe the 43-86 or 35-105 on one, and the 35 f/2.8 on the other.

Apart from the MF shots on the Bronica, that was enough to handle the vast majority of the shots I took.

In this digital age, I would use my 24 f/2.8 and probably a 24-70, and expect to use those for maybe 90% of my work. I would definitely find a use for the 85 f/1.4, and maybe I'd bring the 105 or the 80-210.

Unless I'm looking for some special effects, the thought of using the 10-20 is highly unlikely.

If the 24mm isn't wide enough for some of the group shots ... take a step or two backwards!

[gstark]

i was at a wedding and the photog only used 70-200 F2.8 and 10-20 on D200 body. Was very happy with it in low light and outside conditions.

Cheers,
GK

not sure what style he/she shoots, but he/she is missing what i believe is the most important range!! i'm confident most wedding togs would use 17-55 (crop) or 24-70 (FF) or similar as their main lenses.

On FF, I'd consider 24mm to be too wide for the most part.

[methd]

i agree.. but 10-20 will be close to disastrous for the main lens in a wedding...

[hippychik]

concur - far too wide - 50-70 for the bulk - wide when needed

[GK]

not sure what style he/she shoots, but he/she is missing what i believe is the most important range!! i'm confident most wedding togs would use 17-55 (crop) or 24-70 (FF) or similar as their main lenses.

I'm not saying he is not, just all through the wedding, well the parts that I have seen anyhow, he had 70-200 on the body. I only seen him put 10-20 on for the dancing shots as the dance floor was small.

I was using 24-105 on crop body (was not "shooting" the wedding, just taking some snaps when I was not in the way) and found it more then enough not to switch to anything else.

GK