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01/08/2009 10:34:08 PM · #1 |
I know I asked halfway through my last post - but just in case others didn't take time to read I wanted to create a thread for it to get the most opinions.
Wedding Photographers... What are your MUST HAVE lenses - you would never want to shoot a wedding without:
1. What's your Telephoto lens
2. Your portrait lens
3. Your Wide Angle lens
If I left off a type that you use then PLEASE include it. I'm trying to acquire what I need over time to get into wedding photography eventually.
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01/08/2009 10:54:08 PM · #2 |
70-200
50 or 85 f/1.4 (Canon makes f/1.2 version)
28-70 (or 24-70) |
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01/08/2009 11:19:16 PM · #3 |
1. Canon EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM
2. Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
3. Canon EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM or Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon depending on the venue and what shots I decide I will be after
I like the Sigma for outdoors and the Canon for indoors (that IS is a life saver). |
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01/08/2009 11:45:03 PM · #4 |
Canon 70-200 f/2.8
Canon 50 f/1.4
Canon 17-40 f/4
The Canon 28-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS is just a bit too slow and not quite sharp enough for my taste when it comes to wedding photography. It's a great lens for general everyday photography though. Just my two cents. |
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01/09/2009 01:12:29 AM · #5 |
There are 3 main lenses we currently use for our weddings....these are:-
Canon 70 - 200 L f4
Tamron 28 - 75 f2.8
Canon 50mm 1.8
Plus we also occassionally use the Canon 17-40 L f4 when the need arises. Both  -bec- and I shoot so we tend to change lenses around as we go. I'm planning on replacing the Tamron very soon but it has been a great little lens for us.
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01/09/2009 01:22:59 AM · #6 |
| Looking at the range posted above looks like I might be able to shoot a wedding. |
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01/09/2009 01:30:00 AM · #7 |
Seeing as you are shooting Canon, I would suggest an 85mm 102. Its incredibly sharp as  Larus be wittness to. However, if its like the Nion version, its a tad slow. But, you won't find a lens that is much sharper in Canons lineup. |
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01/09/2009 01:50:16 AM · #8 |
70-200mm 2.8 non IS
85mm 1.8
135mm f2
50mm 1.4
without a doubt |
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01/09/2009 09:04:03 AM · #9 |
on a crop body (canon lenses)
10-22
17-55 or 24-70
70-200 2.8 IS
If you're wanting a few primes then a 50 1.2 or 1.4 (in that order. the 1.8 sucks on focus, CA, sharpness wide open, the 1.2 has bokeh to die for -compare the 1.2 and 1.4 shot wide open- there is no comparison)
85 1.8 or 1.2 (different uses as they are very different lenss)
135 2.0
And the point of getting a fast lens is so you can shoot it wide open. If it's not sharp wide open it's useless (be that 1.2, 1.8 or 2.8)
If you have a full frame then replace the 10-22 with 16-35.
You need 2.8 - for low light of course, but canon cameras kick on extra focus sensors with 2.8 or faster lenses and that matters. The style/trend these days is to shoot wide open -that means 2.8 or faster even.
Generally teh higher end the photographer the faster his/her lenses and more wide open they shoot, and the more natural light shots (better bodies can get clean ISO3200 so that helps)
Does IS matter? Yes, absoultely. Most of the time I can get shots at 1/40 with my 70-200 2.8 IS beacuse of the IS. Even a 1.8 prime like the 85, being a stop faster, won't get the shot as you need 1/80 or better shutter speed to avoid camera shake.
Some photogs make a living shooting a wedding with just a kit lens, bracket and direct flash, you know, 70's style. Every shot is posed and set up.
And remember you need a backup to your 'main' lens - lenses can break too, quit focusing, get dropped, etc. Perhaps a 50 will fill in if your 17-55 dies so it's handy to have one.
If you are being paid you are expected to get the shot and give them an image, not an excuse as why you couldn't get it.
You can use Tamron and the like lenses, but different compmanies use different coating on lenses so images will be a different color (yellow looks different with canon and tamron lenses). If you are picky about your color then you will go nuts trying to correct all your shots so that her yellow flowers look teh same shade of yellow. WB isn't the issue, but how that particular color is handled.
Canon's USM lenses focus faster than any third party lens, period. I've had the tamron 28-75, I know it's a sharp lens, but there's more to it than that when shooting a wedding - focus matters. Shoot a processional and you'll understand real fast.
BTW, what I take to wedding is
Three bodies (been 40Ds but I got a 5D this week), 580, 550, metz flash, studio monolights and
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM - for getting ready, reception, second shooter during ceremony
Canon EF 135mm f/2.8 Soft Focus - second shooter, backup
Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM - rarely use it
Canon EF 50mm f1.2L
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM - second shooter, backup
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM - rarely use it. too tele on a crop body.
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM - favorite lens
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM - for ceremeny and formals
Lensbaby 3G
And my 16-35II arrives today for the 5D.
And 24Gb of CF cards, 6 sets of AA rechargables and 12 AA alkaline as backup, 4 PWs and a few other misc things.
Do I use all that at every wedding? No. Not any more than I use every wrench I own every time I work on my lawnmower. But it's in the tool box, just in case.
I have tubes and no macro lens - i rarely use the tubes for ring shots but I know many photogs that feel unprepared on a wedding day without a macro lens.
I didn't start out with all this stuff of course. I learned what worked and what didn't and why, and I keep reinvesting in my business - faster computers, newer software, education, samples - camera gear is just one part of the big picture.
Message edited by author 2009-01-09 09:11:30.
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01/09/2009 09:08:20 AM · #10 |
Originally posted by eswik:
The Canon 28-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS is just a bit too slow and not quite sharp enough for my taste when it comes to wedding photography. It's a great lens for general everyday photography though. Just my two cents. |
My husband, who shakes pretty badly with his hands, took this shot with that lens and my XTi:
I'd say the sharpness is fine... ? |
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01/09/2009 09:19:39 AM · #11 |
The 28-135 I had was sharp (came as a kit lens with a 40D). I like it - for walkaround daylight shots. It is NOT an acceptable wedding lens for indooor weddings.
This shot from a December 13th wedding is fairly typical. 1/60 at 2.8 at ISO1250 (70-200 2.8 IS at 73mm) handheld, 40D. This is not edited, but a proof image as it came from the camera.
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01/09/2009 11:50:11 AM · #12 |
| thanks so much for the tips everyone. I really appreciate the long post telling everything you take and why. Very helpful! |
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01/09/2009 12:20:21 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
The 28-135 I had was sharp (came as a kit lens with a 40D). I like it - for walkaround daylight shots. It is NOT an acceptable wedding lens for indooor weddings.
This shot from a December 13th wedding is fairly typical. 1/60 at 2.8 at ISO1250 (70-200 2.8 IS at 73mm) handheld, 40D. This is not edited, but a proof image as it came from the camera. |
Unless the indoor wedding is well lit/flash is allowed, in which case it does in fact work quite well.
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01/10/2009 12:19:46 PM · #14 |
Biggest point being - if you are being paid, then you are putting yourself out there as a professional. The client is expecting images, not excuses. So you have to get the images, regardless of the venue or restrictions placed on you. And do it in a professional manner.
Styles differ - some photogs use flash and some don't. I prefer not to use flash and most ceremonies here don't allow it. But when it's needed I have to know how to use it and use it properly.
Being a professional means having the proper and best tools for the job and knowing how to use them effectivley and efficiently.
The darkest ceremony I had all last year was a mid afternoon wedding on a sunny day in july. It was the darkest damned church I'd ever been in. The brightest church wedding I've had all year was last weekend - in a church and I was shooting ISO 800 at 1/125 at F4, at 4 pm in the winter. You have to be able to work with what's available, and that can change on a moments notice.
If a lens works sometimes, what do you tell your client the rest of the time? Sorry, but you've got no wedding pics?
Message edited by author 2009-01-10 12:21:04. |
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01/10/2009 01:34:30 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
The brightest church wedding I've had all year was last weekend - in a church and I was shooting ISO 800 at 1/125 at F4, at 4 pm in the winter. |
LOL, you sure you wasn't in an operating theatre! Gotta love them nice light churches. |
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