At some point or another the photographer gets tired of lugging all their equipment to every wedding. Light Kit, Flashes, Batteries, Cords, Extension Cords, Camera Bodies, and the good old lenses.
As a lover of Canon, Patrick and I definitely have our pick of must have lenses that every wedding photographer needs. These are our favorite lenses we use for weddings, but they are also totally the must haves if you have any for a wedding.
#1 Lens: The 50 mm 1.2f
In all honesty… this is my favorite lens to date. I love it and use it more than any other lens. It’s versatility and usage throughout the day outweighs all the other lenses we own. We own two of them, as Patrick loves it just as much as I do. He just uses the 70-200 more than I do. I especially love it to capture the eyelashes of a bride, the sweetness of a couple, or a centerpiece at a wedding. It is beyond amazing in low light conditions. If we ever stop doing wedding photography, it’ the one lens I would never want to sell. Here’s the one we bought!
#2 Lens: The 70-200mm f/2.8
For months when we were starting our business, Patrick and I rented this lens. We wanted the best so we knew shooting with it and renting it was the only option to get the images we wanted without the steep cost of buying it when we were just starting out. If there’s a lens that is an absolute must for a wedding day, this is it. Especially during ceremonies whether indoor or outdoor. There are more than one of these. We prefer the one with image stabilization and the lowest aperture, so we can use it in lower lighting without using a mono-pod or tri-pod. This lens allows us to move about, without being a distraction during the ceremony, shoot across the room, throughout the wedding day, and get the sweet moments that otherwise would have to be obvious and close with any other lens. Patrick uses this at the reception too to get those intimate first dances, toast, and more. Here’s the one we love!
In the words of Natalie Franke, an Annapolis Photographer, “I’d rather have a slightly grainy photograph than a blurry one any day!”, and we totally agree. So its essential to understand different rules about shutter speed, focal lengths, and also, what the relationship is between all three: Aperture, ISO, and Shutter Speed (Patrick could talk on and on about this… he is such a nerd about that technical stuff and I love it)!
#3 Lens: The 100mm macro
Hands down, I would say the 100mm is the third lens to have with you on a wedding day. We use this both for macro and for portraits, believe it or not. We can get the intricate details of a ring, a dress, and in the next moment get a shot of the bride with her groom.
I also have an addiction to detail, and capturing the small things that mean the most, like rings, mini photographs, etc. Here’s the one we love and have!
Below you will see three images, all are using the 100mm macro Canon lens.
So the next question is… What do you love to shoot with and which lenses
would you take if you could only have 3?
We’d love to hear from you! We do love our 24-70 macro, and our drone, but Mighty Mouse isn’t a lens, so he’s out of the running. Many times when you buy from B&H, you can do a mail in rebate too and get money back.
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