Choosing Lenses for Wedding Photography

Though I’ve certainly done a few blog posts regarding wedding photography with mentions of lens choices, I find myself having to re-visit the topic…especially now on the brink of another wedding season.

I recently got rid of one of my stalwart zoom lenses which I used since my very first wedding: the Canon 24-70 f/2.8 L USM. Recently I concluded that all zoom lenses are compromises and “crutches”, and that I happily accept and use them anyway. However–to me–the 24-70 became the ultimate in non-committal compromise. It can’t really reach into those breathtaking or highly useful (in tight quarters) wide angle shots I can get with a fisheye or 16-35 zoom lens, and neither can it zoom in very well for those intimately tight close-ups that I get with my 135 f/2 or my 70-200 zoom lens. If I want to go with a “play it safe” middle range, I’d rather put on a standard normal lens (50mm) with a larger maximum aperture (f/1.4 or f/1.2) so I can take photos in almost any lighting condition.

As I’ve mentioned before, if Canon (or anyone else) made a super zoom lens with a constant large maximum aperture, decent optical quality, and it didn’t weigh 10 pounds, that’s the lens I would use; I’m not particularly fond of constantly changing lenses *especially* when it leads to missed shots and dust and dirt getting into my camera body. But this is not the way things are, and camera equipment manufacturers aren’t highly motivated to make and sell you a single product that takes care of all your photographic needs when they can sell you a dizzying array of products, each one of which only partially takes care of your needs.

Some may say it’s physically impossible to create the one-lens-does-it-all lens I allude to. I’m not saying it would be easy, but I think technology can accomplish an amazing number of things when the needed accompanying motivation exists.

But enough talk of this “super lens”, let’s get back to current reality because that’s what I have available to me for my upcoming “real” weddings in 2010…(!)

I will have three cameras available to me this wedding season: one with a full-frame sensor (Canon 5D series), one with a 1.3 crop sensor (Canon 1D series), and one with a 1.6 crop sensor. For weddings, I nearly always have two cameras readily available (i.e., hanging on me in some way) with lenses attached.

One thing I like about having cameras with different size sensors is that it effectively turns each of my lenses into the equivalent of *three* lenses. For example, on my full-frame sensor camera, a 50mm lens has the FOV (field of view) of a 50mm lens (of course). On my 1.3 crop sensor camera, the 50mm lens has the FOV of a 65mm lens. And on the 1.6 crop sensor camera, that same 50mm lens has a FOV of a 80mm lens. Since you’re going to need a backup camera for wedding photography anyway, choosing cameras with different size sensors gives you more versatility with your existing lenses. (Note: make sure you buy lenses that can work on all three camera bodies or this advantage won’t be there.)

When it comes down to the choice of prime lenses versus zoom lenses for wedding photography, I’ve developed a few guidelines for myself:

The highest priced professional quality zoom lenses yield images that are absolutely good enough for wedding clients. To buy multiple primes instead of these high quality zoom lenses for better image quality will make no difference to 98% of your wedding clients. They are *much* more likely to notice how you framed your shots (e.g., how you were able to zoom in or zoom out for a shot) than to notice that a prime lens yielded marginally better detail or BOKEH than a zoom lens.
With the high ISO capabilities of current digital SLRs, there are many fewer instances when you need a lens with a larger maximum aperture than the f/2.8 available with most top quality professional zoom lenses for existing light shots. And for those instances when f/2.8 isn’t large enough for an existing light shot (e.g., due to your subject moving in a low light situation), you can:
- use a bounced or diffused flash to raise the ambient light,
- keep one large aperture, “general purpose” prime lens in your camera bag to take out and use during these moments, or
- trigger some off-camera lighting.
Most wedding clients like *both* intimate close-up shots (e.g., facial expressions during key moments during the wedding day) and scene-setting, wide angle shots (e.g., the wedding couple standing at the front of a high-ceiling church, or all the bridesmaids crammed into a tight dressing at various stages of getting ready).
My lens strategy for an outdoor wedding ceremony and/or reception versus an indoor one is quite different and usually requires no prime lenses. In general, outdoor ceremonies and receptions are significantly easier to photograph because there’s usually much more light to work with. With more light, I can use one of my smaller maximum aperture zoom lenses that covers a much larger focal range (e.g., I have a 24-105 f/4L and a 35-350 f/3.5-5.6L). I bring a flash, but mostly just for some fill light.

So, what about my *indoor* wedding lens strategy for 2010?

Wide-angle zoom: 16-35 f/2.8–this gives me a true 16-35mm on the full-frame camera and 20.8-45.5mm on the 1.3 crop sensor 1D. So, this lens in conjunction with these two cameras give me 16-45.5mm f/2.8 (i.e., super wide up to almost normal) coverage.
Middle range prime: 50 f/1.4–this gives me “normal” coverage on the full-frame and 65mm (somewhat telephoto compared to normal) on the 1.3 crop sensor 1D. F/1.4 is a very useful large aperture to have available and the Canon 50 f/1.4 is the least expensive, high-quality f/1.4 lens Canon makes.
Telephoto zoom: 70-200 f/2.8–a true 70-200mm on the full-frame and a somewhat more telephoto (91-260mm) on the 1.3 crop sensor 1D. For even closer crops, I can put it on the 1.6 crop sensor camera for an effective 112-320mm reach.
Dark/Late night prime: 135 f/2–I often swap the 70-200 f/2.8 for a 135 f/2 later in the reception when/if it becomes too dark to use the 70-200 without auxiliary lighting.

So, at this moment in time (1:00pm on a Monday, 2/1/2010…;-), this is my lens strategy for the 2010 indoor wedding season. Whew! It’s a bit of a relief to me (I’m constantly mulling this stuff over and trying it out at weddings) and I hope you can gain something from my “suffering” as well…;-).