jojoblingphotography

Jo Jobling

photography

The lenses I find best for wedding photography

When I turn up to a photo shoot I quite often get told that I have a lot of

equipment! I take all my gear to every shoot so I can be prepared for any

eventuality but thought it would probably be quite useful to write about the

lenses I use to photograph a wedding starting with the preparation, set up and

ceremony through to the portraits and evening reception.

So, I will usually start with the bride. I LOVE my prime lenses and of course I

shoot with Canon 😉 For most of this part of the day I will switch between my

100mm macro f/2.8 and my 50mm f/1.4.

The 50mm is certainly the most versatile but the macro is great for not only the

small details like the jewelry or intricate beading on the dress but its also great

when you’re capturing the natural and candid shots of the bridal party getting

ready 🙂 You have enough distance from them that they don’t suddenly freeze up

when they see a camera pointing in their direction!

For the set up shots I will again use both the 100mm macro and 50mm but will

also play around with the 16-24 f/2.8 wide angle.

For the ceremony I use the 70-200mm f/2.8 and again the 50mm makes a

regular appearance too, I use 2 bodies during the ceremony and like to keep

my distance so that I can be unnoticed by the wedding guests.

For the portraits I will use 24-70mm f/2.8 for most group photographs and bring

out my wide angle for any larger groups, then for the couple portrait session I

will mainly use my 50mm but sometimes bring out the 70-200mm too. This is

my favourite part of the day. Golden hour has usually set in so the light is

PERFECT, everyone is beginning to unwind and congratulate the new couple and

the drinks and canapés are flowing 🙂 This is the best time to capture as many

candid natural light photographs as you can before the sun sets down for the

night.

During the reception the sun has usually set, or with some weddings starting

earlier at least beginning to, but as per a previous post, the last hour before

sunset is the best time to capture the couple portraits and group photographs so

always bear this in mind when planning your day.

The reception, or once there is no longer any natural light, this is when you will

need your prime lenses most. I usually shift between the 50mm f/1.4 but also

have both my 24-70mm and 70-200mm ready, depending on the space you have

around you, when it comes to the cake cutting and the first dance I find I need my

24-70mm readily available in case it becomes too crowded with wedding guests,

during these moments it can be quite difficult to keep guests back to give you

space to capture everything so a wider angle option is always a good shout. Nothing can beat those prime lenses though.

Scroll to Top