prime lenses for a low key wedding shoot

The Reverend JT

The Reverend JT

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Good morning,

I am looking for a bit of advice regarding lenses for a wedding shoot. Now if i could clear a couple of things up first so we don't get into confusion it might help (and thanks initially for reading as it might be a bit lengthy!):

1. i know there are some extremely talented wedding photographers on here, however i am certainly not oblivious to the incredibly complex nature of wedding photography as an artform, and as such i am not being blase about any aspect of the task in front of me.

2. I originally refused to do the wedding shoot (it is my sister in law getting married for the second time) as i am too inexperienced, however they were then not going to have a wedding photographer at all - and i thought i would rather do some shots for them with no expectations rather than let them have none at all. it is a small wedding in a local church followed by a reception at a family members house. very intimate, i know all the guests.

3. They are under no illusions that they will have any amazing shots - and any good photos from the day will be a total bonus. however, i have put a lot of thought and effort into making sure there are some decent shots, and have quietly been researching the venue, the sort of photos they like the most, and studying at length some great wedding photography.


With that in mind:

Would it be worth owning both a 35mm normal lens and a 50mm portrait lens for my cropped sensor bodies, or would it make more sense having a 35mm and an 85mm? My 35mm won't reach out far enough to get a decent 'the kiss' shot (and 35mm even on a croped sensor is never going to be a flattering portrait focal length, big noses and small ears!) - and f/2.8 zoom glass is too rich for my blood at this point in time - so was thinking of using these two lenses all day, the 50mm in the church, and the 35mm for that pleasing-on-the-eye focal length (will also have my kit lens for outside for any formal shots outside the church).

It's only going to be a small wedding and they have asked me to do it as otherwise they weren't going to have any photographer at all - so i know the first repsonse will be 'hire a lens', but i'm buggered if i'm going to spend 60 quid hiring a lens if i'm not getting paid at all for the shoot (doing it for experience to see if i like wedding photography, and as a wedding present to them).

are the 35mm and 50mm focal lengths just too similar to bother having both, or at 100 quid is getting a nifty a good investment regardless?

discuss, using examples where appropriate (hehe)

:)

thanks in advance for any advice.

(i will be shooting w/ D300 and possibly D40 backup)
 
a friendly mid day bump - is the reason i'm getting no replies because it's a stupid question, or because nobody likes talking about wedding photography on here - or because it belongs elsewhere on the forums???

if someone could gently point me in the right direction that would be appreciated!

Ta
 
I'd consider hiring something instead of buying - could you not get a fast standard 17-55 or something on hire for the day?? The nifty is a good lens (I'm sure the Nikon version is good, like the Canon version), but will mean that you are changing lenses every 5 minutes to get the shots you want, possibly missing a few that you would have wanted to take??
 
Or borrowing... you have a D40 - any Nikon-owners nearby willing to lend you a lens for a day in exchange for beer?
You're pretty new on-board, so I wouldn't hold your breath, but your opening post is exactly the right way to ask about this subject - which as you point out does tend to get some people's hackles rising...

If you go with what you've got I'd say go for the 85mm for those head and shoulder shots...with the 35mm you can do the wide-ish and medium shots inside and outside the venue.
 
cheers for the advice all - like i said in the OP hiring sort of defeats the object as it will mean more cost and i'm doing the shoot for free in the first place!

i will be shooting with a D300 and D40 as a spare, so what i am thinking of doing is putting the 50mm prime on the D300 for the low light performance in the church, and then using the D40 outside with my 35mm for most other shots.


Thanks again for taking the time to answer. - and arkady nice one for asking for me ha ha :D
JT
 
quick bump for the night time crew - agaiun any advice most welcome.

85mm prime or 50mm prime which is three times as cheap and probably more useful in the long run (can you see which way i'm leaning??)

:cool:
 
well it's not exactly the same since my body is a 1.3 crop, but I generally use a 50mm 1.4 and 100mm F2, plus a 24-70 2.8

the 24-70 gives me the distance flexibility and the 50/100 give me the low level extreme coverage

the 85mm would probably give you the same as the 100mm on my body - assuming its a fast one, but I'd buy the 50mm first!
 
keirik said:
well it's not exactly the same since my body is a 1.3 crop, but I generally use a 50mm 1.4 and 100mm F2, plus a 24-70 2.8

the 24-70 gives me the distance flexibility and the 50/100 give me the low level extreme coverage

the 85mm would probably give you the same as the 100mm on my body - assuming its a fast one, but I'd buy the 50mm first!
Click to expand...

thanks for the tips, nice one!
 
Since you already have primes I'd be tempted to grab a zoom of some kind. It can be difficult to get the framing right since you often cannot move about indoors at the Church. :)
 
17-55 2.8 would be my weapon of choice or tbh a 24-70 as on a crop it can give you the extra reach for inside

however if you're doing groups be aware of the lack of wideishness on a crop :)
 
85mm f/1.8, bought one myself recently for exactly the same reason. Though I also have a 24-105 with three stops of IS which will also be helpful.
 
BouncyMelons said:
Since you already have primes I'd be tempted to grab a zoom of some kind. It can be difficult to get the framing right since you often cannot move about indoors at the Church. :)
Click to expand...

first up - love the name. mmmmm, melons.

secondly - i would love to take a zoom there, but the only one i have curently is a slow 18-55mm kit lens, and even if i crank the ISO on the D300 it isn't going to be fast enough to get decent shots inside the church.

i would, no word of a lie, sell my left knacker for a f/2.8 24-70 nikkor (my right one's my favourite and I already have a daughter so it wouldn't be much of a loss) - but as i said in the OP, hiring one would be silly and woud put me out of pocket and i'm not really prepared to do that as i'm doing it for free anyhow. and i cant afford a grand for it just yet.

thanks for the advice though, muchos appreciatos.
 
Bendihossan said:
85mm f/1.8, bought one myself recently for exactly the same reason. Though I also have a 24-105 with three stops of IS which will also be helpful.
Click to expand...

yeah i'm thinking the 85mm for inside the church but i'm struggling to think of other uses of it other than that one afternoon! reckon i could get hold of a second hand one for about 200 quid, such a tough call.

it's so bloody complicated sometimes!!

:lol:
 
Why don't you set your zoom to 50mm and go to the church, which you say is local, and see whether 50 is going to be long enough? If it is then you have your answer.

If not.... well, you have already had some good advice. If you have time and luck you could buy a used 85mm here and sell it again with little loss. You might also find you really enjoy using it and would want to keep it.

I was strong-willed for a long time and resisted the temptation of several 85s on here as I felt I didn't need it. Eventually though I succumbed, and absolutely love it - I use it far more than I ever thought I would, much more than the 50mm.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
Personally, the 35 and the 50mm are too close together - I would just use the 35 and crop where necessary - the Nikon 35mmm is detailed enough and the D300 has enough pixels.
 
thanks again to all for their 2 penneth - i guess there must be a lot of people coming on to the forum and saying 'i'm shooting a wedding with my kit lens and my camera i got yesterday, tell me what to do' ha ha.

some really good advice though cheers - i am either going to go for an 85mm prime or potentially a sigma/tamron 24-70 (or thereabouts depending on model) f/2.8, as i can then buy and know i will probably get future use out of it, and if not i can sell it to someone on here!

I'm off to the church in a few weeks at the same time as the ceremony will be so i can see where the light will be coming through the stain glass etc and try and get a feel for some of the shots i want in the church. I think the hardest part will be commanding people to do what i want - i must make them respect my authoritah!

nice one anyhow

:thumbs:
 
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