Which Lens For Group Shots at Weddings

Bullysrus

Bullysrus

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Hi All,


What Canon lens do you all recommend for group shots at weddings.
 
Hi both


Thanks for the fast response, are we talking the mki or ii
 
24mm is plenty wide. I will use a 35mm for my group shots now...
 
I was using a 24-70 but it was not wide enough for large group shots when your forced to shot indoors or tight spaces.

Sold my 17-40 while back missed it and purchased another recently. So I think it depends on space you have but
17-40 gets my vote.
 
Matt makes a good point.
Outdoor group shots will be fine with a 24-70 as you have room usually to move them or yourself.
Indoors it gets a bit tight for space and the 17-40 comes into play.

I'd go with the latter on the basis that you can zoom in and/or crop.
Use a 24-70 and your stuck if 24mm doesn't cover it.
 
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I've got the Tamron 24-70 f2.8 VC. It's not as pin sharp as the new Canon Mark II, but it's not far off and you get VC. Certainly better than the original 24-70 from Canon and it's cheap too.
 
It depends what you call a group shot

A group of 4 people is very different to a group of 200
 
Are you using a crop or full frame?
 
I have shot wedding groups with a 14-24mm (raining - so indoors small room), 24-70 which was my workhorse groups lens, 50mm f1.2 (albeit not at f1.2) when I was struggling with the Canon 1D MKIII for accurate focus, and my 70-200mm towards the end when I wanted to really make groups pop from the background (usually shot at 135mm and above) - and I had the space.

If you want something flexible and most likely then the 24-70 is the obvious answer. But there are many many ways to skin that particular cat.

That said I wouldn't usually shoot wider than 35mm for groups of less than 8 to keep them flattering wherever possible.
 
odd jim said:
Are you using a crop or full frame?
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I can't believe how many answers there were before anyone asked this!

For FF the 24-70 should be good for 90% of all wedding photos unless you shoot primes. But I'd recommend a wider lens for those occasions you need wider. Whether a prime or zoom is up to personal preference.
 
Phil V said:
I can't believe how many answers there were before anyone asked this!

For FF the 24-70 should be good for 90% of all wedding photos unless you shoot primes. But I'd recommend a wider lens for those occasions you need wider. Whether a prime or zoom is up to personal preference.
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Camera: Canon 5D MKII

:p
 
Real name : Tony
Location: Kent
Posts: 666
Camera: Canon 5D MKII

It seemed reasonable to assume FF ;)
 
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I only wanted to know what lens was best


Thanks for all the comments and advice
 
paul_g said:
Real name : Tony
Location: Kent
Posts: 666
Camera: Canon 5D MKII

It seemed reasonable to assume FF ;)
Click to expand...

Like I said, you can't see that from the iOS apps, it doesn't show what camera the OP has.

Just trying to help the op. Why do people have to get smarmy?
 
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Another vote for the (or a) 24-70. One thing to note is that if shooting at the wider end the people at the end might look distorted, so you need space either side of the group

Going OT briefly, I find all the IOS apps for web forums to be crippled compared got he full version, and sometimes quite hard work to navigate.

EDIT: I forgot to add, the Canon 24-70 f/2.8 II has a more reliable, and faster AF system compared to the Tamron. This could make a difference in eating the shot and not, although both are capable of getting it spot on.
 
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dave_bass5 said:
Another vote for the (or a) 24-70. One thing to note is that if shooting at the wider end the people at the end might look distorted, so you need space either side of the group

Going OT briefly, I find all the IOS apps for web forums to be crippled compared got he full version, and sometimes quite hard work to navigate.

EDIT: I forgot to add, the Canon 24-70 f/2.8 II has a more reliable, and faster AF system compared to the Tamron. This could make a difference in eating the shot and not, although both are capable of getting it spot on.
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...and this is exactly why I asked if the OP was shooting FF or crop. I've shot a wedding with both and used the crop with the Canon 10-22 for the rather long group shot, which worked perfectly, but needed the sides "perspective corrected" in PP - and to do this you need space either side as you'll lose some of the edges. As the OP is shooting FF I won't recommend the 10-22 but with 16-17 mm lenses the advice re the wide end would be the same.
 
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I'm hoping that my Sigma 24-70 is going to be wide enough for group shots at a wedding in july although I'm hoping to have a 17-40 L by then anyway. I'm hoping it's going to be a decent enough day by july, you just never know with the British summer, and I've another wedding to do in november so I think I'll be needing the 17-40 then.
 
modchild said:
I'm hoping that my Sigma 24-70 is going to be wide enough for group shots at a wedding in july although I'm hoping to have a 17-40 L by then anyway. I'm hoping it's going to be a decent enough day by july, you just never know with the British summer, and I've another wedding to do in november so I think I'll be needing the 17-40 then.
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It'll rain at your July wedding. The Sigma 24-70 will struggle to focus for the first dance.
 
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