Lens for wedding photography

[Catalyst]

Hi,

I am considering to get a lens partly for wedding events as well as other uses (travel and landscapes). Would a AF Nikkor 24mm f2.8D lens be more suitable or the 18-35mm f3.5-4.5D. thanks for the advice.

 

[ckiang]

Originally posted by Catalyst
Hi,

I am considering to get a lens partly for wedding events as well as other uses (travel and landscapes). Would a AF Nikkor 24mm f2.8D lens be more suitable or the 18-35mm f3.5-4.5D. thanks for the advice.

Depends on your shooting style. If you are comfortable with shooting wides (e.g. 24mm) most of the time, then you should be okay with either. The 24/2.8 will give you the extra speed that you might need.

The 18-35 has quite pronounced barrel distortion at the wide end though.

Regards
CK

 

[kingpin]

With group shots the 18-35 offers better range of options. The 24 mm may be limited certain group shots especially in very tight spaces like restaurants. You will find that 18 to 20 mm is most useful. To catch certain close ups a 80-200 would be useful. Flash will be a certain requirement so fast lens is not necessary. Be careful of the distortions on both sides (common with less than 24 mm) especially for group shots. Try to leave more spacing so as not to make the persons on the sides seem too "fat". Have a great shoot.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by kingpin
With group shots the 18-35 offers better range of options. The 24 mm may be limited certain group shots especially in very tight spaces like restaurants. You will find that 18 to 20 mm is most useful. To catch certain close ups a 80-200 would be useful. Flash will be a certain requirement so fast lens is not necessary. Be careful of the distortions on both sides (common with less than 24 mm) especially for group shots. Try to leave more spacing so as not to make the persons on the sides seem too "fat". Have a great shoot.

hmm having done several weddings i can assure you 24mm is quite enough - in fact, 28mm should suffice most of the time!

the danger with 18-35 kind of zoom is the tendency to let the focal length slide to the 18mm end, where most of the less well corrected lens (that's most 18-35 ultra wide angle zooms!) might show optical distortions that distort the faces / bodies of people in those people shots.

Even if the lens has little optical distortions, a slight tilt of the camera, especially at close shooting distances can introduce perspective distortions. Depending on the kind of shot u're looking at, perspective distortions might not be desirable, esp for group shots.

the Straits Times have some pictures where perspective distortion was used to great dramatic effect, yet there are also those horrible ones where perspective distortions has obviously distorted pple's arms / faces to monstrous levels.

it is better to make 28mm the minimum as far as possible for pple shots.

 

[roti]

Originally posted by Catalyst
Hi,

I am considering to get a lens partly for wedding events as well as other uses (travel and landscapes). Would a AF Nikkor 24mm f2.8D lens be more suitable or the 18-35mm f3.5-4.5D. thanks for the advice.

get a fixed aperture zoom lens for wedding events.....i hav try using fisheye as well ......its kinder nice in a manner...

 

[forward]

If you have only one lens for wedding
photography which one would you choose?

That choice will depend on your experiences
in covering weddings. Photographers
have covered a wedding using only the
35mm or even just the 50mm standard lens.
You will have to adapt your style of shooting
accordingly.

One of my mentor uses the 17mm for everything.
To him the 17mm is his standard lens. I don't
believe that a wide angle lens cannot be used
to take pictures of people. The knowledge on how
to use the lens is important so that your pictures
are distortion free.

My favorite lens is the 24mm. You will find this
focal length useful especially in a packed situation
at the wedding dinner in the restaurant. It can
be used for outdoor environmental wedding portraits.

Natural available light is the best for weddings.
The faster the lens the better. I use a 24mm f/2.

:thumbsup:

If you use the standard lens, then go for the f/1.4.
When given the choice, just these two lens will help
you in getting the type of pictures you want.
You will have to use flash with slow lens with aperture
such as f/3.5 - f/5.6.

_________________________________
The danger lies somewhere between
the lines and the amount of work
that you have done in
a very specialised area.

 

[Jed]

I am sure this topic has been covered before somewhere in Clubsnap, if not the identical question then something very similar.

To be perfectly frank, I really wouldn't like to do a wedding with only one lens. If I did and wasn't allowed zooms, it would have to be a 50.

 

[Catalyst]

Thanks for the advice. Actually I do have some other lens starting from 35mm and a 50mm prime lens. However they seem to be insufficient when the ballroom is extremely packed. Thus thought of getting a wide angle.

 

[roti]

for a fixed focus lens .....i choose 50mm f1.4......

 

[kingpin]

Catalyst, seems like there a lot of good comments and sharing of experiences. Try out for your own needs and your type of shoot. Golden rule is to plan ahead. Outdoors or indoors, and the lighting conditions makes quite a lot of difference in lens selection. I prefer very large apertures for outdoors as it helps with the DOF to isolate the couple or individual. Nice for protraits. Indoors have own set of problems like tight spaces. Try the 24 and the 18-35 before the actual shoot to see for yourself the distortions. You will be surprised that both can be optimised. Form your own perspective and opinion. All the best.