lens for a wedding?

GooniesNeverSayDie11 · Sep 7, 2012

I would rent a SB600 and use the crap out of the 35mm. (assuming you have ample room for movement, can get close to the ceremony, and are permitted to use flash)

If you still wish to rent a lens, I would rent another fast prime that would be good for portraits (85mm f/1.8) as well as for stealthy candid shots.

There is no right answer here though, you are going to be a bit screwed no matter what.

greybeard · Sep 7, 2012

17-55 2.8 would be my choice

SarahLouise · Sep 8, 2012

A good friend of mine shoots weddings all the time. He SWEARS on a 50mm. He says that's all you need. I don't shoot weddings so I can't give you my personal thoughts, but I've seen his work, it's good.

PhotoWrangler · Sep 8, 2012

SarahLouise said:
A good friend of mine shoots weddings all the time. He SWEARS on a 50mm. He says that's all you need. I don't shoot weddings so I can't give you my personal thoughts, but I've seen his work, it's good.

Dont trust him! LOL

cgipson1 · Sep 9, 2012

SarahLouise said:
A good friend of mine shoots weddings all the time. He SWEARS on a 50mm. He says that's all you need. I don't shoot weddings so I can't give you my personal thoughts, but I've seen his work, it's good.

With only a 50??? It would be very difficult to shoot a wedding with only a 50mm... unless you are willing to miss a lot of shots, or do a lot of cropping! I don't believe him.. and neither should you!

blahh646260 · Sep 9, 2012

Get the 17-55 on the crop body it'll make it seem close to a 24-70. Ignore the negative ppl have fun take your time. Also not a bad idea to have some sort of contract to be safe. Good luck.

greybeard · Sep 9, 2012

Found this today while just browsing. If you are shooting DX I would think 17-55 f/2.8.......35mm f/1.8 or f/2.0 and the 70-210 f/2.8 plus the 910 flash.

Nikon Wedding Photographer Essentials Package

SarahLouise · Sep 9, 2012

ChristopherCoy said:
SarahLouise said:

A good friend of mine shoots weddings all the time. He SWEARS on a 50mm. He says that's all you need. I don't shoot weddings so I can't give you my personal thoughts, but I've seen his work, it's good.

Click to expand...

Dont trust him! LOL

haha. Ok. I would never buy a prime lens or shoot weddings. I'm sorry for the bad advice, I thought it was good at the time. lol. Sorry.

skinnyboy_74 · Sep 9, 2012

I use a 24-70 primarily at a wedding...its a monster and perfectly fit for a ceremony...but once the reception starts I generally switch to primes and am seriously considering making the switch to just primes! I've seen a bunch of photographers who just use primes for weddings and its definitely possible...I also do have a second shooter which helps cover the angles I miss, another reason I could switch to primes.

tissa · Sep 17, 2012

Ok for those who have asked for what I ended up doing.
After listening to all of you and doing my own research I have concluded the following:
Renting a lens was a fairly expensive option especially considering how much I was going to get paid ($500). There is no place to rent the lens I needed in town and the cheapest online option was going to cost me around $100 or more (for 3 days is the shortest period of time they offer for renting plus getting insurance is a good idea plus shipping...). So I decided to buy Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 with the idea of selling it back after the wedding.
I got a used Nikon 17-55 and only used that lens the whole time (tho I still had my 35mm f/1.8 and my 70-200 f/4.5 with me) and I also used my SB900 flash. I was at the wedding from 2 till 10 p.m. I asked a friend of mine who photographs (and has some experience with weddings) to come and back me up during the ceremony and she was there 2 hours with me (I paid her $100 for that).

I did not edit many pictures of the couple yet. But I will post a couple of shots that I did edit slightly in Lightroom (I don't do photoshop).

Overall there were moments that I have missed. good thing was that the couple was pretty laid back and they did realize that I was doing a lot more for what I was getting paid to do and they were grateful. I did not even have a bite at that wedding the whole time. Pretty stressful experience yet a very nice one. I hope to have more. And btw, that Nikon lens is ridiculously heavy and my arms were literally hurting at the end of the day (plus it has some distortion issues at 17 mm).