4 Must-Have Lenses For Wedding Photography
A wedding is the most important day in one’s life and should be captured in the best possible way. Being a savvy wedding photographer, you need to frame the once-in-a-lifetime moments of your client carefully. The wedding album is composed of different types of shots, including first kiss, group photos, first dance, portraits, close-ups of wedding attire, and ring. And for every shot, there is a perfect lens. You can enhance your clicks by using the right type of lenses for wedding photography.
Undeniably investing in quality lenses is vital to becoming a better photographer. However, the market is full of a variety of lenses, choosing the one for your photography needs can become daunting. The renowned wedding photographers in Bristol consider several factors surrounding the particular wedding they are shooting before picking up the lenses. For instance, how long will the shoot be? Is the wedding arranged at some destination or in church? Is it a big celebration or a small gathering of 50-60 people? Another thing to consider before choosing lenses is that you are shooting alone or with an assistant.
All the above factors can aid you to determine the lenses you should have with you at the time of the wedding shoot. Apart from this, if the client hires you for 3-4 hours, there is no point in carrying a bag full of lenses. On the flip side, if you are shooting for the whole day or at least 12 hours, it would be better to carry more lenses.
Now, let us have a look at must-have lenses for wedding photography-:
● Wide-Angle Zoom
This is one of the most vital lenses for every wedding photographer. Wide-angle zoom lenses are generally 17mm-35mm in length and have an aperture of f/2.8. These lenses provide the big picture of the event and shoot the things happening around the subject in a wider frame. Put simply; wide-angle zoom lenses allow you to capture real feelings, reactions, and emotions with more clarity so that you can tell a richer story. With zoom lenses, you can click amazing pictures even in the small banquet room. These lenses magnify the spaciousness of the area so that you can be more creative with your work.
● Versatile Telephoto
Next in line, the versatile telephoto zoom lens is also known as an image-stabilized telephoto lens. Typically its length lies between 70-200 mm and has an aperture of f/2.8. Although it’s quite expensive, it’s great to capture the portrait section of the day. The longer length of the versatile telephoto lens is beneficial for creating soft background and stabilization. Soft background improves image quality by isolating the main subject you want to focus on. If a client wants to have more group shots in the wedding album, you must carry this lens.
These amazing lenses aren’t just effective for creating blurry backgrounds but also great for capturing photos from a distance. Versatile telephoto lenses are used for capturing fantastic facial close-ups from several creative angles.
● Portrait Prime
Portrait prime has a much wider aperture than versatile photo lenses. Typically, they come with fixed focal lengths and better optical quality. Also, they are available in two apertures, i.e., f/2.8 or f/1.8. Portrait prime plays a vital role in clicking good portraits. They contribute around 20%-30% in a wedding shoot and are pretty lightweight as well as inexpensive.
They are faster than the zoom lenses and ideal for the situation where you need motion-stopping shutter speed. The lens is also perfect for shooting in small spaces and low-light areas.
● Macro Lenses
Macro lenses are another popular choice of wedding photographers in Bristol, Somerset, and other parts of the UK. These are quite useful in capturing detail shots like eyelashes & makeup of a bride, engagement rings, etc.
These lenses are available in several focal lengths and apertures. The macro lens with a longer focal length offers more isolation between background and subject and is the best for capturing the nitty-gritty details.