There are many ways to skin a cat and wedding shooters all have their preferences when it comes to gear. In this short video, photographer Eric Floberg puts together a compelling list of reasons why you should choose two full-frame bodies and a stack of prime lenses.
Every wedding photographer will tell you that lighting conditions can be pretty terrible over the course of the day, whether it’s the hotel room where the bride is getting ready, the candle-lit church, or the low-key tungsten lights illuminating the wedding reception. As a result, having some fast glass can be very important, especially if you want to avoid having super noisy images as a result of shooting at high ISO levels.
Unlike their zoom counterparts, prime lenses typically offer a much wider maximum aperture and as Floberg observes, the lack of zoom can be a useful nudge to force him to move and be more creative as a result.
Dual-wielding two top-end full-frame DSLRs along with five or six fast L-series primes inevitably comes at a price. I’ll let you head to B&H Photo and do the math.
What’s your preferred setup for weddings? Are zooms a better choice? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
2 bodies with 4 different primes:
24mm and 35mm during prep
100mm macro for rings
35mm and 85mm for ceremony
35mm and 85mm for photoshoot
24mm and 35mm for reception hall
This is almost my setup, but I've swapped the 24 and the 35 for the Sigma 24-35mm f/2.
This is exactly how I cut my teeth with weddings. For the longest time my bag was a 5D and primes. Now on Sony, the only lens I haven't exactly replaced yet is the 135.
Now we shoot with A7's and a 14mm, 35mm, 50mm, 70mm Macro and an 85.
I also like the creative restriction of primes, most rcently I have just fallen in love with my Sony 85 1.8. Not a huge surprise, as 85's are typically sweethearts.
I'm always using 2 bodies. I mainly stick with my Canon 5D Mark IV and then my EOS R along with a 35mm Sigma Art and then a L 85mm. I keep a 70-200 F2.8 on me as well as a Prime macro lens and then a 24-70 as a backup. I only use the 70-200 if the ceremony site is large enough that I need the 200 to get closer details and emotion. Primes definitely help with the getting ready and ceremony if the lighting sucks... Reception I use my 2 alien bees to help light the scene.
"I’ll let you head to B&H Photo [ www dot bhphotovideo dot com /BI/6857/KBID/7410 ] ..." was this a ham-handed way to sneak in an affiliate link? Too bad it 404's...
Eric Floberg is in the top 1% of Douchiest douchbag wedding photographers.
Why should I care about what this guy has to say? He’s as cookie cutter as it gets, completely unoriginal and posts work that mimics what every “dark and moody” idiot wedding photographer does. Fstopper needs to stop promoting these losers.
I know plenty of fantastic photographers who shoot with one body, or a zoom lens on one of two bodies etc and their work is great. This obsession with gear and “educating” wedding photographers is nauseating, especially when it’s coming from a pretentious wannabe hipster.