Have you ever played the hypothetical game: “If I were stranded on a desert island and could only bring three things with me… what would they be?” – I love having these conversations and hearing the reasoning behind it all. In today’s Tech-Talk Tuesday post, I’m asking a variation of that question and answering it on the blog.

If I could only bring three lenses to shoot a wedding, which lenses would I choose and why?

 

First Lens: The Nifty Fifty

I have a true love for this lens. My 50mm lens is, by far, my favorite lens in the entire world. I use it for 75% of my work: from portraits to getting ready moments and beyond. I love this lens so much that I actually have two of them just incase one were to break mid-wedding. I recommend it for beginners and professionals alike. It’s tack sharp and great in low light conditions. It produces consistently beautiful photographs and isn’t intimidating from the perspective of your subject.

If I could only shoot with one lens for the rest of my life… it would be my 50mm.

The Exact Lens >> Natalie’s Pick for Nikon Shooters

 

Second Lens: The 70-200mm f/2.8

I know that some wedding photographers advocate for shooting all prime lenses, and while there is no doubt that they produce incredibly clear and sharp imagery – I wouldn’t trade my 70-200mm for anything in the world on a wedding day. This lens allows me to be unobtrusive and still capture intimate moments from across the room. I use this lens constantly for ceremonies, first dances + parent dances in large ballrooms, and toasts (where I can easily shift from a tight shot of the speech-giver to a guest’s reaction in seconds).

The key with using this lens successfully is ensuring that your shutter speed is fast enough to counter any effects of camera shake. Vibration reduction plays a role in preventing camera shake up to a certain degree, but regardless – your shutter speed matters!

Because of the longer focal length of the 70-200mm, you must maintain a faster shutter speed than you would if you were shooting with your 50mm lens to avoid camera shake! An easy trick to determining how slow you can shoot handheld with any given lens is to use the Reciprocal Rule, which essentially means, “the shutter speed of your camera should be at least the reciprocal of the effective focal length of the lens” - And before you get nervous about the mathematics of it all, it essentially means that if you’re shooting with a 50mm lens, the slowest you should shoot handheld is at 1/50 of a second. For a 200mm focal length, the slowest you should shoot is 1/200 of a second and so on. (More on the Rule of Reciprocity from Digital Camera World).

When using this lens in darker settings such as a Catholic Church with flash restrictions and a “no tripods or monopods on the floor rule” – be careful! To avoid camera shake, I like to keep my shutter speed at 1/200, vibration reduction on, and then account for the low light conditions  by cranking up my ISO (and reducing any noise in post-processing). I’d rather have a slightly grainy photograph than a blurry one any day!

The Exact Lens >> Natalie’s Pick for Nikon Shooters

Quick Tip: This is one of the more expensive lenses in my arsenal and I realize that for beginners it can be intimidating to spend so much on a single piece of equipment. However, I promise you that you won’t regret it. Say what you want about it’s weight and size, but this lens changed my entire shooting style and has resulted in some of my favorite (and most emotional) images to date! If you’re just starting out – consider renting this lens first for a few weddings and giving it a test run before diving in for the purchase!

 

Third Lens: The Macro

This is where it gets tricky because I could have just as easily said a 35mm lens, which I also love and use quite a bit for reception room shots and achieving wider angles throughout the day. However, I’m obsessed with my macro lens. And I feel like, in a pinch, I could get away with using my 50mm for most of the images that I would have captured with a 35mm and therefore… If you were to really push me to choose three, and only three, lenses… my macro is my final choice.

My macro lens gives me the ability to take simple details and create something truly beautiful with them. I use it exclusively during the getting ready portion of the day (with a few exceptions for intricate reception details, place cards, etc.)  and it only accounts for 5-10% of my overall imagery from a wedding day, but it’s crucial nonetheless.

I also have a love for capturing the little details, which may not translate to every photographer’s preferences or shooting style (especially those who are purely photojournalistic) and for those of you who fall in that category – I would recommend swapping this lens for a wide angle lens like the 35mm!

The Exact Lens >> Natalie’s Pick for Nikon Shooters // Natalie’s Actual Lens

When choosing a macro: I recommend buying the Nikon version, however I’ve owned the Sigma linked above since I was a sophomore in high school and it’s still going strong!

And I could go on and on about the other lenses I love to use, but if I was truly going to be limited to three – that’s what I would bring! So now I’m curious…

If you could only bring three lenses to shoot a wedding, which lenses would you choose and why?

I can’t wait to hear what lenses you love and if we have any shared favorites! I also love my 35mm and the 85mm and I have a feeling that many of you will mention one of those as well! And just a reminder that as a participant in the Amazon Associates Program all purchases made from the links in this post help to fund the Free Educational Content that I share on Tech-Talk Tuesdays!

*Pinterest Bookmark Bonus: There is a little Pinterest Bookmark embedded in today’s post to help make it easier to save! Just click the Pin it Button below to add the graphic to your Photography Tips board! Cheers!
 

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