One more thing...
I've never used a prime lense before, but from what i think i've read onthis foruma lot of people use prime lenses for weddings.
How does one for example using a 50mm f/1.4 at a wedding get the groom and bride to appear focused. Is it because the photographer is shooting the couple from a distance, and what you are saying is that if the photographer was shooting a close up or head shot, one of the subjects would be a little more out of focus?
keller
The primes mean you have to move your feet to focus get DOF at times... zoom you have the advantage of not moving, but at times you'll have to move no matter.
As for the 2 person shot, you'll have to bump up from 1.4 typically if you want both perfectly in zoom, unless they're head to head style of portrait.. if you want the eyes and such sharpIf you're unsure a Nifty Fifty 50mm 1.8 II is a great little piece of glass that can be picked up for dirt cheap to try out lower f stops.
Some people prefer zooms, some primes.. and honestly it's all your shooting style. But a lot of portrait people like 35, 50 or 85.. or even a 135 prime. And others swear by 24-70/70-200 for portraits... so you are the one who has to make that decision.
I'm picking up my zooms first, then moving to a few primes probably in the future.. but we'll see once I have my zooms covered.
Originally Posted by hotsecretary
Uh...primes mean you have to move your feet to get the imaged composed/framed as desired. Once composed as desired, one has to understand the DoF for that focal length at that subject distance (and at a particular target print size).
We're a Canon/Profoto family: five cameras, sixteen lenses, fifteen Profoto lights, too many modifiers.
The closer you get the shallower the depth of field becomes at a fixed aperture.
IMHO (In my humble opinion) I would guess that 90% of the wedding photographers in this world shoot weddings with a zoom. There are some really outstanding photographers that have the skill and "daring" to shoot with primes only. Jeff Ascough was one I was introduced to recently.
It depends on the body being used (FF vs Crop) and how far both subjects are from the camera. If you can get their faces in the same plane (same distance from the camera) then you can open up to f2 to get that sharp eye dreamy background look. If the groom/bride is away from you on the otherside of the bride/groom then you'll have to stop down to get the required dof. Hence, DOF Master. I have it on my palm.
When you increase the distance to your subject, you depth-of-field grows. However, you it's much easier to get the bride & groom in focus if you're at a right angle to the line created between both of them (meaning they are both in the same focal plane away from you). Then you're able to capture both subjects with a relatively wide aperture. If there one of the subjects is closer than the other, then you can either move to get them on the same focal plane or you can 1) get one in focus and leave the other out of focus, or 2) increase ISO or use a slower shutter speed along with a narrower aperture to get both subjects in focus.
Use this Depth-of-Field calculator to find out who much you'll have in focus in a given situation. For example, it says using a 50D (crop sensor) and a 50mm f/1.4 at a distance of 10 feet from your subject, you'll have about .65 feet in focus (48% in front of focus point, 52% behind).
I use the EF24-70mm f/2.8 L USMfor wedding partiesand I stop down to the f/4.0-f/5.6 areafor group portraits. I haven't seen a lot of primes in the wedding business for the ceremony / reception part of the gig. They can be used for bridal portraits and engagement shoots, but they will wear you outat awedding shoot.
In my opinion, people who use prime for weddings use it because they are much much sharper than zoom lens. And i believe that they dont use the 1,4 aperture, they use narrower aperture. Maybe I'm wrong, but that is just my opinion.
Actually, wedding photographers many times use the widest aperture they can. Most churches are dimly lit and a majority of couples don't want a flash going off during the actual ceremony. At those times, a very wide aperture helps tremendously.
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