Lenses for wedding photography: budget and expensive | Articles | Photo, video, optics

What lens would you use to shoot a wed­ding? How to find your per­fect kit from all the mod­els? We have com­piled for you a selec­tion of expen­sive and bud­get lens­es for a wed­ding, which should sim­pli­fy the choice. And we have pre­pared a com­plete list of the nec­es­sary equip­ment for a wed­ding pho­tog­ra­ph­er, which can be found in our arti­cle.

A wed­ding pho­tog­ra­ph­er can only have one good lens in their arse­nal. But it’s bet­ter when there are sev­er­al of them. And each is used to shoot cer­tain shots. Pho­to: pixabay.com

The best stan­dard lens­es for wed­ding pho­tog­ra­phy
Top wed­ding equip­ment
Bud­get lens­es for wed­dings
Wide angle wed­ding lens­es
Top wed­ding equip­ment
Bud­get lens­es for wed­dings
Tele­pho­to lens­es for wed­ding pho­tog­ra­phy
Bud­get set of lens­es
Top set of lens­es for a wed­ding

The best standard lenses for wedding photography

Lens­es 15–70 mm were assigned to this cat­e­go­ry. They are almost uni­ver­sal — they are not suit­able only for shoot­ing dis­tant objects and macro pho­tog­ra­phy. They are easy to work with for both expe­ri­enced pho­tog­ra­phers and begin­ners.

The fol­low­ing lens­es are required for shoot­ing:

• walks;
• por­traits;
• the morn­ing of the bride;
• groom’s fees;
• ran­som;
• cer­e­monies.

Top wedding equipment

Sony FE 24–70 mm f/2.8 GM

What lens is required for wed­ding pho­tog­ra­phy? Stan­dard. For exam­ple, Sony FE 24–70 mm f/2.8 GM. This is a zoom lens for full-frame Alpha cam­eras, but it will also work for crop cam­eras.

Good for por­traits, events. Uni­ver­sal — suit­able for work in the stu­dio, in the ban­quet hall, in nature. One of the fea­tures is the DDSSM motor­ized focus­ing sys­tem. There­by:

• improved posi­tion­ing accu­ra­cy of opti­cal ele­ments;
• aut­o­fo­cus is faster.

A ver­sa­tile lens for wed­ding pho­tog­ra­phy is the Sony FE 24–70 mm f/2.8 GM. Pho­to: cameralabs.com

Con­stant aper­ture f/2.8. This allows you to use the same expo­sure set­tings over the entire range of focal lengths. This sug­gests that even in low light or with ultra-short shut­ter speeds, the pic­ture will still be of high qual­i­ty and clear.

You can avoid unwant­ed glare in the pho­to thanks to the pro­pri­etary Nano AR coat­ing. It also deliv­ers beau­ti­ful, deep darks, enhanced clar­i­ty and con­trast.

Canon EF 24–70mm f/2.8L II USM

Canon’s top wed­ding lens. Pro­vides high qual­i­ty pho­tos at var­i­ous focal lengths (from 24 to 70 mm). The design uses aspher­i­cal lens­es, glass ele­ments with ultra-low dis­per­sion. Their cor­rect lay­out elim­i­nates the appear­ance of noise and glare.

The Canon EF 24–70 mm f/2.8L II USM is the top lens for wed­ding pho­tog­ra­phy. Pho­to: technovybor.ru

Due to the increased light sen­si­tiv­i­ty, the lens can be used even in low light. Pho­tos will still be clear. With this lens, you can take beau­ti­ful wed­ding pho­tos at late hours of the day.

Aut­o­fo­cus cap­tures well even mov­ing objects. In this case, expe­ri­enced pho­tog­ra­phers can use man­u­al focus cor­rec­tion.

The good news for action shoot­ers is that you can get the per­fect bokeh effect.

Budget lenses for weddings

Nikon 18–55 mm f/3.5–5.6G AF‑P VR DX Nikkor

Cheap lens for shoot­ing wed­dings. Sim­ple oper­a­tion, good pho­to qual­i­ty, low price — an option that will suit a begin­ner. This lens for Nikon SLR cam­eras is infe­ri­or to expen­sive coun­ter­parts. But if you are look­ing for an extreme­ly cheap option, the Nikon 18–55 mm f/3.5–5.6G AF‑P VR DX Nikkor will do.

Cheap option for a begin­ner pho­tog­ra­ph­er. Pho­to: pixabay.com

Advan­tages:

• high speed aut­o­fo­cus;
• you can use dif­fer­ent fil­ters (polar­iza­tion, gra­di­ent);
• there is a Focus Breath­ing effect that changes the view­ing angle;
• price up to 100 dol­lars.

Sirui 50mm f1.8 Anamorphic Fuji X mount

More bud­get than top-end coun­ter­parts. But more pro­fes­sion­al and wide­ly used than the cheap­est mod­el in this col­lec­tion. There is no aut­o­fo­cus, but man­u­al focus­ing is pos­si­ble with a con­ve­nient, wide ring.

Sirui 50mm f1.8 Anamor­phic is a bud­get and qual­i­ty lens. Pho­to: krsk.au.ru

Advan­tages:

• can be used in poor light­ing;
• suit­able for shoot­ing por­traits, sta­t­ic objects or smooth­ly mov­ing;
• The body is made of alu­minum — durable and light­weight.

Wide angle wedding lenses

Wide angle lens­es (15–35mm). They have a wider field of view, which allows you to shoot large objects from a fair­ly close dis­tance. Wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lens­es are used to cap­ture pho­tos with blur­ry edges and back­grounds.

The fol­low­ing lens­es are required for shoot­ing:

• groups of peo­ple;
• land­scapes. Indis­pens­able for shoot­ing in non-stan­dard loca­tions, in nature, where you need to cap­ture as much space as pos­si­ble;
• one per­son in the inte­ri­or.

Top wedding equipment

Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L III

This wide-angle Canon wed­ding lens is com­pat­i­ble with SLR cam­eras. Can be used for both day and night pho­tog­ra­phy. Even in low light, the pic­tures will be clear and bright. It can be safe­ly used for shoot­ing wed­ding fire­works or a cer­e­mo­ny that takes place in the evening.

The Canon EF 16–35 mm f/2.8L III is a high-qual­i­ty and mod­ern wide-angle lens. Pho­to: itndaily.ru

A sig­nif­i­cant plus is a sealed case that pro­tects against mois­ture and dust inside. The lens has a 9‑bladed cir­cu­lar aper­ture. Thanks to this, you can cre­ate beau­ti­ful bokeh.

Canon RF 15–35mm F2.8L IS USM

Lens for mir­ror­less cam­eras. Advan­tages:

• Vir­tu­al­ly silent, fast and sharp aut­o­fo­cus;
• con­stant max­i­mum aper­ture F2.8;
• good sharp­ness wide open.

Beau­ti­ful, pow­er­ful, pro­fes­sion­al lens for wed­ding pho­tog­ra­phy. Pho­to: zavod-chaz.ru

This is a great option for shoot­ing large num­bers of peo­ple in tight spaces. For exam­ple, in a house, a reg­istry office or a church. This is a uni­ver­sal lens for shoot­ing dur­ing a ban­quet, the first dance of the bride and groom.

In addi­tion, you can use the lens when shoot­ing small objects from a short dis­tance. For exam­ple, take pic­tures of the details — the bride’s hair or the hands of the new­ly­weds when they cut the cake.

With this lens, you can take not only beau­ti­ful, clear pho­tos at any time of the day, but also shoot smooth hand­held video.

Budget lenses for weddings

Samyang 14 mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC

Lens for mir­ror­less cam­eras. One of the most pop­u­lar mod­els from the man­u­fac­tur­er. There are mod­i­fi­ca­tions for many mounts: Canon EF, Canon M, Nikon F, Pen­tax K, Sony A, Sony E, Fuji­film X, Sam­sung NX, Micro 4/3.

The lens can be used for shoot­ing indoors and out­doors. This is a good ultra-wide angle lens that is suit­able for dar­ing cre­ative ideas dur­ing wed­ding pho­to shoots.

A bud­get option that will be appre­ci­at­ed by both begin­ners and pro­fes­sion­als. Pho­to: krsk.au.ru

An impor­tant advan­tage is the fast aper­ture, which opens up to f / 2.8. Thanks to this, you can shoot even in the twi­light.

Unwant­ed aber­ra­tions are min­i­mized by the use of low dis­per­sion ele­ments in the design.

The down­side of the mod­el is the lack of aut­o­fo­cus.

Sigma 12–24mm F4 DG HSM Art Nikon F

More expen­sive than the pre­vi­ous bud­get mod­el, but more afford­able than the top options. This is a wide angle wed­ding lens for Nikon SLR cam­eras.

Afford­able wide-angle lens suit­able for wed­ding pho­tog­ra­phy. Pho­to: technovybor.ru

Pecu­liar­i­ties:

• the lens has an aspher­i­cal lens with a diam­e­ter of 80 mm, which elim­i­nates dis­tor­tion, spher­i­cal aber­ra­tion;
• the lens is suit­able for shoot­ing both sta­t­ic objects and fast mov­ing ones — this is impor­tant dur­ing a hol­i­day, since it is impos­si­ble to force guests to con­stant­ly pose;
• Front and rear lens­es are water and oil repel­lent.

Telephoto lenses for wedding photography

Such lens­es (70–300 mm) are need­ed for shoot­ing dis­tant objects that can­not be approached.

Used for reportage shoot­ing:

• ban­quet;
• late part of the cel­e­bra­tion with fire­works;
• out­door cer­e­mo­ny, which is attend­ed by a lot of peo­ple — to cap­ture as many peo­ple as pos­si­ble in the frame.

Top equipment for a wedding — Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM

A tele­pho­to lens is need­ed if you need to shoot a wed­ding. Sony FE 135 mm F1.8 GM is a tru­ly top-of-the-line equip­ment, the qual­i­ty of which will be appre­ci­at­ed by both begin­ners and pro­fes­sion­als.

The Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM is a top-of-the-line pho­tog­ra­phy lens. Pho­to: amateurphotographer.co.uk

Advan­tages:

• Guar­an­teed clear images thanks to ED and ED glass. With their help, aber­ra­tion is reduced, and even at the bor­ders the frame remains clear;
• smooth and beau­ti­ful bokeh effect thanks to 11-blade diaphragm design;
• fast focus­ing even on fast-mov­ing objects;
• The main lens mate­r­i­al is mag­ne­sium alloy. It is light­weight, durable and wear resis­tant. It is not afraid of scratch­es, light blows, but it is bet­ter not to drop it on the floor;
• the case is pro­tect­ed from mois­ture and dust;
• The flu­o­rine coat­ing on the front lens pre­vents dust, water and grease from set­tling.

Budget lens for wedding — Fujifilm XC 50–230 mm

Styl­ish, high-qual­i­ty and inex­pen­sive lens, which should def­i­nite­ly be in the arse­nal of a wed­ding pho­tog­ra­ph­er. Its advan­tages:

• high-tech opti­cal image sta­bi­liza­tion sys­tem — as a result, images are obtained with­out defects that can be caused by vibra­tions;
• opti­cal sta­bi­liza­tion sys­tem is sup­port­ed, which reduces blur­ring of the pho­to, which is espe­cial­ly impor­tant when work­ing in low light;
• fast aut­o­fo­cus allows you to cap­ture even mov­ing objects.

Bud­get tele­pho­to lens for shoot­ing wed­dings. Pho­to: fotosklad.ru

Budget set of lenses for different mounts

1. Stan­dard: Nikon 18–55mm f/3.5–5.6G AF‑P VR DX Nikkor, Sirui 50mm f1.8 Anamor­phic Fuji X mount

2. Wide angle: Samyang 14 mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC, Sig­ma 12–24 mm F4 DG HSM Art Nikon F

3. Tele­pho­to lens — Fuji­film XC 50–230 mm

Top set of wedding lenses for different mounts

1. Stan­dard: Sony FE 24–70 mm f/2.8 GM, Canon EF 24–70 mm f/2.8L II USM

2. Wide: Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L III, Canon RF 15–35mm F2.8L IS USM

3. Tele­pho­to lens — Sony FE 135 mm F1.8 GM