I couple friends of mine will be getting married soon and today they asked me to shoot some photo's of them before they get married. It will be in an outdoor setting and I am wondering what's a good lens to use. I was thinking of buying the Canon 24-70 and I have a 70-200 2.8 IS. But I also have a 24-105 in mind along with a 17-55 because I do shoot with the 50D. Any ideas? I never do this kind of shooting prefer not to becasue my lack of talent for thi type. I have pre waned them \\

Also any tips on how to shoot for the best results?

Thank you
Mike

The 17-55 f2.8 will serve you well as a people lens and give you true wide angle coverage. I shoot people/couples and I think the 70-200 would be a bit long on a 1.6 crop body for the posed setups you would be doing.

your 24-105 and 17-55 2.8 IS will be fine outdoors. i would just surf the web looking at wedding photos/wedding photogs sites to get some ideas. you can probably come up w/ some stuff on your own from this.

big country wrote:
your 24-105 and 17-55 2.8 IS will be fine outdoors. i would just surf the web looking at wedding photos/wedding photogs sites to get some ideas. you can probably come up w/ some stuff on your own from this.

Yes I just found the wed forum, I don't have the any of these lenses except the 70-200 2.8 IS I am trying to find out what would be the best to suite my needs.

jimlp wrote:
The 17-55 f2.8 will serve you well as a people lens and give you true wide angle coverage. I shoot people/couples and I think the 70-200 would be a bit long on a 1.6 crop body for the posed setups you would be doing.

I agree this is the reason I need a shorter lens

The 17-55 f2.8 IS would be just right on the 50D.

jrscls wrote:
The 17-55 f2.8 IS would be just right on the 50D.

But the 24-70 is so nice with it's bok and colors and contrast

If you want bokeh and colours and contrast get a 24L I/II or 35L.

24mm or 35mm and 70-200/2.8L IS is all you need. Bring full frame and 50D. Attach 24L on full frame for 24mm, 70-200 on 50D for 110-300mm zoom, and switch if you need to. (24 becomes 35 so you have basically 24mm - 300mm with two lenses and two cameras) Did they hire a pro?

ILOVECANONL wrote:
If you want bokeh and colours and contrast get a 24L I/II or 35L.

24mm or 35mm and 70-200/2.8L IS is all you need. Bring full frame and 50D. Attach 24L on full frame for 24mm, 70-200 on 50D for 110-300mm zoom, and switch if you need to. (24 becomes 35 so you have basically 24mm - 300mm with two lenses and two cameras) Did they hire a pro?

No they are lucky to afford a wedding and I would love to have the set up you mentioned but I have trouble enough buying the stuff I already have. But for the price of a 24-70 a 35 would be nice

For outdoors on a crop, the 70-200 would be just fine. You'll have to move back a bit, but 70mm will be sufficient for full body shots - and there won't be any distortion. Not to be a contrarian, but do you really want to buy a $1200 lens for this one shoot?

The 24-70 is a great wedding lens on FF, but the 17-55 is the better lens, IMO, for a crop camera.

Seems like you have two threads asking basically the same question

I prefer the 24-70 on a FF or even a 1.3 crop, but on a 50D the 17-55 might be a better bet. I would also give some thought to what you are likely to shoot after the big day, it's kind of expensive to spend $1200 on a lens for a single shoot & a hassle to buy & sell so quickly. So factor in your regular shooting style while making this choice.

Mike, when is your shoot?

I live in Everett, and if the date doesn't conflict I'd be willing to loan you my 17-55. You would then have some experience with it before needing to make a buying decision.

We could meet at the casino or at the McDonald's near the outlet mall.

I shot my sister-in-law's wedding last summer with just a 35mm f/2 and a 70-200 f/4L IS and I used a 20D. Not a perfect combination, but I was able to get everything I wanted from just these two lenses. I also used a flash on a flash bracket for a number of the indoor shots. Outdoors the 70-200 worked very well, but at times I needed to be closer and used the 35. Here are a few shots with the EXIF data that may give you a sense of what can be done.

MIke, since you will be outside, take advantage of the putting distance between you and your subjects. This will not only give you some nice compression and bokeh, but it will also allow for some nice natural moments to happen with the couple. Have them sit together on a bench, hold hands looking at each other, taking a slow walk holding hands, etc and just be ready to capture the joy in their faces. This will also allow you to really use the focal lengths you are already comfortable with (tele-end). Best to keep them in the shade when possible.

If you feel you need a wider lens, consider borrowing/renting a 24-70L or 17-55IS. I typically try to stay with a prime for portraits, including couples, and will use a 85/1.2 for singles and 50/1.4 for couples (70-200L when they are in a environment/location shoot).

FWIW, the zooms (ie 24-70L) get most of the work during the actual ceremony when I shoot.

Good luck and have fun!

John

Since it's outdoors, why not just get a 28-300 L IS and be done with it? I do a few weddings a year and for outdoors, if I don't need to limit DOF, I'll go with the 28-300 L on one camera body and save my back.

How are you set for strobes? Keeping your subjects in the shade is a fine suggestion, but you're also going to have to contend with strong backlighting and uneven shadows. A good fast lens at its widest aperture can't make up for that. A couple of well place remotely triggered strobes can.

That said, I think you're right about going wider. From your list, I'd go with the 17-55 IS, because it is a fine lens with highly desirable range for this purpose. If you're stuck on the red ring, though, consider the 17-35L, 17-40L, or 16-35L, all of which are strong performers, particularly on crop cameras. Not that the 24-70 isn't, but for environmental portraits on a crop camera, it can be a little limiting.

you really don't need to buy anything ...............but
if you don't have a 50 or 35 pick one up
i would probably go 35mm on the crop
get the f/2 and you can always sell it for little loss if you don't like it or if you want to upgrade
+1 for good strobe/lighting, more important then the lens