Which lens for a wedding?

Firstly apologies, because I admit I haven't got time to search the forums for a topic I'm sure has been asked a million times. I'm at work and quickly throwing this thread up on my break.

Anyways, I was just asked by a friend on very short notice if I could run out of town on Sunday to shoot his wedding...it's a very low-key thing, just a small 15 minute ceremony to legalize it all and he was wondering if I was interested in shooting a few pictures.

I'm not into portraits, or people, and I don't have any gear like this. I'm going to run to a rental place tomorrow and pick some stuff up, and I'm just looking for suggestions.

The ceremony will be outdoors and I shoot with a Rebel XT. So, lenses? Flash? Filters? Any suggestions?

Thanks you guys,

17-55mm f/2.8 IS and 70-200mm f/2.8 IS are the two I use most.

I agree with the 17-55 mm f/2.8 IS.

I did my first wedding a month ago and that lens never came off my camera. It was great for low light situations as well because of the IS. And the zoom range is ideal for getting a large party in a shot but you can still zoom and set the aperture to 2.8 and get some nice bokeh as well.

What lenses do you have?

17-55 and 85/1.8 would be good. If you have to stand a ways off, you might need a longer lens... but often would be better working in closer if possible and shouldn't be a problem at a small, informal wedding outdoors.

Outdoors you might get by without flash... move people into a shady setting though. Try not to shoot any of the more formal shots in high sun.

Fill flash can be useful, though. Especially if you are forced to shoot in high sun or mottled sunlight. So if you have an accessory flash, take it. (I don't recommend using a built-in flash) So long as you use Av or Tv or P, you'll automatically get fill flash, and depending upon the flash it might be that you can dial the fill up or down to be stronger or more subtle.

Best effects with flash are if you get it off-camera, away from the lens axis, on a shoe cord and a flash bracket. That reduces risk of redeye and ugly shadows.

I was recently at a similar type wedding in California for a friend of mine. They asked a friend (a professional photographer) to take pictures, nothing formal, but just to record the wedding. The photographer was using a 5D with the 24-70L lens. I have my camera with me and she immediately asked me to help. I was using my 40 with my 70-300 non-L (I didn't have the 24-105L yet) and was able to get some nice close-ups without being in the way. I used my 50 f/1.4 for a few shots too.

If I ever get into that situation again, I will be using my 24-105L, inside shots with my 580 EXII.

Jim

For an outside wedding I generally use my 24-105 most on a 5DII. Maybe the 70-200 a bit if I want some narrow angle stuff.

Something equivalent for crop would work. It's more about getting to the right place to get the shots.

dmward wrote in post #12872036
For an outside wedding I generally use my 24-105 most on a 5DII. Maybe the 70-200 a bit if I want some narrow angle stuff.

Something equivalent for crop would work. It's more about getting to the right place to get the shots.

That lens would be great for outdoors on the FF. For a crop body, I find 24mm isn't wide enough. This is assuming outdoors while there is still plenty of light.

Numenorean wrote in post #12872050
That lens would be great for outdoors on the FF. For a crop body, I find 24mm isn't wide enough. This is assuming outdoors while there is still plenty of light.

That's why I said equivalent. Which would be about 17-whatever. I know some wedding photographers that use a 17-200 for everything. Personally I like F2.8 so I can just use flash for highlighting rather than blasting.