Wedding on a boat - lens?

I have a wedding on a boat for the first time and debating on which lens to take (may need to rent as well).

The sailboat is around 140' and the it's setting sail around sunset (perfect!). Would a wide angle (I have 17-35) and 70-200 f2.8II a good combo? Or should I get something in between around 24-70 and a longer prime? I thought of 24-105 f/4L as well.

You can never have too many lenses but can always have too few.

Setting sail around sunset means dark by the time anything happens. Take 17-35, 24-70 and 70-200 as you never know what could happen. Take plenty of flashes, and ways to secure them to random objects, light stands probably won't cut it. You may end up with just on camera flash though, with high ISO.

tim wrote in post #17017022
You may end up with just on camera flash though, with high ISO.

^^^
I guess this is what going to happen...keep the fast lenses like 28-70 / 70-200 and you should be good to go...

I ended up renting the Tamron 24-70 VC and will take the 17-35 as well as the 70-200 with me. Thank you folks

I have done 2 weddings on boats. 16-35 and 24-70 are your friend. So Is my Bracket that Tim always teases me bout. Its almost impossible to shoot into the sun with a speed light, just not enough power and its always to crowded to bring in a strobe and a stand. AV Mode is your friend.

So if you can bring an assistant or a VAL your better off. Its almost a perfect scenario for shooting in AV Mode at -1/3 below ambient and HSS with 2 speedlights triggered to fire at the same time.

You will be chasing ISO for sunset.

They are a ton of fun. You will enjoy it

umphotography wrote in post #17022141
I have done 2 weddings on boats. 16-35 and 24-70 are your friend. So Is my Bracket that Tim always teases me bout. Its almost impossible to shoot into the sun with a speed light, just not enough power and its always to crowded to bring in a strobe and a stand. AV Mode is your friend.

So if you can bring an assistant or a VAL your better off. Its almost a perfect scenario for shooting in AV Mode at -1/3 below ambient and HSS with 2 speedlights triggered to fire at the same time.

You will be chasing ISO for sunset.

They are a ton of fun. You will enjoy it

Thank you Mike Sounds like 70-200 may not be all that useful? I have the f/4L but luckily they're having the ceremony right outside the boat an hour before sunset so I'll bring it with me either way of course.

I thought ahead and rented a 15mm fisheye for fun (have 17-35 as well).

tim wrote in post #17017022
Setting sail around sunset means dark by the time anything happens. Take 17-35, 24-70 and 70-200 as you never know what could happen. Take plenty of flashes, and ways to secure them to random objects, light stands probably won't cut it. You may end up with just on camera flash though, with high ISO.

Totally agree - there are really the three you need for most everything.

The boat seemed small after 40+ people were on it plus a dozen or so crew so 70-200 especially after dark was pretty much useless; or should I say I didn't really have a room to use it like I wanted to.

In either case, 17mm to 70mm focal length seem just right. I did rent a 15mm fisheye which came in handy for capturing part of the boat along with the crowed.

I did use a bounce flash with Lumiquest and came out pretty good!

Post a few results!

I shot a birthday party on a boat before and that was a ton of fun! Here is my blog entry from that party with a few photos.
http://www.suechoiphot​ography.com …salito-event-photographer
I used 5dii + 17-40 and then 50L on my crop for 90+% of the shots. Few fisheye shots were cool. I didn't use my rented 70-200 at all mostly because I didn't need the reach (believe it was a 80' schooner but felt quite small once on it). I found I couldn't really shoot across the boat because of all the poles and sails in the way anyway. Plus I really wanted to minimize lens changes with the boat rocking a good amount. I would recommend 17-35 on your 6D, bring 70-200 in case, and rent mid prime (35mm 50mm or even 85mm) for your 7D. I would suggest flashes on camera for fill. I found a lot of poles, ropes, sails and such move around during the sail, so even if you found a good place to somehow securely mount a flash, it might get blocked or even knocked over. Definitely ask the crew about where you can stand, where you can try to mount things, etc. I had Think Tank Speed Freak on me, double strap with two cameras. No tripods or light stands for sure. Keep things simple & enjoy the ride. Good luck!
-Sue