Comments on: The One Lens Wedding Results!

By: Sarah Rose

Sarah Rose — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 05:54:11 +0000

Hi Travis,

Thank you for being awesome! I have shot weddings for over 3 years now & use this concept of the one lens. It does allow you to be a true artist & make sure that every client has unique images. I do the photography on the side so the husband hates when I get a new lens. But this one is a must! I hate going to a wedding & seeing it look like a photoshoot! Glad to know someone out there believes that less can mean more!

By: Matt Osborne

Matt Osborne — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 22:53:12 +0000

Travis, a rgeat piece and a very enjoyable read. I’m just getting into weddings and did my first shoot for a friend last weekend. Being a typical newbie I took far to much gear but funnily enough due to the low light and not wanting to dazzle everyone with flash i opted for my Samynag 35/1.4 MF on the D700 and 14/2.8 Samyang MF on the D90. The 35mm is indeed a great length though i did swap to my Samyang 85/1.4 MF for speeches. i did find it tough with MF to get lots of crisp shots at high ISO but my main school boy error was being too used to stills so using 1/30 s/s only to forget the people are all moving. I really want another wedding asap to give in another go. I still got some nice shots and only covered the 2nd half of the day so the couple will not be without photos.

Thanks again for sharing
Matt

By: eally

eally — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 13:21:46 +0000

Hi there Travis..i really enjoyed and love your photography..this one is really good and the explanation is detail..for me in wedding events i would used two lens..and man it is heavy…i just used the standard lens and planning to get a faster lens by next year..for me, distortion doesnt really matter, how distort it is it art..photogrphy is all about art..and your photography is great..:)..im not a professional like you, but i usually do wedding photos for my closes frens as they request ..still got many to learn,but im loving my part time job..:)

By: ebphoto

ebphoto — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:20:56 +0000

So, what will be your next challenge?

By: ebphoto

ebphoto — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:20:26 +0000

great to see the results of this challenge. Currently, I would not dare to do it, so you have my utmost respect for this. Great lighting too, as you said, I did not notice distortion with the closer portraits. Love the vignette. I’m sure your clients will be delighted!

By: Carmen I

Carmen I — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:57:19 +0000

I am just getting into portraits and need to start with some off-camera lighting. What type of equipment would you suggest for someone with a Canon Rebel T2i?

By the way–I loved this post. Shows that the artist trumps the big equipment!

By: John S

John S — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:07:07 +0000

Excellent shots! I sent you a reply in Twitter, however I think I answered my own question. Working with one lens, especially a Prime, will definitely make you move around more. However, for the first few weddings would you suggest using at least one zoom? For instance, your shot of the first kiss, I would die if that was the only one I got. I would definitely want something close up for that shot, and that either takes planning or a good telephoto, or both.

@Motti, the Nikon 35mm f/1.4 is a manual lens, true, why not use the 50mm f/1.4 instead which is a manual/auto lens and which one a medium frame camera gives you the 35mm equivalent?

By: Fenriq

Fenriq — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:15:03 +0000

I really like many of these photos you’ve taken, very creative and beautifully done. As a recent Twitter link noted, it isn’t the equipment so much as it is the operator (I saw a great photo shoot done with an iPhone, yeah!). I will probably try to incorporate some of these shots into the next wedding I shoot (though I do carry more than one lens).

Very inspiring post and photos (and it doesn’t hurt that the bride is rather attractive, does it?).

By: Philip W.

Philip W. — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:24:28 +0000

The images look great but why did you add a vignette to nearly every picture?
I personally think that the vignette is too much on many pictures and it looks like your lens or camera somehow isn’t working right.

By: Luciano Meirelles

Luciano Meirelles — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 06:08:22 +0000

Wow!
I’m so impressed, you did an amazing jog in a single wedding with one and only lens.

I also love fast lens like that, you just can’t go wrong.

Awesome jog, keep up.

By: Travis Hill

Travis Hill — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 23:38:53 +0000

Hi Mireille, I actually did most of the vignetting in lightroom. I do most of my editing in LR and rarely use photoshop anymore. Although I do use ps when a print order is placed, and for the album.

By: Travis Hill

Travis Hill — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 23:36:24 +0000

Hey Phat, thanks for the comment. I think it’s absolutely crucial to have plenty of back-ups. I had several at my disposal just in case something went wrong. Remember two is one and one is none!

Travis

By: Phat Photographer

Phat Photographer — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 23:09:43 +0000

I disagree with just using one lens for a (paid) wedding, but agree with the principle, the lens choice and love the photos you posted. Doubly “gutsy” if you didn’t have a backup body or at least had some duct tape if it malfunctioned

By: Mireille

Mireille — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 11:10:07 +0000

Great post. Lovely results. Were the vignetting done in post or out of the camera?
I shot my first digital wedding with one lens the canon 50mm 1.4 and it turned out great. I did not use any flash or other means main reason because I do not own a lot of lenses and as you said in the post it is about walking around a lot looking for situations that with a zoom you might have missed. I loved shooting with one lens no stress when to switch and with 1.4 you have enough light (sometimes even to much) to get great shows.

By: Weekly Photography Links: 06/26/2010

Weekly Photography Links: 06/26/2010 — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 10:28:19 +0000

[...] a really great article about a photographer who, out of curiosity it seems, shot an entire wedding with one prime lens! Color me [...]

By: Liz

Liz — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 01:49:03 +0000

Amazing work. So inspirational!

By: Mrs. cooper

Mrs. cooper — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 10:00:33 +0000

Great!! JoB!

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:13:50 +0000

Awesome job! And I’m so proud to say that I own this lens, I really love it!

By: Obi

Obi — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:23:12 +0000

Think you did pretty well with the one lens. Been planning to do this for while now, but havent found an appropriate wedding victim for it

By: Motti

Motti — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:26:47 +0000

Wow!
One lens.
One light lens.
No flash, no foamy thingy on it, no radio transmitter to trigger other flashes, no bracket.

Yup, that is the way to do it. And this way you can actually move around since you don’t have 15lbs hanging on your neck

The only thing is that Nikon’s 1.4 is manual focus and for a fast pace wedding that would be tough.

Great photos!

Motti