Lenses

[TheATeam]

HELP...
I am very new to photography and need some advice with choosing a good lens...I'm getting confused at the minute. I have 2 lenses...my AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm VR and an AF-S Nikkor 55-200mm. I am photographing my friends wedding (she is mad for asking) and would like a wider lens than what I have. Can anyone offer any suggestions of the next lens I need to get? There are so many!! I photograph other shots too...not just weddings so I do portraits, candid and macro...it is my hobby but I now want to develop it further. Can anyone help?
x

[RichardTaylor]

I am a Canon shooter, however the same general principals apply.
What is your priority?
What is your budget?
(1) Wider
or
(2) Wedding (F2.8 zoom?)
or
(3) Portraits and candids (may be the same lens as #2)
or
(4) Macro? (may double up as a portrait lens)

[OsmosisStudios]

Seriously, tell your friend that you're not ready to shoot weddings. Trust me: you're not.

Are you sure you want something WIDER? Most weddings are shot with telephoto lenses because of distance requirements.

If youre insistent, however, we'll also need to know what body youre using.

[oldwolf]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Seriously, tell your friend that you're not ready to shoot weddings. Trust me: you're not.

+1

but with that being said, don't be afraid of the wide angle lens. Travis Broxton uses a wide angle lens for weddings a lot and does amazing work! you just need to know where the lens distortion occurs and keep your subjects away from it so they don't have a huge nose or ear or something like that.

http://www.broxtonart.com/#

Yeah, this is a tough question to answer without lots of details.

The lenses I use for weddings are based on the location. Ideally, I'd use my 50mm f1.4 for the entire thing. But space and distance limitations force me to go wider or longer.

Might also think about an external flash. For me, that's more important than any lens.

[kirbinster]

I would think you would want long and fast, not wide. That said I would rent either a 70-200 f/2.8, or if you are going to be able to be more in the face then a 24-70 f/2.8. You really want a fast lens which you don't have.

[Algernonep]

I think the 24-70mm f2.8 is a fast all purpose lens... 24mm is pretty wide but not too wide and 70mm is a decent zoom. You may have to move around a little though...