We’re in the middle of a series on the lenses we love. We’re explaining all of the lenses we own, why we decided to purchase them, and how we use them on wedding days (and on portrait sessions). You can catch up on this series here:
Today, we’ll be talking about the second lens we purchased, the Canon 100mm 2.8L Macro, and the three reasons why this lens was (and still is) a must-have for us.
1. Stories are about the details.
Every good novel has an intriguing plot, but readers really fall in love with stories for the little things that make them unique. The wedding day is no exception. From the biggest moments to the smallest details, our job is to tell the entire story. The bride might have her grandmother’s handkerchief wrapped around her bouquet, wearing her mother’s earrings and holding a handwritten note from her groom. It’s all part of the story. Photographing precious family heirlooms alongside those flowers the bride carefully selected and the invitations she spent months picking out can make all the difference. The 100mm Macro is designed to focus on the tiniest details and define them better than our own eyes ever could. That’s why we use this lens to photograph all of the wedding day details. Its focus is so precise and sharp that it can lock onto one prong of a wedding ring and bring a single diamond into perfect focus. We always shoot small details with manual focus to maximize this lens’s power. We never focus manually during any other part of the wedding day, because we only have split seconds to capture the moments in between the moments, because we’re more than just wedding photographers…
2. We’re versatile. We’re specialists in disguise.
As wedding photographers, we wear a lot of different technical hats on the wedding day. We’re not just one type of photographer. We’re specialists in disguise. We’re photojournalists. We’re still-life specialists. We’re portrait experts. We’re event photographers. We have to be prepared for whatever comes at us. All of these situations require different lenses at different times to achieve the best possible outcome. And as loyal Dave Ramsey fans, finding a versatile second lens was imperative for us because we vowed to save and pay cash for all of our equipment. The 100mm was a simple choice. In addition to shooting great details, this lens is a killer portrait lens. Because of its long focal length (100mm) and wide aperture (2.8) it compresses its subjects and makes everything look just a little bit more dreamy. For individual portraits of the bride and groom, and even portraits of the two of them together, this lens performs, performs, and performs. And if shooting crisp details and dreamy portraits wasn’t enough, this lens also allows us to…
3. Photograph the ceremony without distracting from it.
Ceremonies present physical boundaries and obstacles that other parts of the wedding day don’t. From altars, pews, and chairs, to hundreds of guests, it can be very difficult to get close to the bride and groom without being distracting or drawing too much attention to ourselves. During portraits, we’re in complete control of the light, location, distance to client, and posing. During ceremonies, all of those things are out of our control, and we need to adapt. When we first started shooting weddings, the natural tightness of this lens allowed us to get close to the action without being in the action. We were able to be more discreet. More incognito. And that’s a good thing, because for as much as the bride and groom might love us as their photographers, they don’t want us breathing on them during the ring exchange or coaching them through their first kiss. It’s time to get out of the way and let the lens do the work.
When we think about this lens’s incredible attention to detail, excellent portrait capability, and overall versatility, there’s not another lens we would recommend for your second lens purchase. This is the one. So get out there, have a great week, and let’s make each other better.
