Engagement Session with just a 50mm Lens
Nikki and John recently hired me to shoot their wedding and engagement photos, so we went out to Capitol Park in downtown Sacramento for a session. The goal of the session was to get great photos to use for invitation cards. I decided to use one of my best lenses to shoot the photo session with - the Canon 50mm 1.2 RF lens. If you know about cameras, you know that this lens is a BEAST. It’s a challenging lens to use and one that I think performed remarkably well for us!
The challenge with using just one focal length for an entire shoot is that it stretches you creatively. To get wider shots like the one above, I had to go pretty far back in order to get the point of view I was going for. A 50mm lens is great for normal mid-range shots with the subjects filling the frame. The photo above is a wider shot, but I was still able to achieve it with the 50mm focal length.
Using the Canon 50mm meant that I had to use a Canon body, and that was the EOS-R. The EOS-R takes gorgeous photos, but it does not perform even close to the level that my Sony cameras perform at. The EOS-R is much slower and a bit testier than the Sonys. Still, I was able to capture nice candid moments between the couple. The action moments can be tricky to capture, but the Sony cameras make it a cinch. Shooting with the Canon EOS-R was a challenge in and of itself!
It really shouldn’t matter what kind of gear you have on you. The bottom line is that you have to deliver photos that your client will love. So that means the photos still need to be framed and composed correctly. I was very happy with how the shoot came out and Nikki let me know that she loved the photos as well. I’m glad going with the 50mm by itself was a success!
The new Canon EOS R5 is coming soon and that camera looks to be a professional grade MONSTER. I have it on pre-order and I’m very interested to see how the shooting experience changes with a camera that is built for professional use. The EOS-R can do the job, but the 50mm RF 1.2 needs a camera that can sweep it off its feet.
I’m really looking forward to Nikki and John’s wedding early next year. If you’re looking for wedding or engagement photography, please let me know, I’d love to help you get the most unique and beautiful photos possible!