My Favourite Lens for Wedding Photography in Singapore

I have been a wedding photographer since 2015 so that's nearly a decade of wedding photography experience and during this time I've tested quite a large number of lenses and used them. There's always one lens that I reach out for the most in my camera bag and I'm going to share you guys which lens that is so in order to find out which lenses I've been using the most as a wedding photographer.

I'm going to use this very interesting website called Lightroom Dashboard how it works is that you upload your Lightroom catalog onto the website and it will run an analysis and let you know which cameras you've been using which lenses and how often, so for the purpose of this video I will only be looking at my past three years of work as a wedding photographer and my most commonly used lens is this lens:

The 50 mm prime lens

There are many reasons why I love this focal range and this lens in particular but let's do a breakdown on why this should be the part of your wedding photography toolkit. Bear in mind that in this video we are mostly referring to the 50 mm f1.2 Z lens I'm actually also referring to its predecessor the Sigma 50 MMF 1.4 lens as I was using that lens before the new 50mm prime lens took over its space in my camera bag.

One of the main reasons I use this lens so often to capture weddings is because of its versatility. The 50 mm prime lens delivers sharp vibrant images with beautiful background blur thanks to its wide aperture this is especially important for isolating subjects and creating that dreamy romantic feel in wedding photos which is crucial for capturing the essence of a Singaporean wedding. For the rest of this blog, I'm going to break down how I use the 50mm prime throughout a typical Singaporean wedding.

Makeup Session with 50mm prime lens

Singaporean weddings typically start with the makeup session. A quiet yet significant part of the wedding day, the 50mm prime excels in capturing the delicate details of this moment. The intricate makeup, the bride's calm anticipation and the subtle emotions are captured with ease. The wide aperture allows for beautiful portraits with a soft background blur highlighting the bride's features and the artistry of the makeup.

Wedding Jewellery with 50mm prime lens

If you don't have space in your camera back for an extra macro lens I find that the 50 mm prime lens is also a very good lens to use to capture details like the wedding day jewelry.

Gate Crash with 50mm prime lens

After the makeup session comes the gate crash. It’s a lively and energetic event where the groom and his groomsmen must pass a series of challenges set by the bridesmaids. This part is fast paced and full of action, so the 50mm's fast and accurate autofocus is crucial here allowing me to capture spontaneous moments and reactions with precision.

Receiving the Bride with 50mm prime lens

After the gate crash the groom receives his bride and this is a moment where you don't want to be too close to the bride and groom yet given the space of Singaporean households which is usually pretty small, so you want something where you don't have to be too close but still a good distance away. This is so that the bride and groom can have this very private moment where the groom is receiving his bride.

Bridal Party Shoot with 50mm prime lens

So what comes next usually is the bridal party shoot which is a mixture of posed or candid photos where the couple takes with their groomsmen or their bridesmaids. The versatility of the 50mm prime lens lets me switch between the wide group shots and the intimate couple portraits without changing lenses ensuring that I capture the joy and laughter of the bridal party.

Solemnisation Ceremony with 50mm prime lens

During the solemnisation ceremony, the 50mm is perfect for capturing the solemn and beautiful Moments within the church. The ability to handle low light is essential here as some of these venues can be dimly lit. The lens's wide aperture ensures that even in these conditions I get sharp well exposed images. The other benefit I find of shooting with the new Nikon Z lenses is that they are absolutely silent so there's no sound and no noise to disrupt the ceremony proceedings.

Tea Ceremony Photography with 50mm prime lens

Before the start of the Wedding Banquet we usually have the Tea Ceremony. The tea ceremony is a deeply emotional and traditional part of Singaporean Chinese weddings because it's a time for the couple to show respect to the elders. The 50 mm captures the intricate details of this ritual from the delicate tea sets to the expressions of the family members. The close focusing capability and beautiful bokeh add to the intimacy of these shots. Personally in my experience I find that 50 mm is the best focal length to capture the tea ceremony, although you may opt for the 35 mm if you wish but these are the two focal lengths that I find work the best for tea ceremonies.

Wedding Banquet with the 50mm prime lens

The final part of the Singaporean wedding experience is usually the Banquet Reception dinner or lunch and to be completely honest I find that this is the part where the 50 mm is not that useful. I prefer to shoot with my 85mm lens at this point of time but having a prime lens is still very good in low light situations which we know most hotel ballrooms are. You might still be able to bring some use out of it but for the most part 50mm has served a lot of its purpose throughout the entire day.

Conclusion

So the 50 mm prime lens is fantastic and it's really good for weddings. If you do not have a 50mm prime and you’re a wedding photographer you should run out and get it now.

With that being said should you get the 1.8 version or the 50mm 1.2 Z? This lens cost over 3,000 Singaporean dollars which is very expensive. The 1.8 version is smaller, lighter and it's a lot cheaper. Iif you ask me to be completely honest I think if after you've taken the photo most people can't even tell the difference if it was shot with the one 1.2 or the 1.8 version so there's absolutely no need for you to get a 1.2 version but if you have the extra cash you just want to squeeze out that little bit of extra quality you can go for it.

I shoot with two cameras most of the time so I like to pair the 50 mm prime with a zoom lens like the Nikkor Z 24-120mm F4 so I can zoom in or zoom out as required and let's not also forget that with the Nikon Z cameras you can assign one of the customizable buttons to crop in to DX mode to get a tighter crop.

Or if you’re feeling snazzy you can go for the Nikkor Z 135mm Plena, because why not?

So there you have it, this is my most used lens for photographing weddings in Singapore. It’s versatility, image quality and reliability make it an indispensable part of my gear.

Disclaimer: This covers the typical wedding day in Singapore, but there’s lots more that I can’t include or the video and blog will be too long. Hope it’s helpful anyway!

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My Most Used Lens as a Singapore Wedding Photographer