What lenses do you use?
I get asked this question often so I thought I’d write a little blog post about what I use and why I like each particular lens. To be clear, you don’t NEED any particular one of these lenses or all of these same lenses to get good photos. Lenses are a big personal preference and what works for me, might not work for you… and vice versa. I made the mistake when I first got started in photography of buying lenses just because photographers whose work I admired used them. That’s an expensive mistake to make.
What lens should I buy?
I’m a big proponent of “try before you buy”. There are websites like BorrowLenses, where you can rent lenses to try them out before you press the “buy” button. Take the time to learn your shooting style before investing big money in glass.
Let’s get this party started…
- Canon 5d mkIII – I’ve been using this camera body for about two years now and I love it. I think the focusing is more reliable than the Canon 5d mkII and it handles higher ISO better. That’s not to say that the 5d mkII is a bad camera. I still have mine and use it as a 2nd body when I shoot weddings.
- Canon 16-35mm 2.8L – My FAVORITE lens for shooting pets. It allows for full-body shots in small spaces and can be used to get fun fisheye type photos. I love me some distortion, for dog photos at least. I think this lens has been an essential part of defining my style. It’s also a good story-telling lens… you can capture an entire scene in one frame. I rarely use this for shooting people, as it’s just too wide for me… I’ll use it occasionally for a really wide shot and I do use it during weddings for shots of buildings and the full reception room.
- Canon 35mm 1.4L – Probably my most used lens. I like to be close to my subjects to talk and interact with them. This lens allows me to do so with the crazy amount of distortion that you get from the 16-35mm. I got this lens largely for a personal reason as well. I found my 50mm to be too tight in many indoor situations so the 35mm gives me a little more space.
- Canon 50mm 1.2L – It produces sharp images and yummy bokeh. Perfect for portraits of both humans and dogs. The focus is touchy on this, so I wouldn’t recommend it for beginners. I always recommend the 50mm 1.8 as a great starter lens.
- Canon 85mm 1.2L – Beautiful, BEAUTIFUL portrait lens. To be honest, I don’t use this as often as I should. I think the 85mm just isn’t a favorite focal length for me. It’s also a little slow to lock in focus, so I very, very rarely try to use this with dogs.
- Canon 100 2.8 macro… This lens is great for detailed, close-up photos. I play with it on flower shots and it’s awesome for ring shots. It’s great for newborn details… close up shots of those tiny little ears, fingers, toes, noses and lips. I also use it sometimes at dog sessions for detail shots like noses, paws, ears, and tails.
- Canon 135 2.0L – I love this lens. A lot. The compression that you can get from it is amazing and it’s a lot lighter to carry around than the 70-200mm. I have just started using this recently and it’s become a staple in my camera bag.
- Canon 70-200L 2.8 IS… This lens produces amazingly buttery images. I don’t use it near as much as I should, partly because of it’s size. It’s a beast. And I’m a wimp. Since it is a telephoto, you have to be quite far from the subject… and during my sessions I like to be up close… talking, laughing, and undoubtedly making goofy faces behind the lens.
I plan on answering questions regularly for this FAQ series on the blog, so if you have a question feel free to leave it in a comment below or email me at: april@aprilziegler.com
