Photography

Recommended Equipment for Shooting Weddings and Portraits

Chris Gampat
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02/26/2010
2 Mins read

Last Updated on 02/26/2010 by

With WPPI coming up soon in Las Vegas, we’re getting ready for some exciting times before it gets warmer and everyone wants their wedding photos done. Even if you’re a portrait/headshot photographer it’s going to be an exciting time as the slow season finally starts drifting away. If you’re interested in upgrading your gear or want to get into the industry, here are some items to take a look at.

Cameras

If you’re a Nikon shooter, then the D3s, D3x and D700 are the best choices for you. If you come from the Canon side of things, go for the 1Ds Mark III, 1D Mk IV or my favorite the Canon 5D Mk II. All of these cameras are full frame (with the exception of the 1D, which has a large APS-H sensor) and will really help you make the most of your lenses and whatever available light there is. The autofocus on them works well for these types of events as well. The last thing you want is to not be able to trust your camera’s capabilities at a wedding. You’ll need too shoot in low-light as well as brightly lit scenarios.

The versatility provided by these cameras will make them your constant companions. Besides weddings though, they’re all very good for portraits as well. For these, you’ll probably want to lean more towards the cameras with the higher megapixel count and resolution.

Lenses

The Nikon 24-70mm F2.8 and Nikon 70-200mm F2.8 ED VR II are going to be essential for you. I also know that the wide zoom 12-24mm F4 is also used quite a bit. If you’re a Canon shooter, the Wedding Documentary blog has your essential list. I use the 24-105mm F4L IS, 50mm F1.8, 85mm F1.8, and the 80-200mm F2.8 L.

If you’re also the videographer, you may want to check out my list on recommended lenses.

Flashes

Nikonians use the SB-900 typically. I use the Canon Speedlite 430 EX II, but most people use the 580 EX II. I also use the Gary Fong Lightsphere.

If you shoot weddings, what do you use?

best camera equipment gear lenses Photography portaits shooting weddings WPPI
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.