picturemom

Have a canon 6dmkii. I am taking wedding pictures on a boat during sunset cruise. Would the nifty fifty lens 50mm 1.8STM be good? Or a 24-70 f/4 with a flash? A flash for the nifty fifty.Thank you for advice These are the only 2 lenses I own

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Do you have a signed contract?
Is there a shoot list contained within?
Have you been able to canvass the craft you'll be on the cruise in?
Have the couple hire the entire craft for this event?

Your Canon 6D Mark II is an excellent full frame camera capable of 6.5 fps...
However with a flash you'll be seriously limited by recycle times... which btw can be a major issue.
Please consider hiring a photo assistant for this gig...
And assistant can hold your speedlight on a boom allowing far better illumination pattern(s).
There are way too many variables for a newly emerging wedding photographer to deal with by one's self...

Food for thought... a fast mid range zoom i.e. 24-70mm f/2.8 is a much cherished tool for wedding shooters...
They can be rented... An extra full stop of light can (and does) make a significant difference on AF speed/accuracy

Hope this helps picture mom... All the best on your wedding event endeavor...

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

I would us the 24-70 f/4 with a flash.
I would have an agreement what you will deliver for what price to the couple signed by them and you.

Bill_de Loc: US

You didn't mention if you are taking on a job, or shooting friends and family. For friends and family it should be easy to get somebody to hold the off camera flash. The 50 F/1.8 will give nice soft mood shots of the happy couple. I would bring the 24 - 70, but it may not be needed.

If this is a professional job ... I'm not sure.


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E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Many posts on this forum start with "...I am shooting a wedding..." and inquiring about... "which equipment to use" which indicates to me that these folks have little experience in wedding photography, let alone on a boat in what can be difficult sunset lighting conditions.

Off-camera lighting, as suggested, or multiple flash is great, provided you know how to employ those techniques. If that off-camer light or slave unit is not placed properly it can exacerbate an already difficult lighingt situation so you may be better off with a single on-camera Speedlight and the know-how as to controlling the ratio between the ambient and the flash illumination.

"Boat" is a very broad description as to size, length, capacity and stability when it is in motion. Hand-holding a camera on a wet deck can be tricky. Space can be an issue as to focal length. If space is limited, you might need a wide-angle focal length but that may not be the best choice for portrait-like shots- you may need to compromise and be very careful of distortion or foreshortening in full-length and group shots.

It's hard to give sound advice if I don't know your skill level, experience or knowledge of flash fill and multiple lighting techniques. If this kida work is not in your wheelhouse, and you still wanna do it, it might be best to keep things light-weight, portable, self-contained and simple rater that employing a flash technique that you have never attempted before.

More details might help as to what is expected of you, what you know about certain extreme available light conditions, and what you know about balancing electronic flash with late-day sunshine as to light output and colour temperature.

I don't wanna be discouraging but there are issues to think about!

Good luck!

MrPhotog

Probably 50% to 70% of my wedding photography was done with a 50 mm lens. I shifted to a 35 mm lens for groups. Rarely would I use a 90 or 135 mm lens—maybe one shot during a church ceremony. Rarely would I use a 28 or wider.

Your zoom is fine, keep it handy, but do most of your work with your 50 mm lens, and your feet. Step back about 18 feet to get a full length photo of the bride and her dress, with the train. Step closer for tighter shots.

Shoot verticals for singles, couples and threes. Close shots of couples are horizontals. Anything over 6 people is probably going to be a horizontal. Between 3 and 6 is a toss up. Depends on the pose.

Weddings on boats can be very pretty. And, Nobody leaves early!

If you are between decks you’ll have a low ceiling, which works well with bounce light. If you are on an open area you may be under a canvas tent-like cover, which is iffy with bounce flash, and of course if you are under the open sky you need direct flash.

You only get great sunset lighting for 10-15 minutes. If you use that for a background, even a small flash will provide fill-in light for detail in people’s faces.

You can practice fill flash techniques ( best sync speed, distance, etc) at home with volunteers (or conscripts) of family and friends. Haul out the troupe as the sun approaches the horizon and check your watch for the time. After the sun is down you’ll have a few minutes of afterglow when the clouds may be stunning. Then check your watch again. See how much time you actually have. Count how many pictures and poses you could make in that time.

On sunset cruises, get as many groups as possible before sunset. Concentrate on the bride, groom, their families, and the bridal party at sunset. After that all your light will be with flash. Bring extra batteries. Ask ahead about when the boat is scheduled to return. That will give you an idea of how many hours of darkness to plan on. Open decks, with no walls to reflect the light, suck the light (and battery life) from flash units.

Don’t expect to find a wall socket for recharging anything. They might be available, but they can also be unreliable. Obviously the boat is not connected to the grid. It has its own generator, and voltage and frequency can vary widely from what your equipment needs.

The cruise boats typically have plenty of lights, but they may be more ‘mood lighting’ than portrait quality illumination. The faster f/1.8 50 mm lens may be easier to use.

Bring a sweater. Even if the day is very warm the evening will cool off fast on a boat. You want to be comfortable.

I can’t think of a reason to bring a tripod.

Bring a few plastic bags. Who knows what the weather will be like. A stiff wind can create a bumpy ride, or a spray. If so, you can shield the camera until you pull it out to take a picture.

Finally, bring a towel.

Enjoy the wedding.

GEL Loc: South Carolina

The 24-70 with the flash is best but the flash must be off the camera if only a arms length away and have a diffuser about 12” in diameter. Use flash on manual about 1/8 power for all shots, even daylight to highlight your subject. Sunset shots might only need 1/16 flash power.

GEL Loc: South Carolina

Need this too

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I had over 30 years of professional wedding photography business. You will be on a confined space on a boat, at sunset you will have to shoot fast and you will not have time to switch of lenses, therefore it is my professional opinion that you only use the 24-70, since you will be balancing flash with the sunset an f4 lens will not be a concern.
Personally, if I were you, I would be practicing taking as many shots as I could at sunset on anyone who will pose for you so you can be confident about your balanced fill flash at sunset. So once the wedding day comes, you will be ready.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Hard to reply based on the information in your original post. Aside from all the suggestions made, what may be most important is have you been hired to shoot the wedding and will be paid for your efforts, or are you just taking photos for friends with no compensation?

nathanweddings

As a 1000+ wedding photographer I suggest using the money you would spend for the 2 additional COMPLETE sets of equipment you should have with you to gift them with a professional wedding photographer. I'm not being rude just offering some advice by a pro who faced more than one crying bride asking me to salvage somthing useable from the inexperienced photographer's pile of bad pictures.

montephoto

I totally and completely agree with Nathanweddings, IF you are going to be the only shooter. If you are just shooting for fun, then have fun.

Rick from NY Loc: Sarasota FL

Excellent advice, BUT, do you really think that someone who posts a question asking “which lens do you recommend?” to an online forum has a snowball’s chance in hell of getting satisfactory images shooting a wedding (a challenging gig unless you are an experienced wedding photographer) in an even more challenging venue?

Sorry to be so harsh to the OP, but the best answer posted so far would seem to be from the 1,000+ wedding pro who suggested hiring a pro.

Weddings in general are not for a novice, but shooting one on a boat at night is geometrically more daunting. And by “novice”, I don’t mean a newbie photographer. I mean anyone including “pro’s” who have never shot a wedding.

EDIT - I assumed this was a paid gig. If the OP is shooting for fun or to supplement a pro, that’s an entirely different situation. It would be a great chance to learn, but just stay out of the pro’s way. His/her job is already tough enough without you getting in the way.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

👍👍

Lucasdv123

I bought a flashpoint flash from adorama for my canon rebel t3i since it's pop up flash is way too small for a sweet sixteen and shot about 10 practice shots at home.even with all the different color lights being flashed during the party only a few shots came out with a little color from the lighting.amazing flash.i took 185 great shots.make sure you have plenty of flash power and have fun.