REVIEWS | WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY WITH THE SONY FE 35mm F1.4 GM LENS
In this blog post, I discuss using the Sony FE 35mm F1.4 GM lens on a wedding day.
In January 2021, Sony announced the new Sony FE 35mm F1.4 GM lens, and wedding photographers worldwide rejoiced that we finally had a 35mm GM lens!
I ordered my copy as soon as the pre-orders opened and after a short delay in the delivery due to some issues with the manufacturing, my copy was delivered by Parcel Force at the end of March 2021 - a few weeks before my first wedding of 2021.
The start of 2021 was costly for me; Sony had announced the Sony A1 and the Sony 50mm F1.2 GM lenses, both of which were added to my camera bag in time for my first wedding of the year in April.
I have always used a 35mm lens as my primary camera lens at a wedding, and for Sony, I have had the Sony Zeiss FE 35mm F1.4 ZA lens, the Sigma 35 mm F1.2 Art, the Sigma 35mm F1.4 Art and the Sony FE 35 F1.8 lens; all of them I have found lacking that something.
I think the Sigma 35mm F1.2 is a unique lens, and I did enjoy using that lens, but it weighed as much as the moon (like a lot of Sigma lenses); the Zeiss 35mm F1.4 ZA lens was my first Sony 35mm lens for the system, but it was a lens which suffered from copy variance (I tried four copies before finding a good one), suffered from a big loss of contrast and autofocus issues in backlit situations. The 35mm lens I used the most was the Sony FE 35mm F1.8 lens which was released in the summer of 2019 and was my 35mm lens of choice until the Sony 35mm F1.4 GM was released.
Since I received my copy of the Sony 35mm GM, it has shot just over 100 weddings and paired with the Sony A1, it’s been incredible.
SONY FE 35MM F1.4 G MASTER LENS IMAGES
HOW I USE A 35MM LENS ON A WEDDING DAY
The 35mm F1.4 GM lens starts the day on one of my Sony A1 Cameras, and I use it throughout the morning, the guest arrivals, the ceremony, post-ceremony, speeches and the early evening of a wedding; its a very versatile lens and its why the 35mm focal length is the primary focal length for a large proportion of wedding photographers.
The 35mm focal length is such an excellent focal length for using at a wedding; its not too wide and its not too long, and to my eye and my style of shooting, its the perfect lens for the documentary side of wedding photography and is a focal length that you could use all day at a wedding and be the only lens you need.
The 35mm focal length is about right in terms of closeness to the subject.
I have tried to have the 24mm as my primary lens but found myself too close to people, and with the 24mm, you do need to be close to fill the frame with a 24mm lens.
The 35mm feels right; looking at the images from a 35mm lens, you could be standing there watching the moment unfold. The 35mm and the 50mm lenses produce a field of view similar to what we see with out own eyes, which helps them both to have a familiar feeling (as I said before, not too wide or too long).