Jill & Sam - My First Jewish Wedding!

[p27rpy]

It's been a while since I've posted up any wedding work! This was my first ever Jewish wedding, and it was awesome. The reception was action-packed and definitely one of the most fun weddings I've ever shot. Hope yall enjoy!

Be sure to check out MY BLOG for more photos and info!

Theo

1
Bride's Shoes

2
Rings & Jewelry

3


Details
4

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Groom Getting Ready
6


Bride & Groom before their First Glance
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Bride & Groom's First Glance
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First Dance
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Groom's Dance with his Mom
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Bride's Dance with her Dad
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Cakes and Reception Area
12


Party!
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Father of the Bride, sitting like a King!



21
Last Dance

[auddii]

Absolutely beautiful!

[james.d53]

Really good stuff!

[iCe]

That looks like it was a blast. Nice work!

[p27rpy]

thanks guys! it was a ton of fun, and i tried to convey that action through the photos. glad it worked!

[ifly223]

I'm sure you used several different lenses. Some shots looked like a bit of flash was used and some perhaps a very low light lens like a 1.4 or 1.8 maybe? The reason i'm asking is i'm thinking about getting some short to medium prime lenses. Nikon 35 1.8, 50 1.4 and 85 1.4. I have a 24-70 2.8 and 105 2.8 but, even then it becomes a challenge to collect light without cranking up the ISO. If you are using a 1.4 or 1.8 is it that big of a difference from a 2.8? : )
PS: the shots look great, clean, no ISO noise, nice bokeh where it was appropriate for the shot.

[p27rpy]

thanks very much!

the lenses that i used for this wedding were:

(all nikon)
50mm 1.8
85mm 1.8
105mm 2.8
14-24 2.8
80-200 2.8

All of the formal dancing shots were with the 85 1.8, which i love. i'm saving up for the 85 1.4, which is even better!

shots taken with the 14-24 should be fairly obvious due to the distortion. i liked it a lot for the reception part, but it was a little too wide for me personally. thinking of moving to a 16-35. i like the 105mm 2.8 for my ring shots, where its level of detail is pretty much unmatched. i rarely use it for anything else, however, and have been considering selling it for that reason.

as far as ISO performance, i see you shoot with a 700, as do i. don't be afraid to crank up the ISO, the 700 has a great low-light performance. it can easily shoot above ISO 1000 without breaking a sweat. most of the shots you see at the reception were at ISO 800 or above.

i usually try to not shoot wide open on my primes due to the shallow DOF and small area of focus. i generally stay around f4 to ensure that the shot is sharp. i do shoot wide open when i want that nice bokeh and shallow DOF, but normally i try to play it safe so i don't miss the focus on important events. so generally, i don't even use the larger side of my primes unless it's a controlled situation. however, it is nice to know that i have the large apertures available just in case they were needed.

i do use flash pretty frequently. usually i do a cross-like setup, with two flashes on either end of the dance floor.

i would really like to try out the 35 1.8, it seems like a great lens that is perfectly wide for a wedding reception. i've used the 24-70 before, and it is a great do-all lens.

[ifly223]

Thanks for the info, i'm planning on getting the 14-24 & 70-200 VR II 2.8 when I get back from being stationed in South Korea in about a month. I can get the 14-24 at US prices but the VR II is nearly five hundred dollars more than US prices. I bought all my gear here and had to haggle with the sales people at the official Nikon store to get US prices. I am getting the 85 1.4 as soon as I can get my hands on one. I have seen test comparisons and the bokeh performance blows everything else away that I have seen so far.

[p27rpy]

nice! don't forget to consider the sigma 85mm 1.4 too. it has gotten reviews saying that its optics are nearly that of nikon's 1.4, but it costs less than $1,000 brand new. just a thought!

i would personally rent the 14-24 before buying it. for weddings it was just TOO wide and produced too much distortion towards the 14mm end. your call in the end, but just my 2 cents. the 70-200 VRII is a monster and will suit you well!