Go-to lenses for event photography

dwmcreative wrote:

Hey everyone,

After years of taking photos for both fun and at my job (I do marketing at a private school), I finally am succumbing to a request of a friend to take photos at a parents 70th birthday party. It's at a restaurant in a smaller party room so it's low stakes (I wouldn't have said yes to a wedding at this point in my photography career!)

My question. I have a Fuji XH2s. I own a 90mm f2, 23mm f2, 18-55 f2.8.

I'm debating buying a newer Fuji lens for this event to capture moments better in low light, what should I be considering?

I believe you've got a great kit already, that's more than capable of delivering in this sort of scenario.

Your 23mm should work great in this scenario and I'd recommend sticking with that. You could look into renting an 18mm f/1.4. It's a gem of a lens and is especially good for social events in small venues. The 16mm f/1.4 is also great if you need to go a bit wider.

The 90mm may be a bit tight for a small party room, so perhaps you look for something around the 50mm mark. Both the 50mm f/2 and 56mm f/1.2 are great choices.

The 16-55 f/2.8 is a great choice if you're comfortable with using zooms and know your way around the various focal lengths.

I'm not sure how much experience you have at shooting social events, but if you're having doubts, I suggest resorting to primes. Makes you think more about the composition and gives you peace of mind if things get hectic.

FUJIFILM XF 56mm f/1.2 R WR Lens

FUJIFILM XF 35mm f/1.4 R WR Lens

Also for group family shots what should I be using?

It depends what sort of working space you will have available. The longer the better, but keep an eye on your aperture, you want to avoid blurring people out by mistake.

Finally, do event photographers use an external flash? I always hate the look of it but I'm thinking of getting one just in case of extreme low light.

Yes, flash is your friend. You can just point your flash upwards towards the ceiling and you'll get great fill flash or get a bounce accessory, like a MagBounce.

Thanks in advance for any tips,

The more you know about the venue beforehand, the better. Perhaps you could try to get there a bit early and have time to set a custom white balance, get a better idea of the particularities of the venue etc.

If the lighting ends up being all over the place, you can always switch your camera to Acros or Monochrome, it helps with focusing on the composition.

The X-H2s is a beast of a camera, so you'll be fine. Keep an eye on your shutter speed and your highlights. Exposure comp is your friend!

Sincerely,

Daniel