4 Best Macro Lenses for Wedding Photography Perfection

Post Created: 21.01.2021 - Posted in Mentoring

A popular choice of wedding photo, especially if you’ve opted for an album, is a close-up shot of the rings. Capturing the intricate details. The way the two match. And the craftsmanship that went into each ring is a must-have for a wedding shoot. This can create a beautiful and meaningful shot in a stylized way. Plus, you spent a lot of money on those rings, you may as well get a shot of them in all their glory. But you can’t just stick the rings up to any old lens and expect to get a stunning, macro photograph. You’ll probably just get a blurry mess. Macro lenses aren’t made equal so here are the 4 best macro lenses for wedding photography.

Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Macro

This is a popular choice for any start-up wedding photographer. It offers great photographic capabilities at a reasonably low price point. Anyone into photography knows that lenses are the most expensive part of their kit and the price of macro lenses can be seriously up there. So don’t expect this to be cheap either.

Tamron offers this lens with both Nikon and Canon mounts. The main downside that comes with the low price point is the auto-focus. On most cheaper lenses, the auto-focus is what suffers, and unfortunately, this lens is no different. The upside is that, with macro wedding photography, it is unlikely for you to be in a hurry. Typically rings aren’t on the move. So taking the extra time manually focusing should not be such a downside. The quality of the actual lens body is also slightly worse but nothing major. You can feel the difference in your hands but there’s no fear of the Tamron lens being more fragile than a more expensive lens. Simply less nice to hold.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

Obviously, this lens only fits Canon bodies. Coming in with a far higher price tag than the Tamron lens, this lens is an established favorite. This lens comes with some impressive bells and whistles such as image stabilization and ultrasonic focusing. Auto-focus on this, therefore, works perfectly. It is almost impossible to get a blurry shot.

It feels sturdy and strong in your hands and is all-round just a top-quality piece of kit. This lens is 1:1 perspective which means that you can also use it for a multitude of other photographs such as portraits. It’s designed to make macro photography more accessible so, despite its hefty price tag, it would be perfect for someone new to macro photography. It also compensates for any shakiness or unsteady hands whilst photographing. Something that could completely ruin your chance of getting a strong close-up shot with other lenses.

Nikon AF-S 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF VR Micro

With the same 1:1 aspect ratio as the Canon lens, as well as the same stabilization technique, this is pretty much the Nikon alternative.

The VR stands for vibration reduction. This offers pretty much the same thing as the Canon lens. Allowing even the shakiest of hands to get a shot. Unlike the Canon lens, this comes with a special coating on the glass. This reduces flare as well as chromatic aberrations in images. Also unlike the Canon, this lens doesn’t come with as big of a price tag attached. It’s more within the range of the Tamron lens but with more features and a better feel to it overall. So if you’re a Nikon user you’re in luck with this one.

The focus does not promise to be as silent as Canons ultrasonic focusing. But it is very quiet. Plus, if it’s so quiet at a wedding that you can hear the lens focusing then there are some far bigger issues. This lens allows you to do anything from far away portrait shots to super magnified, close-up shots with just one lens.

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro

Again available for multiple mounts. This lens does offer some stabilization as well as the 1:1 ratio of the other lenses. By far the cheapest on this list it still keeps up when it comes to the features. The focusing promises to be good and the lens avoids distortion. Although, some people have reported the auto-focus being slower than bigger, name-brand lenses. Despite this, the auto-focus does still work, and, as we said previously, who needs to be that fast photographing the rings? This being said, the slower auto-focus may reduce the ability to use this lens in other settings such as for a portrait shot.

For anyone on a budget, this is certainly a good place to start. Any lens that can perform multiple functions at a low price is a solid starting point for a kit. The Sigma won’t be able to do every shot at the wedding but it can certainly make a dent. We’d especially suggest this for Canon users due to the huge price difference between this and its Canon equivalent.

Bonus Lens: Fujifilm XF 80mm R LM OIS WR Macro

Fujifilm is a lesser-used brand of camera but is still one of the photography giants. For anyone using a Fujifilm body this 80mm lens is perfect for your macro wedding photography. This also comes in a 120mm equivalent. The various methods of stabilizing and focusing this lens use are just mind-boggling. To put it simply, the lens compensates for all manner of shakes or trembles. As well as being able to focus perfectly every time.

An added benefit to this is that the lens body is weather sealed. This could open up a lot of opportunities for some unique and interesting watery shots. Or even snow-covered shots in a winter ceremony.

So there you have it. A list of the 4 best macro lenses for wedding photography (and a sneaky bonus lens). There is a lens to suit all photographers on this list so if you’re interested in macro wedding shots you should now know exactly which lens you’re going to go out and purchase.