Fisheye in Weddings

Sorry, my response isn't the one you're looking for. I don't own a fisheye. I do own an ultawide non-fisheye (the Sigma 10-20 = 15-30 FF on my Pentax 1.5x crop factor cameras). I use the 10-20 very sparingly, mainly for photos of the congregation in the church. I've tried using it a couple times for close-up photos, at receptions, etc. NOT a good lens choice for use up close, unless you're trying to make people look fat. I keep thinking I might use it inside the limo, but I've not tried that yet.

Now, I can imagine using a fish-eye lens at a wedding. I think I've actually seen a photo of the bride and groom with the wedding party around them, where the photographer was apparently down on his knees and looking up. It was a cute effect—for ONE shot. That's about it.

I'll be interested to hear from others myself.

A few uses I can think of: 1) A super wide of the church; 2) The guys being cool; 3) Everybody having fun at the reception; 4) Kids up close.

I use a fisheye at almost all weddings. Sometimes I find a good use for it for the bride's getting ready shots, and almost always for table shots at the reception. I just hold it over the middle of the table and tell everyone to "Look up." Like Matthew K, above, I do sometimes use it during the ceremony for ambiance shots of the church interior, bu mostly I find it to be a "fun" lens and try to use it in fun places. I'll often be laying on the floor, or standing on a chair with it to get that really unique perspective only a fisheye can deliver.

I also have a wide rectilinear zoom, and use it as well for some things, but the fisheye gets far more comments with oohs & aahs attached to them. Like any lens you have to look for situations that call for a fisheye, and then use it to it's best advantage. That, and accept the fact it is limited use lens, so use it in a limited way.

I wouldn't consider a 16mm on a 1D Mark II a fisheye? With the crop factor it's a 20mm equiv. If you want a true fisheye I would stick to the 10-12mm range. Aside from that, with a wider wide angle or fisheye lens you'll find it best used during the reception, at least I do.

A rectinlinear ultra-wide (14mm) can be used to good effect, particularly for interior shots. But I haven't seen a convincing use of a fisheye (<=10mm) in a wedding. Its obvious characteristics tend to dominate the image.

Any lens can be used at a wedding, providing you are trying to get any effect and a great photo that will come out of it's use. The photo of the church above is great and a proper use of a fisheye. I'm sure there are many more that can be done with that lens.

Check David Ziser's images. He often uses a fish-eye, but again, only for specific reasons.

I been using fisheye at weddings for a while, it's great. And ya, on a crop sensor you're definitely going to want something around 10mm.

I love any lens other than my 17-55 (24-70)! I use the 17-55 more than any other single lens, but that is my "normal" lens. I want to bring a different perspective to the image. I waited until this year to buy a fisheye and I regret it. It only gets pulled out maybe two or three times at a wedding (wide church, wide reception, maybe one "funny" shot), but everyone just loves the shot, it's different. This image was used as the background page in a 24x12 album.