Cameras + Lenses

3 x Sony a7iv camera bodies, one with the Sony 35mm f/1.4 GM lens (my most used camera/lens combo), one with the Sigma 85mm ART DG DN f/1.4 lens, and the third body with the Sony 24mm f/2.8 G lens.

Why 3 cameras and 3 lenses?

Pretty simple really, I absolutely hate changing lenses on a wedding day. The thought of missing an amazing shot because I’m faffing around in my camera bag trying to sort through lenses scares the hell out of me. These mirrorless cameras and lenses that are made for Sony cameras really aren’t that heavy, and the harness I wear distributes the weight so evenly I really don’t mind carrying this much around.

Godox Lux Junior retro camera flash

Small, light, discreet, this compact flashgun is perfect for getting up close to people on the dance floor without blinding them!

Also pictured - Pentax K1000 35mm film camera with 50mm f/1.7 lens.

This year I’m gifting all my wedding couples a roll (or 2 maybe!) of 35mm film shot through this gorgeous camera. I used a Pentax K1000 when I was at college in the 90’s learning photography, and I cannot tell you how excited I am to see what I produce from shooting film at weddings this year.

(I go into more detail about the cameras and lenses further down this page).

Holdfast Skinny Moneymaker harness. I’ve had this for something like 8 years / 8 wedding seasons and it still looks brand new. I find this harness the most comfortable way of shooting a wedding day with two cameras hanging off me!

2 x Peli SD case (one to hold my empty formatted cards, and one to hold my used (shot on!) memory cards.

Vanguard battery holder/pouch. This holds 4 Sony batteries inside the pouch, as well as a zipped compartment that holds 4 more SD cards (in case I use all the ones in the Peli case). It also has two compartments on the outside that hold 8 batteries (spares for my flashgun).

(NOT PICTURED - BECAUSE THEY LIVE IN MY CAR!)

Tiny USB dual camera battery charger (this is my emergency charger, not my main one). I have 6 camera batteries on me at a wedding and this is always enough to see me through even the longest of wedding days… but its good to have a backup plan.

Giottos Medium Rocket Air Blaster. A must for removing dust from the camera sensor.

Godox TT350s Flashgun. This tiny (and VERY cheap) flashgun is probably my favourite flash I’ve ever owned. So small and light. Only needs 2 x AA batteries, and recharges really fast (fast enough for me anyway!). I also love its discreet size because it makes it less-intimidating when photographing people up-close on the dancefloor. It has always been my main flash since going over to Sony in 2019, but its now my backup flash.

And finally… my iPhone and 13” M1 Apple MacBook Pro laptop. (Please n.b. the laptop isn’t on me all day… I’m not that strong! I do generally take it to every wedding though. If i’ve not backed up my SD cards at a break at the wedding I like to transfer them all onto an external hard drive when I get back to my hotel room/home).

(Not pictured - the camera bag I use all day on a wedding day is the Lowepro Passport Sling III Bag / LP36657-0WW.)

HOWEVER, this year I am going to give a belt bag a go. I’ve recently bought the Think Tank Hubba Hubba Hiney V3.0 with the Think Tank belt, and am keen to see how I get on with that.

That will be the bag that holds the a7iv which has the tiny 24mm G lens attached, my spare batteries, SD card holders, 35mm film, flash, and any other crap I can fit in there.

The nitty gritty! (prepare to be bored to tears… or really interested… there’s no inbetween here)

I consider myself to be a documentary wedding photography with the added bonus that I love taking editorial/stylish portraits in a fun and fast manner! So for me the 35mm focal length covers my documentary needs, and the 85mm provides the beautiful bokeh and character for when it comes to portraits and detail shots.

35mm has been my favourite focal length for over10 years now and I know I could easily shoot a whole wedding on this lens alone… because I have done!

The 35mm lenses/camera sits on my right hand side on the camera sling, and the 85mm lens/camera sits on my left hand side.

The 35mm Sony GM lens is an absolutely stunning piece of glass. It’s so fast to focus, so crystal clear, and the bokeh it produces has such a lovely character to it.

I bought my first Sony a7iv camera body in the summer of 2022 and have shot 60+ weddings with it and I honestly cannot fault it in any way! I loved it so much after my first wedding shot with it that I immediately bought another one… and last year I got a 3rd one!

The improvements they made on the a7iii body weren’t enough to please a lot of people, but for me I thought they did a brilliant job upgrading an already amazing camera into an even better one. Both from a performance perspective AND an ergonomics point of view. The deeper grip on the a7iv makes it a much nicer camera to hold, especially as weddings can be very long days of holding our kit.

The larger AF-ON button is fantastic as I use this to select eye AF. The previous model had the tiniest AF-ON button and I was forever struggling to press it. The a7iv also has a larger joystick on the back… thank you SONY! My thumb never ever slips off this joystick, and its very responsive.

As far as improvements in performance go, the quieter shutter is a great addition… the better/faster autofocus is noticeable compared to the a7iii… and the extra megapixels on this new model mean I never worry about quality if I have to crop into an image.

The Sigma 85mm ART DG DN f/1.4 lens is (in my opinion) the best 85mm option out there for Sony users currently. It’s ideal for when I need that extra bit of focal reach. Mainly speeches, and when a vicar forces me to shoot a wedding from the back of a church. But I also use it a lot to get candid shots of the drinks reception, and sometimes for portraits too if I really want to compress a scene or chuck the background totally out of focus.

As for the 3rd Sony body, that has my newest lens on it… the Sony 24mm G lens. So new I’ve not even shot a wedding with it yet!

But don’t worry future-couples… I’ve been using it loads the last couple of months, and I love it! Its going to be so great for dancefloor photos, and for when I get really close on some candid opportunities.

So thats it! On top of the kit mentioned here, I also have a few spare lenses knocking around at home in case anything ever breaks… (and because I’m a complete camera geek that loves kit!).

I also have other Fujifilm cameras (XT5 and XPro3) that I use for my personal photography as I just find them such a joy to shoot with. And earlier this week I put in a pre-order for the latest Fujifilm X100VI - and I cannot wait to get my hands on that to shoot more street photography and days out with my boys.

Thanks so much for taking a look at my work, and I really hope you’ve found this info on the kit I use to shoot weddings helpful in some way!

Sony 35mm GM - 1/125 @ f/1.4 - ISO 800

Sigma 85mm DG DN - 1/8000 @ f/2 - ISO 100

If you’d like to take your photography journey to the next level please take a look at my 121 Training Days that I offer… link below…

CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE INFO ON MY 121 TRAINING DAYS

Cameras + Lenses

3 x Sony a7iv camera bodies, one with the Sony 35mm f/1.4 GM lens (my most used camera/lens combo), one with the Sigma 85mm ART DG DN f/1.4 lens, and the third body with the Sony 24mm f/2.8 G lens.

Why 3 cameras and 3 lenses?

Godox Lux Junior retro camera flash

Small, light, discreet, this compact flashgun is perfect for getting up close to people on the dance floor without blinding them!

Also pictured - Pentax K1000 35mm film camera with 50mm f/1.7 lens.

This year I’m gifting all my wedding couples a roll (or 2 maybe!) of 35mm film shot through this gorgeous camera. I used a Pentax K1000 when I was at college in the 90’s learning photography, and I cannot tell you how excited I am to see what I produce from shooting film at weddings this year.

(I go into more detail about the cameras and lenses further down this page).

Holdfast Skinny Moneymaker harness. I’ve had this for something like 8 years / 8 wedding seasons and it still looks brand new. I find this harness the most comfortable way of shooting a wedding day with two cameras hanging off me!

2 x Peli SD case (one to hold my empty formatted cards, and one to hold my used (shot on!) memory cards.

Vanguard battery holder/pouch. This holds 4 Sony batteries inside the pouch, as well as a zipped compartment that holds 4 more SD cards (in case I use all the ones in the Peli case). It also has two compartments on the outside that hold 8 batteries (spares for my flashgun).

(NOT PICTURED - BECAUSE THEY LIVE IN MY CAR!)

Tiny USB dual camera battery charger (this is my emergency charger, not my main one). I have 6 camera batteries on me at a wedding and this is always enough to see me through even the longest of wedding days… but its good to have a backup plan.

Giottos Medium Rocket Air Blaster. A must for removing dust from the camera sensor.

(Not pictured - the camera bag I use all day on a wedding day is the Lowepro Passport Sling III Bag / LP36657-0WW.)

HOWEVER, this year I am going to give a belt bag a go. I’ve recently bought the Think Tank Hubba Hubba Hiney V3.0 with the Think Tank belt, and am keen to see how I get on with that.

That will be the bag that holds the a7iv which has the tiny 24mm G lens attached, my spare batteries, SD card holders, 35mm film, flash, and any other crap I can fit in there.

The nitty gritty! (prepare to be bored to tears… or really interested… there’s no inbetween here)

35mm has been my favourite focal length for over10 years now and I know I could easily shoot a whole wedding on this lens alone… because I have done!

The 35mm lenses/camera sits on my right hand side on the camera sling, and the 85mm lens/camera sits on my left hand side.

The 35mm Sony GM lens is an absolutely stunning piece of glass. It’s so fast to focus, so crystal clear, and the bokeh it produces has such a lovely character to it.

I bought my first Sony a7iv camera body in the summer of 2022 and have shot 60+ weddings with it and I honestly cannot fault it in any way! I loved it so much after my first wedding shot with it that I immediately bought another one… and last year I got a 3rd one!

The larger AF-ON button is fantastic as I use this to select eye AF. The previous model had the tiniest AF-ON button and I was forever struggling to press it. The a7iv also has a larger joystick on the back… thank you SONY! My thumb never ever slips off this joystick, and its very responsive.

As far as improvements in performance go, the quieter shutter is a great addition… the better/faster autofocus is noticeable compared to the a7iii… and the extra megapixels on this new model mean I never worry about quality if I have to crop into an image.

As for the 3rd Sony body, that has my newest lens on it… the Sony 24mm G lens. So new I’ve not even shot a wedding with it yet!

But don’t worry future-couples… I’ve been using it loads the last couple of months, and I love it! Its going to be so great for dancefloor photos, and for when I get really close on some candid opportunities.

So thats it! On top of the kit mentioned here, I also have a few spare lenses knocking around at home in case anything ever breaks… (and because I’m a complete camera geek that loves kit!).

Thanks so much for taking a look at my work, and I really hope you’ve found this info on the kit I use to shoot weddings helpful in some way!

Sony 35mm GM - 1/125 @ f/1.4 - ISO 800

Sigma 85mm DG DN - 1/8000 @ f/2 - ISO 100

If you’d like to take your photography journey to the next level please take a look at my 121 Training Days that I offer… link below…

Ed Godden Photography - Nottingham wedding photographer

Wedding Photography for Fun & Carefree Couples