There are varying viewpoints on “how” to stagger purchases of gear, but I’ve always been of the mindset that if I know what I need (keyword: need) and if I’m blessed to have the budget to purchase them, I’ll do so. As exhausting as it was to do the wedding photography + corporate desk job gig for two years, I am SO thankful that it allowed me the freedom to purchase the gear I needed! 2011 was a year of building for me- I spent a lot of time researching the lenses I needed and put almost everything I earned from weddings that year back into investing in my camera bag. I *thought* I was done making gear purchases after this past February when I bought the 24-70, but then the 5dmk3 came out and I recognized I really needed to upgrade. I loved my mk2, but the poor focusing was really becoming a problem. I was SO frustrated when I’d think I’d nailed the focus as I was shooting, but then once I got the images into LightRoom I could see it’d backfocused ever so slightly, making the image utter rubbish.

I’d hoped the 5dmk3 would correct the 50 1.2’s backfocusing issues (and for the most part, it did!), but unfortunately it hasn’t changed the fact that my favorite lens is still SOFT. Images that should be tack sharp are sort of hazy, giving me an endless supply of “gaaaaaah!!!”s whilst editing. I’d heard several of my favorites photographers gush about how much they love their 85 1.2, but I figured it was just going to be more of the same frustrations so I never really bothered to look into. Well, that was until Katelyn suggested that with my shooting style, I may really love the lens, and that the 85 1.2 + 5dmk3 = match made in heaven. So I spent a weekend with an 85 rental, shot a wedding with it, and fell in love. Part of my WHY statement is to provide my couples with intimate, organic portraits, and the 85 seems to be the perfect complement to my work. Allowing me to get in close while still standing relatively far away, my brides and grooms are able to relax and share in the moment without feeling like there’s a camera in their face.

After a weekend rental with the 85, and affter PROMISING Matt that this would, indeed, be my last gear purchase for the year (and hopefully until mid-next year), I set out early on Saturday to make a stop at Penn Camera to purchase the lens. I felt a bit sick to my stomach over it (because let’s face it- who LIKES dropping that much money on anything?) but after using it throughout the ceremony and bride + groom portraits, I was thrilled! The cathedral where Tyler & Vicky were married was, like most churches, a bit dark. I’d normally have resorted to shooting with my 70-200, which I can’t stand because of how heavy it is, but the 85 had enough reach that was able to use it instead for much of the cermony. The result was some of my favorite ceremony shots EVER, and the portraits we took later on of just Tyler and Vicky? OHMERGERSH. You’ll just have to wait until Thursday to see the rest of those :).

I also used the 85 during Gary & Clarisse’s wedding, and it’s definitely my new go-to lens for First Looks. I love being able to stand a bit further back during First Looks, but with the 50 I just wasn’t able to get in as close as I wanted to while still maintain enough distance to allow my couples to enjoy the moment without interference. Now I have the best of both worlds! I can maintain my distance but still get in close using the 85.

The lens, while incredible, does have a couple of drawbacks- a) it’s heavy. I just recently started shooting with a wrist strap on my camera and I’m really glad I did- otherwise my hand would start cramping from the combined weight of the camera body + 85. 2) It’s can be a bit slow to focus- I wouldn’t use this lens for any sort of fast-paced shooting. The slower focus, however, does force me to slow myself down when I tend to get wound really tight and allows me to breathe and really focus my attentions on how I’m speaking, posing, and composing. All in all, definitely a lens I’m falling in love with. I think I prefer it over my 50 for portraits!

Happy Tuesday!