Part 17: Close-Up Candids

A few years ago, I wanted to enhance my reception candids and remembered a reception where I was on the stage with the band, looking out over all the guests partying. It struck me that there must be some way to really zoom in and capture the excitement on their faces.

I used to just use a 17–85mm IS lens to take that wide-angle view of everyone enjoying the party. But then I started experimenting with longer focal length lenses. I tried a 28–135mm lens at 135mm, and it struck me that I had an opportunity to reach out and touch somebody, photographically at least, when shooting a reception. I experimented with these reach-out-and-touch-somebody candids, adding even longer focal lengths to my camera: my 70–200mm lens at 200mm, and even my 70–300mm lens at 300mm. I have to say, 300mm was a bit too much.