Long before I was a wedding photographer, I shot an awful lot of portrait work. My first lens was a 24-70 2.8 (Tokina) and as I fell more in love with photography I learned that the 24-70 wasn't the lens for me. I'm a prime shooter. I shot with a Canon 135 f2L for a long time. I actually shot with it exclusively. I enjoyed the challenge. After my style was "bokeh" I decided to try something different and use the 24-70 for portraits because I like making things difficult

I liked the results, but I really wasn't a fan of how the frame is distorted. Especially making my clients looking unnatural with much longer/bigger hands or legs. So last year, I decided I wanted to up my wedding reception pictures, so I went on a search and I discovered the Sigma art lens 20mm 1.4. I liked its rendering, but I wasn't about to go my own weddings and use it just yet, so I second shot for other photographers to see how it fared. After all, I'm the second photographer just wedding reception photos right? I quickly found myself pulling this Sigma art lens out for more than just dancing photos. In fact, I'm extremely introverted and its hard for me to talk to people. This 20mm sigma lens forces me to get up close and interact with people.


Second Shot for Chris Ginn Photography

Second Shot for Chris Ginn Photography

Photographed for Thin Line Studios

I knew when I sold our 24-70, that we would need something wider than the 35. Sometimes the bridal suites are very small, or sometimes you want to show an enormous amount of space. That's where this Sigma Art Lens 20mm comes in so handy because, not only is it an ultra-ultra wide, but it also has a 1.4 aperture so it lens in a TON of light. 4 times more light than a 2.8 zoom lens. The third image in the above set(for Chris Ginn Photography), we were under a tree with lights and it was dark. I didn't have my flash, so I turned upped the iso to 6400 and the aperture to 1.4, and we have a unique shot that a zoom lens would never been able to achieve. This sigma art lens also allows for unique detail shots at your wedding day, likes cakes!

But, what about portraits? Is it good for portraits? Why yes it is! I will admit it is incredibly difficult with this sigma art lens because there is distortion, however if you keep the subject your photographing in the middle of the frame, there isn't much distortion at all.

I'm not big into video at all, but this clip here was taken with the Sigma Art Lens 20mm 1.4. As you can see some of the highlights are blown out, but I really like the way it renders the skin tones, and out of focus backgrounds. This sigma art lens is so wide, it's incredibly easy to tell your story


From families, to portraits, to video and even boudoir this Sigma art lens 20mm 1.4 does it all. And does it well. The results are incredibly sharp corner to corner. It's built like a tank and holds up well despite me accidentally knocking it into things on my dual camera harness on wedding days. I thought I would not like this sigma art lens, but it's really grown on me. I find myself trying to take it out for everything! As far as using this lens for landscapes, it's stellar. I took this image on my Canon 6d and 20mm sigma art lens. It is 8 images merged together and made into a panorama in photoshop last December.

Are you looking for a wedding photographer, or a portrait photographer? We would love to hear about the vision you have for your portraits. Our style is documenting real moments, while implementing art into your images. Use the contact form below to get in touch with us. We can't wait to hear from you!


With love,

Shutter & Snap