As a seasoned destination wedding photographer I pride myself in being well prepared and well equipped. When it comes to gear, I try to travel light, prioritising equipment that simply works for me. I shoot almost exclusively with Sony equipment, so when they asked me to test out a lens, my first thoughts were - what is it and why me?

So I checked out Sony’s range again to see where there might have been any gaps, there aren’t any! But one or two lenses might not meet my personal expectations regarding size, speed or weight but these are mostly niche lenses that produce amazing results for specific cases. My personal interest is always an equation between quality of image, size and speed. I travel a lot, so size and weight are priority. Then the gear needs to work like me - fast. I’m essentially a reportage style event photographer / filmmaker, so my equipment needs to work as quickly as I do.

Winter isn’t always the first choice of season for most couple shoots, but as I work all summer in often sunny locations, I’m personally attracted to wintery and sometimes dramatic backdrops - even if my couples aren’t! But when Svea and Zoya asked me to be their wedding photographer I leapt at the chance to create their pre-wedding couple session as a style shoot on a grey Berlin day in January. We opted to keep it low key by using a currently disused indoor location followed by a casual open air walk along the Spree River.

Now, normally I’d typically head out on such a shoot with perhaps 3 G Master lenses - choosing between a 24mm and 35mm, possibly an 85mm or 135mm for those gorgeous portraits. And usually two bodies, but this time, as I wanted some higher resolution images and S-Cinetone video footage, I opted to go with my Sony Alpha 7 IV, and just the one lens - the new Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 G Master.

So what's the deal with this new lens, a nifty fifty as they used to be called in my previous analogue days? Well, simple. It’s small and almost identical in size and weight to the 24mm and 35mm G Masters. It also has the same 67mm filter thread which is very useful, and lastly it feels really good in the hand. Literally any Alpha body with this lens is a perfect combination.

Our starting spot was Claerchens Ballhaus in Berlin; classy, minimalist and with very little natural light. My wedding couple Svea and Zoya, fun loving girls, both arrived with big smiles, unsure of what awaited them. I explained I just wanted them to be themselves, and simply be natural with each other.

So how did the lens perform? In a nutshell, wonderfully! It’s quick, sharp, a wide enough aperture and with the Alpha 7 IV’s great handling of higher ISO’s, managed to capture some beautiful natural moments inside in poor light while being small and compact. And no lens changing. I simple moved around more. Yes, I could have used a wider lens for maybe one or two shots, but hey, four big steps backwards and I got those shots too.

The autofocus is no less than a dream, an aspect we’ve come to expect with G Master lenses. The Eye AF and focus tracking worked a treat, especially in the low light. It’s fast and even in extreme back-lit situations, always finds the spot. It’s silent so for video is perfect, and even in crop mode as a 75mm equivalent it has its uses. It’s compact size and weight make it well balanced and it’s a lens I could - and literally did - work with all day.

Could I have used a second lens, yes of course; likely a wider 35mm and perhaps even a 24mm (incidentally a great trio!) But do you need to get so many varied perspectives and angles for a couple shoot? No, I don’t think so. Some photographers have a strong repertoire of key images they must absolutely shoot. I don’t believe this is exclusively necessary. The results speak for themselves. For my kind of work this lens offers a more than workable depth of field, allowing a natural physical closeness to the subjects to ensure good communication, yet enough distance to get some great background isolating portraits.

So after a shoot with the 50mm f/1.4 G Master, is less actually more? In this case I firmly believe so. Will this be my go-to “out for a walk” lens? It just might be… I have even been thoroughly inspired to make single lens choices for each upcoming couple shoot and be challenged while disciplined enough to carry that out consequently. And I’m definitely starting with this more than dependable 50mm!