dslr lenses

[lepetitnicolas]

hi im new to photography
and i am using a canon 350d camera which i barelly know how to use.
my father bought it for me last xmas.
i really like taking portrait pictures of my friends and family
but the lenses that were included in the packet seem to not fullfil my ambitions.i think that the pictures i take do not respond to the reality and some parts of the face are weirdly enlarged.
i would be grateful if someone could help me with this and and suggest me another lens for this use.

thank you for reading.
nick

 

[benhasajeep]

About weird looking pictures.

Lens focal length plays a large role in how a picture looks. A wide angle lens will distort facail features (make a nose seem like its closer / bigger than it really is for example). A telephoto lens will make things seem flat.

Not sure what lens you are using since you didn't list it. But I am guessing you have a something like a 18-55 kit lens. If you are using that lens, when taking pics of people you should be using it near the 55mm setting. Pictures will look more realistic in that range.

At the 18mm setting faces will be really distorted.

And Welcome to TPF

 

[ksmattfish]

The Canon 50 f/1.8 is cheap, but a decent portrait lens. The 50mm f/1.4 is nicer, but more expensive. The Canon 85mm f/1.8 is really nice portrait lens for the price.

 

[lepetitnicolas]

thanks,
yes i am using a 18-55 lens and i dont really like the result.
and i forgot to mention that when i first bought the kit
all the pictures i used to take were muck cleaner than the later ones.

 

[Ls3D]

If you want to be 'forced' into relatively narrow angles and see your sharpest pictures yet, put a 50mm 1.8 on there and let your feet do the walking! At less than $87 this can be a great experience for an aspiring photog.

I guess 85 - 100mm or so are considered 'portrait'.. but do as suggested above and see if any of your buddies can let you demo a nifty fifty, the ONLY lens I will ever loan out.

Have fun!

-Shea

EDIT: sounds like your senor & or lens are dirty..

 

[benhasajeep]

thanks,
yes i am using a 18-55 lens and i dont really like the result.
and i forgot to mention that when i first bought the kit
all the pictures i used to take were muck cleaner than the later ones.

What do you mean by cleaner? Maybe describe what's different between one then and now on the pics.

 

[lepetitnicolas]

the pics used to be cleaner..now they are a bit blur:/

 

[lepetitnicolas]

thanks for all the information you gave me