Family portrait lens

[mikie2084]

I'm going to be shooting a family of 4 and looking for advice on what lens to use?

This will be outdoors at a park, or other outdoor location. This is my sister and her kids, husband, so I can learn more about portraiture. Mainly I'm not sure what lens will do best with a group of 4. I want to get everyone in focus, blur the background so would the 50mm 1.8d work the best?

Gear I have:
Nikon D300, Nikon 50mm 1.8d, Tamron 90mm 2.8, Tamron 17-50 2.8, Nikon 55-200 vr, Nikon 18-55.
Reflectors, SB600, umbrellas, ect.

 

[table1349]

I'd use the 90mm unless you are cramped for space.

 

[Derrel]

The 50mm lens at f/5 to f/5.6 at 3.5 to 5 meters will do nicely on a group of four people.

At 4 meters, at f/5.0 (f-FIVE-point-zero) you'll have from 3.45m to 4.75m in focus, for a band depth of 1.31 meters total DOF.

 

[mikie2084]

Thanks for the replies, I was leaning towards the 50.

 

[WayneF]

There are many kinds of portraits, from groups to single head shots. There is no one lens suitable for every thing (maybe a wide range zoom )

In regard to lenses, one important rule for portraits is to never get too close. ALWAYS stand back maybe 7 feet (or farther) for proper perspective (noses not enlarged, etc). Regardless of which lens, always keep maybe 7 feet or more. Zoom in all you want, but just don't stand too close. Use the lens that lets you, or makes you, stand back a little.

FWIW, the 105mm was the classic "portrait lens" for head shots on 35mm film, simply because it did not allow standing closer. 105mm FX at 7 feet had a field of view of 1.6 x 2.4 feet. That was close enough. That equivalent is 70mm for DX.

So for single head and shoulders portraits, your 55-200 at maybe 70 mm is the right ballpark for DX... But for groups, obviously you do need a wider lens.

The 50 mm on DX horizontally at 7 feet only has a field of view of 3.3 feet wide, so also carry something wider than the 50mm for the group, just in case. Or you can always stand back farther. Farther is no problem, you can always zoom in, but too close is a bad thing.

The Field of View Calculator at Lens Field of View Calculator FOV will tell you those numbers to expect. Option 2 is already setup for the DX camera.

The 50 mm at say f/2 will have less depth of field, but I'm guessing you won't like f/2 much, due to inadequate depth of field and sharpness. But a longer lens (which might be more difficult about the field of view width) ALSO has less depth of field, and in particular, its narrow view sees a smaller background which you can select a small area of it to be not objectionable (like one tree), and is a pretty popular philosophy. A telephoto lens can be your best try for an out of focus and small area background . So try a few lenses, and learn what they can do for you.

 

[soufiej]

You don't say how well versed you are at using your camera. I would though suggest you review the owner's manual for how to set the auto-focus options for a small group setting. Unless you fully understand depth of field and use manual focus only, you might find your shots are slightly off if you can't set the camera to focus on everyone in the shot.

Does your camera have "exposure compensation"?