I'm new to photography, just sayin

RossPhotography · Mar 3, 2013

I'm just getting started in this field and have a ton of questions. My first one is for portraits, what lens would be ideal?

ronlane · Mar 3, 2013

Welcome. There are a lot of opinions,but a couple of the ones that come up most are the 85mm f2.8, 24-70 mm f2.8 and the 70-200 mm f2.8

07Vios · Mar 4, 2013

^ I'm assuming you mean the 85mm f1.8. I have it, and I think it would be great for head shots (I don't really take too people pictures...yet) if you're using a cropped body. If you want a full body shot, the 85 1.8 may be a tad bit too much for a cropped body. A 50mm on a cropped might be a better choice for full body shots. Which one, I have no clue since I don't have any 50mm lenses.

bigal1000 · Mar 4, 2013

What camera do you have APS-C or FF ? That would help to be able to answer your question.

bigal1000 · Mar 4, 2013

07Vios said:
^ I'm assuming you mean the 85mm f1.8. I have it, and I think it would be great for head shots (I don't really take too people pictures...yet) if you're using a cropped body. If you want a full body shot, the 85 1.8 may be a tad bit too much for a cropped body. A 50mm on a cropped might be a better choice for full body shots. Which one, I have no clue since I don't have any 50mm lenses.

What if he has a FF camera?

Overread · Mar 4, 2013

Indoor or outdoor?
If indoor is it a studio - if so how big? Or is it on location in various events/situations/homes.

What kind of camera do you have currently?
What kind of budget are you at least expecting/anticipating to work with?

what other kind of support equipment do you have (eg tripods, light sources (flash), light modification devices (softboxes/umbrellas/reflectors/excluders etc...)

You need to provide much more information otherwise you'll just get a mostly meaningless long list of lenses depending on what people have or like or just bought. If you want a good answer for yourself you've got to put your criteria on the table first and foremost.

RossPhotography · Mar 4, 2013

I'm currently using a Canon T3i. I will be looking to upgrade soon. I don't have a studio just yet so indoor will be done in my home. I've done a few shoots outdoors as well. I have a modest light kit with two light sources (and umbrellas), a tripod (62"), and a remote trigger. I know that isn't much, but that's why I'm on here. Just trying to chase a passion and self teach as much as possible. It will be slow purchase, but I will get there.

Overread · Mar 4, 2013

With upgrading your camera body what camera are you currently looking at? Or more specifically are you aiming to upgrade into the fullframe (ie 35mm) sensor format? It is a generally more popular format for studio and portrait photography in general because its wider angle of view lets you frame shots with telephoto lenses (ie those of 50mm or longer in focal length) without being too close to the subject and, as a result, won't suffer from perspective distortion - which is when segments of the photo closer to the camera appear enlarged over those further away (eg causing big noses or hands on subjects). This is something you can easily see if you're using a smaller format camera (like a Rebel) and a lens of say around 35mm in focal length for portrait photos.

07Vios · Mar 4, 2013

bigal1000 said:
07Vios said:

^ I'm assuming you mean the 85mm f1.8. I have it, and I think it would be great for head shots (I don't really take too people pictures...yet) if you're using a cropped body. If you want a full body shot, the 85 1.8 may be a tad bit too much for a cropped body. A 50mm on a cropped might be a better choice for full body shots. Which one, I have no clue since I don't have any 50mm lenses.

Click to expand...

What if he has a FF camera?

I think those with FF bodies like 85mm lenses. At least those who have said something in other forums about portrait lenses. lol. These are just general suggestions and really depends on the user.

07Vios · Mar 4, 2013

These were on a T2i. Don't mind the DoF since I purposely shot with the lenses at wide open.

Sigma 30mm f1.4 (I had to be really close to the beaver to get a "head shot," its head is roughly the size of a human head).

Canon 85mm f1.8 (had some distance between the camera and the stuffed toy).

Don't mind the lighting either. Pics were taken late at night and I just slapped the speedlight on without thinking much of lighting.

And since I have the pic, might as well throw it in. Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens. Clearly across the room at the front door (smaller apartment), I couldn't even stand behind the tripod.

QuattroRocket · Mar 4, 2013

Depending on your budget the 50 1.8 (best $100 I ever spent) or 50 1.4 would be great options from what I have learned thus far.

KmH · Mar 4, 2013

Doing portraits requires having several lenses, not just 1.
There are a lot of different portrait types - Single person head shots, head/shoulders, 3/4, full body, sitting, laying down, multiple people, groups, studio posed, inside environmental, outside environmental

24 mm, 35 mm, 50 mm, 85 mm , 105 mm, 135 mm, 150 mm , 200 mm - or zoom lenses that cover those focal lengths.

The Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 II has some pretty decent optics for it's price. Unfortunately, and also because of it's low price, the rest of the lens is very low quality.
When dropped, even onto relatively soft surfaces like grass, the 50 mm f/1.8 II often breaks into 2 large, non-repairable pieces. There are lots of broken 50 mm f/1.8 II photos on the Internet.