Santa Photos -- Should I be the photographer or should I pass?

[jwbryson1]

This is a well organized event where people sign up for a time slot for photos. The line can be a bit intimidating because there are often 40+ kids in line with the usual pushing, etc.

I am going to mull the comments above (thanks for all the great feedback!) and think about it some more. I have about 2 weeks to make a decision.

Thanks all!

 

[2WheelPhoto]

If you can set up simple OCF and triggers why wouldn't you

 

[jwbryson1]

If you can set up simple OCF and triggers why wouldn't you

I think it's fear of the unknown (fear of failure?), even though that makes no sense really. I've seen the other pros shoot the photos the past couple of years. 2 years ago the guy used OCF with umbrellas or brollys. I can't recall specifically. Then last year, the woman set up a single, large constant light source on the SC chair and didn't use flash. That was a bit strange to me. OCF seems to be the way to go.

There is limited space and I'm a bit concerned about having a lens that is wide enough to get the job done on my D90. My 50mm (75mm on crop sensor) will push me back pretty far. I also have the 35mm 1.8 but I keep hearing bad things about it in TPF.

The 18-200mm is wide enough but pretty slow.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

The 35mm isn't desirable for portraiture.

You can take your gear there or somewhere in the same environment and shoot a few shots ahead. See how far back you'll need to be with the 50mm. You don't want any less than 50mm for portraiture anyway. If you were near Tampa I'd let you borrow my FF body. But the cropper should suffice

 

[jwbryson1]

The 35mm isn't desirable for portraiture.

You can take your gear there or somewhere in the same environment and shoot a few shots ahead. See how far back you'll need to be with the 50mm. You don't want any less than 50mm for portraiture anyway. If you were near Tampa I'd let you borrow my FF body. But the cropper should suffice

Thanks, I really appreciate that. :mrgreen:

What about renting something like the 24-70?

 

[2WheelPhoto]

The 35mm isn't desirable for portraiture.

You can take your gear there or somewhere in the same environment and shoot a few shots ahead. See how far back you'll need to be with the 50mm. You don't want any less than 50mm for portraiture anyway. If you were near Tampa I'd let you borrow my FF body. But the cropper should suffice

Thanks, I really appreciate that. :mrgreen:

What about renting something like the 24-70?

You'd still want to shoot at 50mm or above to avoid lens distortion for the portraiture

 

[tirediron]

The 35mm isn't desirable for portraiture.

You can take your gear there or somewhere in the same environment and shoot a few shots ahead. See how far back you'll need to be with the 50mm. You don't want any less than 50mm for portraiture anyway. If you were near Tampa I'd let you borrow my FF body. But the cropper should suffice

Thanks, I really appreciate that. :mrgreen:

What about renting something like the 24-70?

You'd still want to shoot at 50mm or above to avoid lens distortion for the portraiture

I'd respectfully disagree; I use my 24-70 with both FX and DX bodies and suffer no noticable distortion at shorter FLs. Don't forget too, this is not going to be an image that's printed 16x20, framed and hung over the fire-place. It's going to be a fun image, done for the moment, and spend it's life magneted to the 'fridge or in an album if it does get printed at all. I would definitely suggest using the 24-70 if renting it fits into the budget; the ability to zoom in or out without having to move makes life a lot easier.

One other tip I've learned, if you're going to be shooting on your knees, get a good set of knee-pads, and if you're going to be shooting from higher up, have a chair handy; by about 2.00pm your back, neck and legs are going to be on fire!

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Thanks, I really appreciate that. :mrgreen:

What about renting something like the 24-70?

You'd still want to shoot at 50mm or above to avoid lens distortion for the portraiture

I'd respectfully disagree; I use my 24-70 with both FX and DX bodies and suffer no noticable distortion at shorter FLs. Don't forget too, this is not going to be an image that's printed 16x20, framed and hung over the fire-place. It's going to be a fun image, done for the moment, and spend it's life magneted to the 'fridge or in an album if it does get printed at all. I would definitely suggest using the 24-70 if renting it fits into the budget; the ability to zoom in or out without having to move makes life a lot easier.

One other tip I've learned, if you're going to be shooting on your knees, get a good set of knee-pads, and if you're going to be shooting from higher up, have a chair handy; by about 2.00pm your back, neck and legs are going to be on fire!

I can't disagree I've used my 24-70 on portraits lower than 50 too. And LR4 auto-compensates. But i still try to use that lens at 50 and > just because obviously its better for portraiture. Then again I'm shooting FF and its easier to get close with 50.

 

[Derrel]

40+ kids in line,eh? Sounds like FUN! I do not see much need for a zoom lens. Most every shot is going to be "identical", to within a few feet. I would suggest that you shoot just a bit loose, then crop in, as-needed. The biggest concern as far as failure goes is probably actually FOCUS. MANUAL focus to a set focusing mark on the lens is probably actually better, faster, and more-reliable than autofocusing for each shot. At least if you're experienced with that. The lens is gonna be at f/7.1 to f/10, I am assuming, so there will be enough DOF. A short telephoto setting ought to be most appropriate, so I would say NO to a 35mm prime lens. I would want to have my camera at precisely 3 meters distant, or 10 feet, whichever focusing mark the lens actually HAS (these days...focus scales are sketchy...).