which lens for candid pics of friends?

weepete · Jul 7, 2013

So I'm meeting up with my mate for a wee jolly in a local park today and thought I'd take my camera along and try and shoot some b&w candids for a change. I'd like to take one lens, two at the most and leave the rest behind so my question is which one should I take?

I have:

18-55mm kit lens
50mm 1.8
24-105mm 3.5-5.6
75-300mm 4-5.6

I may try and take a couple of shots on my way and a few others of people out and about too

ShooterJ · Jul 7, 2013

I'd go with the 24-105 or the 75-300.. you'll be more versatile if you want to include other photos as well as your friends candids... and you won't have to get up close and personal like you would with the 18-55 or the 50.. which kind of kills the "candid" part of it.

The 24-105 would give you a decent range for shots of your friends, maybe other people nearby and a bit wider option if you want some scenery along the way.

cgipson1 · Jul 7, 2013

I agree with ShooterJ... the 24-105 would be a good choice, especially on a crop body. I typically use my 24-70 when shooting people unless I have reason to use something else. If there will be any distance shooting.. obviously the 70-300 would be a great choice.

kathyt · Jul 7, 2013

If you only want to take 2 lenses, I would take the 50 and the 24-105.

CaptainNapalm · Jul 7, 2013

From my limited experience, I'd take the 50mm 1.8. This lens on my Nikon has proved best for parties, friend gatherings and family functions. It's light, fast, and can take a comfortable shot of a few people waist up from about 10 feet away. You may have to move around a bit to frame shots but for me that's part of the fun. Be careful with the 'slower' zoom lenses, as when it gets cloudy or the sun starts to set you may find it difficult to take reasonable looking photos of moving subjects, you'll have to jack up your ISO to unacceptable levels, especially if you're using a crop sensor body. I was at a friend's house just yesterday visiting his newborn and decided to take pics of his 2 year old. I was snapping away with my 70-300mm then when clouds set in and it started to get a bit darker in his backyard after 7pm I switched over to the 50mm 1.8 and was much more efficient with this lens. Opened up my images late last night to notice a noticeable IQ difference between the images taken with the 50mm and the 70-300 zoom.