Your choice of lens and suggestion. Family Portraits

C

cichy1012

Senior Member
I use currently a Nikon 85mm 1.8 lens and a 35mm 1.8. I love the 85 lens for single portrait photos. Ive been looking at the Tamron 2.8 70-200 mm lens also to use for versatility. My question is this lens a preferred lens also for portraits? The 85mm doesnt do very well for group photos, so I was thinking the the 70-200mm would be good all around?

What do you use for single and family portraits?

thanks
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
I like using a 70-200mm f/2.8 for portraits as do a lot of professionals, but that's in reference to a full-frame body. For a crop sensor I'd probably want something a little wider. The Nikon 18-140mm would work well.

The 85mm prime is one of my all time favorites and would work well on both full frame and crop sensor bodies.
....
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
cichy1012 said:
so the 18-140 mm lens on a DX body would be equivalent to...
would the 70-200 mm not work well?
Click to expand...
I don't really think about "equivalents"; I think about how a specific focal length will work on a particular format, whether DX or FX.

If you want to do the math regarding the crop factor Nikon DX bodies have a crop factor of 1.5x Canon DX bodies have a 1.6x crop factor.

On a DX body, for head and shoulder to 3/4 length portraits I like to work in the 50-100mm range, generally speaking. On an FX body, for head and shoulder to 3/4 length portraits, I'd like shooting in the 100-200mm range, generally speaking.

Group shots are another matter because a "group" could mean any number from, say, three to three-hundred.
....
 
R

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
cichy1012 said:
What do you use for single and family portraits?
Click to expand...

I agree with Paul.

The number of people in your family portrait setting will be a huge variable in getting a good answer. For the mix ... single portraits and larger family portraits, you'll probably want two different lenses for different focal lengths. How different will depend on how many people you need to get in frame, and how much space you have to work with.
 
Top