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06/29/2006 10:33:23 AM · #1 |
So I know alot of you run buinesses and take alot of portraits.
Heres my situation: I have the rebel xt and the kit lens (18-55). I also bought the omniquest flash diffuser, to up the quality of my close shots.
My question is, should I invest in a new lens?, or will the 18-55 be fine for portraits?
I hope that made sense...sometimes I word things funny.
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06/29/2006 10:40:13 AM · #2 |
For portraits, the standard is a really nice prime lense.
Traditionally, that is an 85mm lense, however, with the crop on DSLRs, you could get away with a 50mm Prime, as I have in the following samples.
(These aren't "great" samples as I wasn't really going for greatness with these.)
  
In fact, these were cropped out of larger images as the setting wasn't exactly helpful in capturing these... |
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06/29/2006 10:40:47 AM · #3 |
I donno... I think that the 18-55 is a bit too wide for my taste...
back in the day (damn I feel old sometimes ) before digital we would do portrait at between 85 and 105 (35mm) so the at 55mm you are just on the edge of that range using digital.
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06/29/2006 08:52:59 PM · #4 |
18-55mm just means you have to be up close. A bit too in the models face. Something with a bit more like 85mm - 100mm would give some distant and may give a more flattering look to the portrait.
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06/29/2006 09:00:51 PM · #5 |
i dont know about the 18-55 but check this page
//www.the-digital-picture.com/ |
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06/29/2006 10:42:23 PM · #6 |
The best lense you can get fpr portraits is 85/ 1,8 mm. You are not close to the subject, that the person feels very comfortable. I use if for mostly all of my portraits and very very happy with it.
  
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06/29/2006 10:52:13 PM · #7 |
in total agreement with anastasia here... the canon 85mm f/1.8 USM is probably the sharpest lens i own, and the perfect portrait lens.
-Dan |
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06/29/2006 11:45:26 PM · #8 |
I don't have many Lenses, but my favourite portrait lens is my 70-200 F4 L. If I had the 85 it would be fine, but the 70-200 covers that range and produces brilliantly sharp images.
If you are using the 18-55, you will be probably shooting at about 55. The main thing to watch for is that you hae enough light so you can be shooting at about F8 to F10. In this range you will be getting nice sharp images.
Your cheapest option is to get the 50mm F1.8.
A great lens at a great price with great results. |
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06/30/2006 02:47:27 AM · #9 |
Personally, I never liked the 18-55 kit lens that came with my camera.
I don't take many portrait photos, but did invest in a 24-70L lens and find it just wonderful for general use. It would cover most of the range I need.
Above that, I then have the 100-400mm lens. I know I'm lacking something in the 70-100 range, but don't find that a problem. |
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06/30/2006 02:48:13 AM · #10 |
I have to agree with the others. the kit lens is not a good portrait lens. First of all, it's just too wide, like others already said. Second, the quality is just not good enough if you are planning on actually making portraits your business. You will need to deliver higher quality images than the kit lens can provide. I am taking technical quality that is.
aKiwi said that with the kit lens you'd have to shoot at f8-f10 for sharpness, however, in my experience this is just too much depth of field for portraits, you need to shoot wider than that. I dont know what your budget is but the lens Anastasia recommended is not that expensive, it is certainly not L priced but it is a great lens.
June
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06/30/2006 03:05:50 AM · #11 |
*edit* Wrong thread... whoops.
Sorry.
Message edited by author 2006-06-30 07:06:13.
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06/30/2006 03:10:50 AM · #12 |
Originally posted by Anastasia:
The best lense you can get fpr portraits is 85/ 1,8 mm. You are not close to the subject, that the person feels very comfortable. I use if for mostly all of my portraits and very very happy with it.
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Agree 100%, I LOVE this lens, the focal length is perfect for me, I wish I could afford the 85mm 1.2 mkII but that´s not going to happen anytime soon and this sucker is really up to par, it´s awesome. I have shot with it extensively wide open and just love the DOF it produces. I am using a full frame camera though so I might suggest a 50mm 1.8 for you now, and actually both as I do use my 50mm a lot in studio for full body shots.
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07/01/2006 05:10:37 AM · #13 |
| Yep 85mm 1.8. Super sharp...not too pricey either. |
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