Portrait photography

cbjohnson02

cbjohnson02

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Chris
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After playing round with my new toy for 2 months i have decided Portrait Photography is my preference. That being the case i want to get a lens and flash to improve my photos.

Any recommendations or advice welcome.

Many thanks
 
There are many possibilities due to style, situation, location etc. Firstly, what lens/es do you have currently? What are they not doing that you want to be able to do with a new lens?

People are in the mind set that something from 50mm - 85mm on a crop body is ideal for portraits and that's pretty true and a good starting basis, there are times to go wide and times to go long but if you have something in that range you are off to a good start.

Outdoor shooting can really be helped by having a wide aperture so that you can throw the background out of focus, you can also help this with longer focal lengths, framing tightly and getting the subject away from the background.... doing all together helps.
 
I just have the standard 18-55mm lens that came with the camera.

How do i upload photo's. I'll upload an example of pictures i'm currently getting and hopefully you guys can offer advice on how i could improve my technique.

Many thanks
 
Here it is, I've managed to get it on now i think.

5957976417


This is just one of them. i'll upload another one tomorrow.

Let me know if there is anything i could've done to improve this.
 
cbjohnson02 said:
After playing round with my new toy for 2 months i have decided Portrait Photography is my preference. That being the case i want to get a lens and flash to improve my photos.

Any recommendations or advice welcome.

Many thanks
Click to expand...

I'd suggest a 50mm prime as the next step from a kit lens mate

Nikon do a cheap 1.8 nifty fifty, I'm sure Canon does one as well. Quick google finds this one

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-EF-50-1-8-Lens/dp/B00005K47X
 
Hi cbjohnson02,

I would recommend staying with you current kit at the moment, You have got some good sharpe images outside but the indoor shots seem to lack a little punch.

You might want look at setting you camera to AV mode (Aperture Priority) this will allow you shift the F stop and let the camera decide the Shutter speed. You might find you need to lift the ISO up to get the shutter faster in poor light.

once you nail your current kit then look at a new lens, You can still get brilliant shots with your current kit.

hope that helps and I hope i didn't come across to negative.

cheers

Dan
 
I have one of the 50mm 1.8 canon, and for portrait it's a bargain, i had it 3-4 months and i incrisly like it. It was a 75 pounds investement.

Little down side, i see that you have a lot of action shoot, and focus is quiet slow on this lens and in low light.
 
Depends on what you are shooting and how far away you are from it.

I am a nikon bloke, so can't comment on better lenses for canon, however if you can play with a few lenses (or hire/borrow them?)...

Try the
- 30mm f1.4 sigma - good copy produces really nice results.
- samyang 85 1.4 (manual focus tho)
- 50mm f1.4 (sigma or canon?)

A second hand shop may have one or more of the lenses so you can try them and see whether the view is wide/narrow enough.


With your kit lens is there a particular mm you use a lot? If so - see if there is a prime on that range, or look at a 18/24-50/105 zoom type lens... think there have been several posts over which are better (image quality wise).
 
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You can't go wrong with a 50mm f1.8 lens for the money they pack on hell of a punch. Pick up a secondhand one and you will get your money back if looked after.
 
I've had a few people tell me to stay clear of second hand equipment? I try to buy new if i can, but have had to re-evaluate my approach after realising how expencive this could get!!

Is there anything i should be looking out for when buying second hand equipment (other than obvious signs of misuse)

Also, are Sigma lenses better than Canon lenses? I hear a lot of people mention them and have seen they're very high priced?

Cheers guys
 
50 or 100mm prime lenses are my choices. I have a f1.4 50mm which I use for the majority of my portrait shots.
:)
 
Adam_K said:
You can't go wrong with a 50mm f1.8 lens for the money they pack on hell of a punch. Pick up a secondhand one and you will get your money back if looked after.
Click to expand...

I'll second that I just paid £65 for a Sony 50mm Prime f1.8 lens and its well worth the dosh - lovely portrait lens

Les :thumbs:
 
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What about the Tamron lenses? Are they any good?
 
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