Good Lens for Portrait Studio Shoot

[BROGGO]

Hi Everyone,

I have been asked to help a friend with getting her modelling business website running by doing a studio shoot this weekend.

Its basically 50 models and they want head shots and body shots for the models profiles that will be going online as a part of their portfolio. They have rented a studio with fixed permanent studio lighting.

I am not a professional and she does know this but she has seen the shots I did for my sister's wedding along with some other projects that I have done, and she was very impressed.

I want to do the best I can and I think the only thing that may let me down is the lens that I have which is Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. I only have this and the 18-50 kit lens.

I was thinking of renting a lens for the weekend as I don't think I could afford a new one just yet.

So, its a two part question of A) do you think I could potentially use the lens I already have and B) What would you recommend as a good lens that I could rent and potentially buy in the future as this job is probably the first of many with her.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Woody]

Welcome to DPS.

You biting off a large chunk. I guess you could take photos with your Iphone if you wanted too, but you might be struggling a bit with your gear, if you are inexperienced.

You probably need to do a test shoot to see if you can manage the lighting and get the quality you require. It's no good trying to figure out your game plan with 50 testy models wanting to get on with it.

I would't do it cold like that.

Good luck.

John W

[Sime]

Yes. You could.

Woody's very right though.... get in there as early as possible and try it out with the 18-200 ....I'd go for between 50 and 100mm... wider and you start bending their heads out of shape... You could even go longer, but you're going to lose light - though, you're going to (depending on the studio light) want to be somewhere between f8 and 11 to get them nice and sharp anyway...

So, A) Yes and B) an 85 f/1.8 is a great portrait lens, you'd need to step back to get more in, obviously.

Simon

[OsmosisStudios]

Dont rent lenses: rent lighting. Otherwise you're looking at a complete failure.

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Dont rent lenses: rent lighting. Otherwise you're looking at a complete failure.

I think the studio lighting is there already...

It would be nice to get in there before hand and see how far back you can get. If its tight, you won't get full length shots w/ the 85...
You could shoot it with what you have. End game is the internet so as long as your focus is sharp the lenses you have will be fine.

Note SIme's comment about distortion...so if you have to go wide be sure and keep the shutter plane parallel to the models/perpendicular to the floor (avoid tilting the camera) to reduce /avoid perspective distortion.

How are you going to trigger the studio lights?

[AndyM2020]

Assuming it's reasonably sharp, you should be able to use the 18-200mm zoom for this, using (as been mentioned by Sime above) focal lengths between 50mm and 100mm for the head shots. You can go a little wider for the full length body shots, but not too far or you get distortion and can start making their legs look short, etc.

In a studio for this sort of thing you would normally set the aperture to around f/8 to f/11, so you don't need a "fast" f/2.8 lens. That is also around the "sweet spot" for most lenses, so it should be at its sharpest.

Also check on how big the studio is as this can effect your decision on what lens(es) to use if you don't use the 18-200mm - I have used a studio that was so small that when I used my 70-200mm at 70mm, I had to stand outside the front door for anything more than head shots.

I would concentrate more on learning how to use the lighting and how to light and pose the models, and to how you are going to "process" that many (you will only get 10 minutes each in an 8 hour day with no breaks, which is "doable", but that does not allow for makeup/hair and getting ready, etc.)

[autofocus]

Wow, biting off a lot. Besides your obvious question concerning your choice of lenses, there's a bunch more things you'll have to consider. You say the studio has "fixed permanent studio lighting,"...are these constant power, or flash/strobes? If the latter, you or they will have to provide some way to trigger the units. Do you have experience with setting up and using off camera flash? Balancing the various lights and getting your exposures set without a light meter will necessitate some trial and error. Depending on the size of your work area, an 85mm with the 1.6 multiplier on a crop sensor may be too long for many of your shots. Because of their inherent IQ and sharpness I would suggest renting a 50mm, and you also may want to have a 35mm at your disposal for some of the full body shots. Our studio area is on the small side, so these two lenses work very well for us. And both of these lenses have such good IQ you literally can count the eyelashes on your subjects face..always a good thing for head shots. If you decide to go with your current pair of lenses I would suggest you not use them at either their widest or longest zoom settings. Also, for best results, figure on using aperture settings around 2+ stops smaller than the largest available aperture. If you are planning on doing all 50 the same day, and at 10 minutes each, you'd better be prepared to be there for 8.5 - 10 hours. Best of luck to you

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by AndyM2020

Assuming it's reasonably sharp, you should be able to use the 18-200mm zoom for this, using (as been mentioned by Sime above) focal lengths between 50mm and 100mm for the head shots. You can go a little wider for the full length body shots, but not too far or you get distortion and can start making their legs look short, etc.

In a studio for this sort of thing you would normally set the aperture to around f/8 to f/11, so you don't need a "fast" f/2.8 lens. That is also around the "sweet spot" for most lenses, so it should be at its sharpest.

Also check on how big the studio is as this can effect your decision on what lens(es) to use if you don't use the 18-200mm - I have used a studio that was so small that when I used my 70-200mm at 70mm, I had to stand outside the front door for anything more than head shots.

I would concentrate more on learning how to use the lighting and how to light and pose the models, and to how you are going to "process" that many (you will only get 10 minutes each in an 8 hour day with no breaks, which is "doable", but that does not allow for makeup/hair and getting ready, etc.)

Looks like we're on the same page...with my slow typing, you beat me to it