EF 17-40mm for Club/Bar Shooting?

[scheme2099]

Hi Everyone,

Im moving into doing event promotions and need to capture images of my patrons. From what I was told this lens is perfect for low light situations, where alot of room isnt given to fully capture a whole subject.

Canon | EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens | 8806A002 | B&H Photo Video

A friend told me not to use this lens because it will make people look overweight. is this true? If so, what other lens will do the job?

[OsmosisStudios]

This depends on several things

If youre using the lens with a body and a flash, then it's perfect. If you're doing available light only, then it'll be FAR too slow.

If youre using it on a Full-frame body, then youll have to worry about the distortion at the edges of the frame. If youre not, then it wont be a huge issue.

[sybren]

For portraits I use a 85mm f/1.8 lens. It makes people look less fat But for full body shots and as a general walkaround lens I love my EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8. I'd say that 40mm is a little short for photographing people, especially when you are close to them.

What body will you be using?

[BCampbell]

It's not a portrait lens, really.

Here's a good review. Note that they mention moderate barrel distortion at the wide end, and 24mm being the "sweet spot" for low distortion. Barrel distortion is what warps people, especially near the edges of the frame, and makes them look strange. If you want to use this lens, you will want to stick around 24mm and keep people in the center of the frame.

F/4 is not really ideal for low-light shooting. I agree, if you have a flash, you will be okay. If you have a camera with good high-ISO performance you can make it too.

Camera body makes a huge difference here. Especially full frame vs APS-C.

My suggestion, especially if you are on APS-C, is to get the Canon 50mm f/1.4 (the 1.8 will work but the 1.4 is worth the extra dimes), and find a spot on the premises that you can use as a sort of impromptu studio. Something with a decent background and fairly strong lighting where you can quickly set people up, take a few shots, and thank them for their time. The 50mm becomes 80mm on the cropped sensor and is a great portrait lens, and being able to go to f/2.8 or lower is good for low light. You'll need a little bit of space to back up, but if you act professional you shouldn't have a problem herding people.

[OsmosisStudios]

One of the guys I worked with on a club opening was shooting a pair of 5DmkII bodies, one with the 17-40 and the other with the 24-70. The 17-40 body was used with radio triggers to pop a bunch of flash we managed to monkey into the ceiling in places and got great environmental shots. The 24-70 body was paired with a 580EXii on-camera for people shots.