What lens would use to do a family portrait?

kshapero

kshapero

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Need to shoot a family portrait of a family of 5 (parents, an 18 yr old, 16 yr old and an 11 yr old) so no jumpy children. What lens focal length would you use? I am thinking my 40 mm.😉
 
kshapero said:
Need to shoot a family portrait of a family of 5 (parents, an 18 yr old, 16 yr old and an 11 yr old) so no jumpy children. What lens focal length would you use? I am thinking my 40 mm.😉
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Well, I prefer a bit longer for portraits. In the past I have used a 200 Nikkor at 2.8 and obtained great results. The wider one gets, the less complimentary the lens is to, ahem, those who don't want to look fat...BTDT. An 80mm works great as well.

Interesting question and I look forward to the answers.:angel:
 
Are they going to be standing or sitting? If standing, do you want to show their feet? That'll help you figure what size rectangle of the world you want to shoot. Let's say they're standing and you want to show their feet, so that would be about a 6.5x9.75' area. With a 40mm, you would be about 11' away from them, which most people would feel is a comfortable enough working distance. If you prefer to be closer or further, use a wider lens or longer lens. I'd use a 35 for a group portrait, maybe a 50 if I had the space and/or I wanted just waist-up or an otherwise tighter framing.
 
Guess if your space is restricted, then I suppose your 40mm lens choice should be fine.

The reason why it's been suggested to use the longest lens possible is that you can throw the background completely out of focus, and all the attention is given to the group. Of course you'd need a lot more space for that!
 
kshapero said:
why? with a 200 mm to catch the whole family I would not have enough back up room to get them all in. They are looking for a head to toe portrait. (Maybe I should have said that at the get go)
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A 200mm for a full body portrait is wonderful. The compression is almost always flattering to your subjects, and works well for the background too. There is no such thing as a "portrait lens" or "portrait focal length".

In any case, I suggested the longest lens you can use given the available space.
 
I'd think that given the space you'll be working in, a 40mm or 50mm should be fine for the task. Along with that f/4, think about putting some distance between the group and the background to further provide for some separation.
 
I agree with filmfan - use a 50mm at f/4 and back up as far as you need to to get the composition you want. I would encourage the subjects to sit/stand close to each other, but not look too packed-in, and no leaning into each other.
 
kshapero said:
Outdoor but in a sort of closed patio. 2 will be standing and 3 sitting. Starting to lean towards a 50. Shooting from ankles up.
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Your lens choice should be entirely driven by the perspective you want, and the distance you're shooting from. That is why most rangefinder cameras have the bright line select preview lever, so that you can better judge what lens to use for the distances you have to work in, and then select the proper lens.

Move around as much as the venue will allow, and don't forget to vary your shooting height from eye level. Sometimes dropping to one knee gives a more pleasant perspective than eye level does.
 
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