Indoor Portraits, between two lenses

[Marcelariano]

I am new in this. So which lens would you recommend for indoor portraits between 85mm f1.8, the 50 mm f1.4 or the 100 f2.8? I understand they are also good with low light action, if I want to take pictures of a ballet presentation, which one will be best? Or is that too much too ask for the same lens? Thank you for your advice.

[RandyMN]

It depends on your camera and how large the groups are you will be shooting portraits of.

If only a single subject I would think the 50mm would work on a cropped sensor camera. If full frame and a single subject then the 85 mm would work nice.

The 100 might be difficult on anything other than a full sensor camera body. With cropped sensors indoors it may be too telephoto to use in smaller rooms.

For ballet I would definately take nothing less than the 100 mm.

[Marcelariano]

Thank you. I have the EOS 40 D. Now I see that there is 85 mm 1.8 and 1.2.L. The difference in price is BIG. I don't have budget for the 1.2. This will be my first lens. I only have the one that came with the camera (28-135). If I start with the 85mm 1.8, would that be a mistake? Also, I am thinking I could buy the lens for indoors individual portraits and use the 28-135 for bigger groups...

[RandyMN]

Since I have none of those three lenses I cannot say which would be your best choice as it would depend a lot on the size of the room you are using and how close the background is to the subject.

I am sure the 85 mm 1.8 would make a great head and shoulders portrait lens so I don't think that for the price it would ever be considered a mistake.

[form]

85 f/1.8 is good on crop sensor for head shots or head and shoulders. If that's what you're doing the most then it's a good lens for the purpose. Most of the time I use zooms for that stuff now.

100 f/2.8 is a macro lens; 50 f/1.4 is a bit too short for head shots but works okay for head and shoulders.

[Helen Bartlett]

I use a 50mm for about 80% of my work, much of which is done indoors. I would go for a 50mm if you are just buying one at this stage as it gives you most flexibility. The 85 is a great lens but on a 40D may be too long in many situations.

I use the 50mm for lots of headshots and I have found it works fine, particularly on a cropped body, the 85 is better for that but often there just isn't the space to get that far back from your subjects.

The 100mm 2.8 is a lovely lens but unless you are shooting in a performance hall I think it will be too long and it also may be too slow if you are using available light.

You also might want to consider a 35mm lens. When I shot with a 30D (I have a 1dmk3 now) I used the 35mm a huge amount for indoor portraits.

Helen

[bobbyz]

Are you taking shots in studio env where you close to the subjects or shooting where someone is performing? If it is #2 then how far you going to be that should dictate what lens you need.

[IslandCrow]

The 85mm f/1.8 is an excellent lens, so I wouldn't worry too much about not being able to afford the L glass. Of course, I'm with Helen on this one. Back when I had a film camera, my 85mm was my portrait lens, and I bought one for my digital SLR awhile back, not taking into account the cropped sensor. I recently picked up the Canon 50mm f/1.4, and I've been much happier with its versatility. Anyway, I'm certainly no professional, but that's my personal preference.

[Patriotic1]

Both the 50 1.4 and 85 1.8 are solid IMO. Yes the L versions are even better, but $$$

If you have a specific indoor room/studio/space in mind, have a friend strike a pose for you in that room (jk), set your 28-135 zoom to 50mm, and see how much of their body you can comfortably capture from various positions... then set your zoom to 85mm and do the same. This will give you an idea of what lens might work best (or not at all) for your typical indoor portrait scenario.

Unless you have a very large space to work in, your ability to use an 85mm or longer lens indoors is most likely going be limited by the room's dimensions. So the above test gives you a point of reference.

Note: position your subject at least 8 feet from the wall they are sitting/standing in front of in this test - because, if you really get into different portrait photo's (using seemless white paper, backgrounds, studio lighting etc) you will learn to appreciate the need/advantages of being able to separate the subject from the background... unless you like the passport photo look (ha-ha). Outdoors anything goes, but like many, you might find you prefer the 85 or 135 for their reach. But the 50 is fine there too. Good luck!

EDIT: Forgot to mention, you can probably find a camera shop like PENN where you can rent the lens ($20-25) if you really wanted to test drive one.