Your Favorite Lens Shooting Family, B&G Format Portrait

For the family groups, I like to use a 24-70 when I can (on a crop) and step back a few steps, I'm usually at f/5.6 or so. For really large groups, I use a 10-20 Sigma at about f/8.

For couple portraits, anything goes- 70-200 f/2.8, 24-70, 10-20... A few other assorted lenses. Really depends on the look I want.

For family groups generally the 24-70, 35 or 50

For couple portraits... can be any of the lenses I have. Typically during most weddings pretty much all of them at one point or another.

Red Tie Photography wrote in post #12186732
This really surprises me. I try to be 3.5-5.6 if I can, and I know that sometimes that everyone cant be in focus, but are you worried about shooting too shallow?

That was the same thing I was thinking. I use the same lens 50 1.2 and would think that at f2 it would be too shallow for group shots.

bnlearle wrote in post #12190151
The bigger the group gets, the more I scoot back, and the wider I shoot I often shoot groups of 8 people at f/1.8 without any focus problems. And the background looks much better, imo

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B, On the group of 8 at f1.8, aren't the people at the end a bit soft. Do you lock your focus on the center person's eyes? I can imagine the background looking good, but I am concern with the rest of the group not being sharp. Which lens are you using for this situation?

Thanks.

Jon

bnlearle wrote in post #12190151
The bigger the group gets, the more I scoot back, and the wider I shoot I often shoot groups of 8 people at f/1.8 without any focus problems. And the background looks much better, imo

This thread has been really useful to me. But I had some problems trying to incorporate the information in a recent group photo (not a wedding). I posted a thread in the general section and got some great responses, but I also wanted to ask here specifically about the DOF calculator.

It was my first time using a tripod, and I assumed that (1) with the 10-second timer there would be no camera shake, so I could use a slower shutter speed, and (2) based on the DOF calculator (40D, 30 1.4, subject distance 15 ft), I could use f2.5 (which would give an ample DOF of 7.7 ft) and thus a lower ISO. There wasn't a ton of light (I also bounced a flash behind me to the upper right), which is why I didn't want to use too small an aperture if f2.5 was enough.

I thought everything would be super sharp, but instead it was noticeably blurry. Here's the photo (EXIF 1/160, 2.5, ISO400). I originally started with 1/60 but eventually went to 1/160 because of the blurriness. I used AF to focus on the woman's blue sleeve (on the left) because (1) I'm not good at focusing and recomposing and (2) I figured that with DOF 7.7 ft, everyone would be in focus also. Not only is the sleeve not in focus, but also I can't figure out what the camera focused on (although someone pointed out possibly a plug outlet by the wall, yikes).

I may have to turn off AF next time (although I'm nervous because my eyes aren't great with MF), and I'm also wondering about the minimum focusing distance with the 30 1.4. Which brings me to the DOF calculator. I'm not exactly sure what I did wrong. I thought I had figured it out, but a few people suggested that it's not always accurate and that I really should stick to smaller apertures just to be safe.

Anyway, I apologize for the long newbie rambling, but any advice is greatly appreciated. I really want to figure this out!

Thank you!

What a great thread. It's been very informative & helpful to me to see that some use less wide lenses at wide apertures in group shots; gonna have to give that a try! Bobby E.'s got me hankering for that 50 1.2 but I just bought a 15mm fish-eye & since I'll be quitting my bank job in less than 2 months to go full time photog, I have to wait...sorry for the digression, just wanted to say thanks for the info in this thread!

bnlearle wrote in post #12403099
Oh, if the people are stacked, then absolutely. But if they are all in one line, then it isn't a problem at all

This was the biggest lesson I learned on my first, I went too high w/ my aperture trying to ensure everyone was in focus. These would have been much better at f/4 or lower...

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/csperry/5742534​879/

PMCphotography: what do you mean by "on a crop"?

Thanks!

Here you go Mgnike1 http://lmgtfy.com/?q=c​rop+vs+full+frame

mgnike1 wrote in post #12651379
PMCphotography: what do you mean by "on a crop"?
Thanks!

bruisergirl wrote in post #12610782
This thread has been really useful to me. But I had some problems trying to incorporate the information in a recent group photo (not a wedding). I posted a thread in the general section and got some great responses, but I also wanted to ask here specifically about the DOF calculator.

It was my first time using a tripod, and I assumed that (1) with the 10-second timer there would be no camera shake, so I could use a slower shutter speed, and (2) based on the DOF calculator (40D, 30 1.4, subject distance 15 ft), I could use f2.5 (which would give an ample DOF of 7.7 ft) and thus a lower ISO. There wasn't a ton of light (I also bounced a flash behind me to the upper right), which is why I didn't want to use too small an aperture if f2.5 was enough.

I thought everything would be super sharp, but instead it was noticeably blurry. Here's the photo (EXIF 1/160, 2.5, ISO400). I originally started with 1/60 but eventually went to 1/160 because of the blurriness. I used AF to focus on the woman's blue sleeve (on the left) because (1) I'm not good at focusing and recomposing and (2) I figured that with DOF 7.7 ft, everyone would be in focus also. Not only is the sleeve not in focus, but also I can't figure out what the camera focused on (although someone pointed out possibly a plug outlet by the wall, yikes).

I may have to turn off AF next time (although I'm nervous because my eyes aren't great with MF), and I'm also wondering about the minimum focusing distance with the 30 1.4. Which brings me to the DOF calculator. I'm not exactly sure what I did wrong. I thought I had figured it out, but a few people suggested that it's not always accurate and that I really should stick to smaller apertures just to be safe.

Anyway, I apologize for the long newbie rambling, but any advice is greatly appreciated. I really want to figure this out!

Thank you!

You DOF was too narrow, go for F8 with group shots. ISO 800, F8, 1/200th, flash bounced behind you and to the left.

If you want opinions on a photos sharpness you need to post a 100% crop, to show the detail.

Thanks for the advice! I will take dof charts with a grain of salt in the future and use a narrower aperture. About everyone not being in the same line of focus, I thought I had taken that in consideration--I estimated a depth of about 5 feet from the front subjects to the back, which is why I assumed everyone would be in focus--but obviously I miscalculated something and should have used a safer narrower aperture. Duly noted!

My favourite group shot lens is 200 f/2L IS at f/2 - I love telephoto compression and blurry backgrounds. Not a fan of the wide angle stretchy look