Struggling with the 35L...inspiration needed

I've owned the 35L for almost a year now and seriously I'm just not feeling it. My main shooting subject is my 20 months old daughter who doesn't stand still.

I often find 35mm too wide on ff which I ended up cropping a lot of times. I can see the lens being extremely useful for indoor or group shots when space is tight, but for outdoor if the background is not very pretty it often includes too much of it, and being a wide-ish lens, it's hard to blur it out.

So my question is, how do you use it properly outdoor where space isn't a concern? For proper portrait session with beautiful background I can understand, but in my case what would you do? Any example would be nice

Looking at your gear setup, I'd be leaving the 35mm in the bag and using the 70-200 f/2.8L for the outdoor work. Zoom, plus great backgrounds ... what more could you ask for?

Agree though that the 35 is a bit wide on the 5D2 and needs to be used at close range. On the other hand, anything below about f/2.8 using the 35L obliterates the background! Not quite as nicely and smoothly as the 85L, but nice nonetheless.

Use the 35L indoors (close range) and something longer, (longer-range) outdoors. Probably the most simple solution based on what you have.

dave

snyderman wrote in post #15153554
Looking at your gear setup, I'd be leaving the 35mm in the bag and using the 70-200 f/2.8L for the outdoor work. Zoom, plus great backgrounds ... what more could you ask for?

This. On a FF body, that's the perfect focal length for catching little ones running around outside. The shallower DOF of your 35L won't do anything for you, because getting your daughter to sit still long enough to make sure you're focused in the right place is going to be tough. I have a 5DII and 70-200 f/4L IS and honestly shooting at f/4 is plenty wide for me, as I'm typically above 100mm and the background is plenty blurred the way it is.

If you're set on using a prime, I'd honestly say that a 50mm variant would be a better option, I think 35mm is just too wide for chasing little ones around. It's about as wide as I'd ever want to go for portraits, but the problem with little ones is that you're rarely close enough to use that wide of a focal length, and if you are, they're "in focus" for so little time that the odds of getting a good shot are small.

Use your 70-200, stay as far back as you can, and I think you'll be a lot happier.

(to put it another way, I don't think you're going to get a lot of inspiration on how to use the 35L for this type of shooting, because I don't think it's the right tool for the job)

looks like the FL isn't for you at this moment in time.

I actually use my 24L alot on my full frame for alot of applications. I'll use anything that will give me the look I want. I'll change lenses when I feel its not giving me the perspective I want.

Sure sounds like you need to add a 24-70Lmk2 to your gearlist. The versatility is what you need. I love to shoot primes but I have no hesitation in shooting with zooms when versatility is required. I use my 16-35L alot for events and family functions. I do find that the 16-35 and 70-200mk2 is very similar in prime IQ.

I think the 100mm 2.8 L is a GREAT lens for shooting kids indoors and out. With a wide lens, you're right in their face. Longer lenses with kids suit me fine.

I think in your case, you should sell it. Sounds like it's just not for you and I know it would not be for me. 35mm is very wide to me as well. All of my serious stuff is shot at +50mm. Sell it and maybe go ultra wide instead.

When my son was young, the 17-55 f2.8 was the lens I used while he played. At that age, they usually play near you but always constantly moving. So with FF, I too think the 24-70 will be the best suited lens. Now that he is a big kid, I am using my 70-200 while he plays. At this age, they are running faster and widening their play area which makes them mostly far away from the parents. Forget about using primes on active kids, unless your kid loves to have pictures taken of them. Mine couldnt be bothered. So the zooms is the best option at least for my kid. F2.8 is works just fine. I like a bit of context in the background so to remind me of the places that we have been.

It's good that you identified the use for the 35mm lens but for the mean time use the longer lenses you have. For me I wouldn't want to sell the 35L due to its versatility in other situations

First of all thanks for all the input.

snyderman wrote in post #15153554
Looking at your gear setup, I'd be leaving the 35mm in the bag and using the 70-200 f/2.8L for the outdoor work. Zoom, plus great backgrounds ... what more could you ask for?
dave

Yes I love my 70-200 for outdoor portrait and I use it regularly. But it sort of gives the same kind of 'look' (and a good one that is) and I want to add more varieties to my shots. Thus the 35L for environmental portrait.

I guess it's because so much background can be seen within the frame and if it isn't interesting, the shot just look very normal with lots of distractions.

Agree with the others, the 70-200 is great outdoors with kids, but don't discount the 35 either, you just have to pick your shots and be patient. Get the kids going sideways across you rather than running straight at you. I used to struggle as well and found that gets me more shots doing it that way.

AlanU wrote in post #15153716
looks like the FL isn't for you at this moment in time.

I actually use my 24L alot on my full frame for alot of applications. I'll use anything that will give me the look I want. I'll change lenses when I feel its not giving me the perspective I want.

Sure sounds like you need to add a 24-70Lmk2 to your gearlist. The versatility is what you need. I love to shoot primes but I have no hesitation in shooting with zooms when versatility is required. I use my 16-35L alot for events and family functions. I do find that the 16-35 and 70-200mk2 is very similar in prime IQ.

Thanks Alan. That was the other debate i had last week between 17-40 and 16-35II. I ended up purchasing the 17-40...

I thought about selling my 35L for the 16-35II or 24L for dual landscape/portrait use and after shooting the 35L again recently, I honestly don't think I can use the 24L effectively. When outdoor, I struggle to fill the frame when we are just out and about. I have to get so up close to her face (and i fail most of the times )which I feel unnecessary and the end result just looks like a point and shoot....

Like I said in my first post, if you are at a beach or forest with beautiful background, or you have a model that stands still and gives you time to compose and frame, it's a great lens. But in my situation, I struggle...

kin2son wrote in post #15153495
I've owned the 35L for almost a year now and seriously I'm just not feeling it. My main shooting subject is my 20 months old daughter who doesn't stand still.

I often find 35mm too wide on ff which I ended up cropping a lot of times. I can see the lens being extremely useful for indoor or group shots when space is tight, but for outdoor if the background is not very pretty it often includes too much of it, and being a wide-ish lens, it's hard to blur it out.

So my question is, how do you use it properly outdoor where space isn't a concern? For proper portrait session with beautiful background I can understand, but in my case what would you do? Any example would be nice

Face it, 35mm is not a "chasing the kid" lens. It's been used in the past as most often a landscape lens, and sometimes a street lens. You need either close proximity to your subject, or a landscape with the foreground/middle ground as an important part of the composition. It doesn't minimize the background as much as some wide angles do (28mm- 24mm), but it is still a moderate wide angle lens.

Use the 35L for closer distance. It was made to shoot close up portraits to maximize its potential for creativity. Anything less for a portrait and it may be too boring. If you're not shooting up close, the 35L is great for environmental portraits.

The 35L is great for those close distance shots, like torso to head, the 1.4 shines at that distance and creates some creamy backgrounds. Any closer and you get some perspective distortion and long noses, if you step back and make more of an environmental portrait, you lose the creamy background(unless the background is pretty far back), but the 35L is very sharp and will make for excellent pictures as long as you find it's niche.

I loved the 35L on my 7D. It was on my camera 75% of the time, but when I picked up the 5D3 I had a hard time with it and ended up picking up the 50L for my leave on the camera lens... Most of my shooting is indoors.