lens for team shots??

I am looking for a new lens to shoot team pictures up to 30 players. I shot some team pictures last week with my 20D and the 17-85 and I noticed that once I crop to an 8x10 which seems to be the standard team shot size I have too much empty space on top and bottom of the picture because of the 4x6 aspect ratio. I put a banner and text on top and bottom but I am interested in getting a better crop and bringing the players closer on a standard 8x10 crop.

What lens is good for team shots? I plan on using my MKIIn for this in the future but I could not do this with the 17-85 since it is an S lens. I am also thinking about a 24-105 L as my next lens so I can use it with my MKII and selling the 17-85. Would this be a good lens for team shots or do I need something wider.

i don't think you should worry about the difference cause the ef-s 17-85mm on a 20D gives you 28mm, whilst a ef 24-105mm on a mkIIn gives you 31mm.

and if there is too much space on the top and bottom, it really can't be helped - simply cause you need the wideness on the sides to fit everyone it. maybe you could trying rearranging their positions so as to get a nicer fit?

Surely it's not the lens that has left you with this problem. Sorry I may be missing somehting but to my mind it is the way you have organised the line up. With 30 players I would go for at least 3 rows to get the aspect ratio you require... A different lens wont alter that....will it?

Kipax is spot on, three rows of 10, or if you can get a reasonably high aperture (depending on lighting) to open up your DOF, a 9-8-7-6 configuration would work, and give a little more shape. (and allow alternative crops if needed)

Maybe 17-55 IS or 24-70L

estart wrote in post #2194403
Maybe 17-55 IS or 24-70L

Hes planning on using the 1D-MkIIn

i'd reccomend ditching the 17-85 and picking up the 16-35L or you can get its predecessor the 17-35 f/2.8L on ebay for like 700ish. REAL GOOD lens...hope that helps.

happy shooting

I took many large team photos this fall (football teams and cheerleaders). Some were over the 30 person size.

I used my 85 1.8. Yes, the biggest concern for me was "how much room did I have". In each of my cases, I could back up to fit the photos. A few were even taken indoors in so-so lighting. All the photos turned out excellent.

As far as the empty space on top etc., try to arrange the group with that in mind. The typical group shot will have that space. But if it's a big concern, arrange them sort of in a 8" by 11" frame. Generally, football teams will have that traditional "wider" look in a portrait (which leaves empty space on top).

Just sharing my experiences. I think the lenses others have mentioned will work great as well as a bunch of others. The hardest part is arranging them, and getting them all on the same page. Tell them ahead of time you will be taking more than one photo. Good luck.

I'd say 28/1.8 stopped down quite a bit. You want a wide-to-normalish view on a crop body. This also helps with DOF. (wide usually gives you more DOF). Arrange them so that they fill the frame, or try to at the very least.

Here is the shot I took last Saturday. As you will see I have lined them up in 3 rows. This was a small team so it was not a big problem. This was shot at f/8 1/100 focal length was 30mm so the equivalent of 48mm. I was just thinking that maybe there was a better way to shoot with a wider lens and get a better close up with the 8x10 crop. I need to experiment with it.

Thanks for the comments

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You can change the aspect ratio by making the rows shorter. Perhaps have the guys turn slightly in one direction or the other so that their numbers and faces are still visible, but they take up less room across the frame. This would allow you to zoom in closer and fill more of the top and bottom of the frame.

rrpruett wrote in post #2193996
I am looking for a new lens to shoot team pictures up to 30 players. I shot some team pictures last week with my 20D and the 17-85 and I noticed that once I crop to an 8x10 which seems to be the standard team shot size I have too much empty space on top and bottom of the picture because of the 4x6 aspect ratio. I put a banner and text on top and bottom but I am interested in getting a better crop and bringing the players closer on a standard 8x10 crop.

As others have stated, changing lenses isn't going to affect the aspect ratio. The aspect ratio of the image is the same as the aspect ratio of the sensor.

If you want a 8x10 crop, arrange the players to fit accordingly, take the shot and crop the image in your photo editor. If you are uncertain what an 8x10 crop will look like when looking through the viewfinder, I suggest cutting, say, a 4"x5" hole out of a thin piece of cardboard and using that as a guide.

as other said, this is a matter of you arranging the players differnetly, not the lens. no lens is going to magically make a line of people fill the whole frame.