Good lens to rent?

[cpals]

Looking at possibly renting a better lens for doing some pregnancy pictures for some friends of ours. I just do this currently on the side for fun and mainly work in semi-manual mode (aper-priority or shut-priority).

My equipment is a Nikon d5100 with a 35mm, 55-200 and 18-55 lens. Have a tripod and a SB-700 flash.

I want to try and get the best shots I can for them and looking for some nice bokeh so would think a better lens would help greatly? The shooting will be mostly outdoors I think and in the afternoon as the sun goes down.

Any thoughts?

 

[swanysto]

Does the 35mm not get very good bokeh? I would think that or a 50mm 1.8,1.4,etc would be your best bet for those kinds of shots.

 

[cpals]

It does, but you have to be so close to the subject - Sometimes I like a little zoom so I can operate a little differently. Maybe I just don't know how to fully utilize the 35mm yet.

 

[Silenus]

Sounds like you are trying to get some tighter shots with more background blur so the 35 may be a little short. The 35 is a great lens of course but if you need something longer I'd have a look at renting either:

1) New 85mm f/1.8 G - This would make a fantastic portrait lens and get you some thin depth of field and more working distance.
2) 70-200mm f/2.8 VR (1 gen or 2nd gen lens is fine, both are excellent on DX cameras) - This obviously gives you more zoom options, longer focal lengths, still good f/2.8 dof and excellent sharpness/image quality.

With either lens be very careful shooting wide apertures. You need to pick your focus points (closest) eye very carefully, and if you have more than one person in the pics together it will be very easy to have one out of focus if they are not in the same plane of focus with each other. It is VERY easy to miss this when looking at the lcd on camera...often you only discover this later when looking at photos on your computer. For multiple people you may need to shoot wider or stopped down a bit for more depth of field.

PS- I have used multiple times and highly recommend www.lensrentals.com
Here are the two I mentioned above:
85/1.8 http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon/lenses/normal-range/nikon-85mm-f1.8g-af-s
70-200 VR2 http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon/lenses/telephoto/nikon-70-200mm-f2.8-af-s-vr-ii

 

[cpals]

Cool, thanks for the tips and recommendation on the site.

What would be a good f-stop to shoot at if I'm zoomed in fully and want two people in the picture, but blurred background? Assuming the 70-200.

 

[Silenus]

Cool, thanks for the tips and recommendation on the site.

What would be a good f-stop to shoot at if I'm zoomed in fully and want two people in the picture, but blurred background? Assuming the 70-200.

It all depends on how close your focusing and how they are standing in relation to each other. If their faces are close and both in plane parallel to your camera then they will be in the same place of focus and you can get away with less DoF. Also if your not focus too close...and your doing full body shots...even at 200mm and f/2.8 you might have enough DoF. You need to go out and test/play with the lens BEFORE you have your shoot to get a feel for it. A tight head shot at 200mm and f/2.8 is probably going to be something less 1-2 INCHES of the DoF. And once your are focusing that close at 200mm even going from f/2.8 to f/8 would only get you maybe a few more inches. So you STILL need to be careful.

Like I said you will need to test it out and experiment before hand. If you shooting long 150-200 and find a location that has plenty of space BEHIND you subjects to the background (as much free space as possible) it will be easy to blur the background even at shorter focal lengths and less than wide open apertures. Shoot a little loose on composition and crop to final later. That can buy you some dof as you are either shorter focal length or not focus as close.

PS- If you need the lens for 3 days...rent it for 5 days, or 7 days. Definitely get it early and go out and get the feel of it before you actually need to use it (also just in case something is wrong with it you have some time to test it).

 

[cpals]

Great, thanks for more help. I think that's the best idea if I end up getting a rental - go out and play with a test subject and get some shots.

 

[dmw16]

I agree on the 85mm f/1.8. Seems like that would be an ideal lens for what you are trying to do.

You might also want to try the 50 f/1.4.

 

[Silenus]

By the way...perhaps I should have said this, and hopefully it goes without saying:

The way you interact with your subjects, how you pose them, and the quality and direction of LIGHT you have to work are all FAR FAR more important than the lens you use. The 85/1.8 and 70-200 are sweet lenses no doubt, and will help get the 'look' you want...but a working with the subject and getting good light will be easily 9/10ths of a good photo! I am assuming you have a plan for all that in which case carry on sir!

 

[cpals]

Working on finding good poses (and they're making a list of some too) so hopefully that will be okay. I'm planning on going an hour or two before the sun goes down for what I think they call the golden hour? So hopefully the light will be good.

 

[xj0hnx]

2) 70-200mm f/2.8 VR (1 gen or 2nd gen lens is fine, both are excellent on DX cameras) - This obviously gives you more zoom options, longer focal lengths,

It doesn't give longer focal lengths, it crops as if it were a longer focal length. The 70-200mm will still have the same range, but it will crop as if it were a 105-300mm

 

[Silenus]

It doesn't give longer focal lengths, it crops as if it were a longer focal length. The 70-200mm will still have the same range, but it will crop as if it were a 105-300mm

I am well aware of this. I tell other people the same thing in fact. I meant only that the 70-200 gives longer focal lengths as compared to the 85/1.8, which was another suggested lens.

 

[Silenus]

Working on finding good poses (and they're making a list of some too) so hopefully that will be okay. I'm planning on going an hour or two before the sun goes down for what I think they call the golden hour? So hopefully the light will be good.

Golden hour is great. Even just after sunset can work nicely. Consider something as simple as big cheap reflector (big old piece of white foam core will work) and someone to help hold it. That can make a big difference in getting some nice fill on your subjects. Reflector is very simple and can help a lot with anything from front to side to back lighting with the sun.