ABJanes Loc: Jersey Boy now Virginia

Candid shots are the best and can be achieved nicely with an 18-140MM or an 18-200MM, which can be purchased refurbished reasonably. A speed light bounced and/or using a bounce card would be very helpful. Natural light can be beautiful but will vary significantly indoors relative to it's temperature making WB an issue. The fast lenses at short distances create issues for on the fly candids relative to shallow depth of field. Checkout this app on iTunes "Simple Depth of Field" it will allow you to see the issues by the numbers. The D5100 should handle ISO's as high as 1600, which will help. Chimp and magnify to see how you are doing for both natural light and flash. Can you go to the location ahead of time and take some test shots?

Tomcat5133 Loc: Gladwyne PA

This is a very challenging shoot.
I shot family recently at a gathering and an casual dinner event
with the Sony a7s (super good low light) and the zeiss 55mm 1.8 a great lens. I got rave reviews for both shoot which surprised me. First their was a lot of great bokeh with this lens. And I tended to get up close which is always more interesting. But when I was at the dinner with a prime 55 I couldn't get around to places I wanted to be. Their is a place for zooms. My 28 to 70 mediocre kit lens will not give you the zeiss color and look.
You also need a shutter speed to catch the moment. A fast Nikon 85mm 1.8 which I own might be better. Great looking shots with soft bokeh shot from a distance. So it really boils down to what you as the photographer would like to accomplish.

phlash46 Loc: Westchester County, New York

He's correct. Add a flash with bounce capabilities and you should be fine.

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Your 35mm might just be the idea lens for you. What are the approximate dimensions of the room the people will occupy while you shoot? 50mm might be too tight, while the 35 offers a wider view, and that is important if you want survive this shoot. Are you on good speaking terms with everyone? Try your best to keep it that way. Good luck with this, it sounds as though it might be fun.

lowkick Loc: Connecticut

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: OP didn't say what kind of camera he has or whether it is a crop sensor or full frame, but I have a Canon 24-124mm f4 on a full frame and that's what I would use in this situation. I would also bring a flash and a couple of light modifiers like a diffusion dome and an "on flash" soft box. This gives you plenty of flexibility, doesn't require a big gear bag or an assistant. It will give you good light for portraits and enough width for groups.

Group shots, especially of large groups, are not easy if the lighting isn't good. The are two problems with shooting group shots indoors. The first is getting enough depth of field to keep everyone sharp. More light will allow a smaller aperture, giving you greater DOF. The second is light falloff from flash at the outer edges of a group. I would suggest, if at all possible, that you visit the venue well ahead of time and take someone with you so you can get some test shots and see what you are dealing with. The other thing I would suggest is practicing with your gear to see what will work for you. You might want to use a second flash, even if it is hand held.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

He said he had a D5100.

Gifted One Loc: S. E. Idaho

Dat Be a Nikon. J. R.

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

If you can push the ISO up to 3200, you will absolutely get some noise, but for these kind of family small group shoots, it will not be noticed. The advantage is that you can use an 18-200 lens at f3.5-5.0, etc. This gives you the flexibility to not have to change lenses when the action gets going. You can shoot a face and then get a whole group and then someone across the room. I do a lot of this kind of thing and it is my solution.

scsdesphotography Loc: Southeastern Michigan

Sloaner, All the advice here is good, but I'll add my slant on this question. If your group shot involves more than five people then you'll want to use the 35 or even something wider. The question is how far back can you get, if the group is a dozen or more you may need 15 to 20 feet of space. You will want a couple of feet around the top and bottom and on the left and right edges so that you can do a proper crop for composition. Also if your shooting wide you will want to crop out the edges to eliminate barrel distortion at the edges. I typically use my Sigma 18-200 (at 18) or my Tokina 11-16 (at 16) for large groups.

The trick for shooting large groups is to get everyone's eye's in sharp focus so set your aperture for around f8-11, otherwise only the people in the center front will be sharp. I also suggest that you use live view for composing and taking the shot. Nikon's tend to do better with focus on groups with live view. And since this is an important pic follow the advice about using a speedlite.

Final piece of advice, talk to them as your composing, tell them your going to take a couple of "test" shots to make sure you got everyone's face in the picture. When your ready ask them to "close your eyes, on the count of 3 open your eyes look at the camera and smile." Take at least three shots in this way. Hopefully in at least one of those images they will all be looking at the camera and smiling!

OviedoPhotos

:thumbup:

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

If you need to back up to get the group with a 35mm, why even consider a 50?

Goofy Newfy has a good idea. I'd pay heed to his advice.
--Bob

dickwilber Loc: Indiana (currently)

I have been doing this for some time. I was mentored by a number of excellent portrait photographers. Not one of them, and certainly not me, would ever consider doing this assignment without flash!

Did I say USE FLASH??? USE FLASH!!! Bounce it, or shoot it through an umbrella!!!

USE FLASH!!!

GPS Phil Loc: Dayton Ohio

Hey John, I have several lenses that you can try, might help you make a decision. The Sigma Art 24-105 that some one suggested, a 50 1.8 and a 20mm 1.8. Might not be the answer, but might help you sort this out and come to a good decision. Almost forgot, I have the Sigma 18-35 1.8, one of their Art series lenses, and extremely sharp.

Phil

Phil

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

And here, folks, is exactly why UHH is a fantastic place to hang out. What an incredibly kind and supportive offer.

And, a good reason for putting your location in your profile.
--Bob