The right lens for close ups (Page 2): Use what you have for now. More gear isnt going to help at this point. Learn some basics before buying more gear. Heres a link to look at. You...

JimGuy

jimbo1 wrote:

Thats what I would love, do you have any suggestions for something in the 200.00 price range. Also it's not for a once or twice thing, I would use it probably 30-40 times a year. My wife has a senior entertainment group and I take all of their performance pictures. So I would get a lot of use out of the wide angle. They are a Not for Profit Group so we do not have a ton of money.
Thanks,
Jimbo1

Use what you have for now. More gear isnt going to help at this point. Learn some basics before buying more gear.
Heres a link to look at. You can find answers to a lot of questions by using the internet. http://digital-photography-school.com/digital-photography-tips-for-beginners

You have to spend a little money to get anything decent. $200 wont buy much. Want to shop around look here. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/browse/Photography/ci/989/N/4294538916

jimbo1 Loc: San Diego, Ca.

Thank you so much for the info. For the price I do not see how I can go wrong.
Jimbo1

jimbo1 Loc: San Diego, Ca.

You are right about the 200.00, it does not buy much. I was on B&H's web site looking at used and did not see much in the low price range. I will play around with the problem. You are so right I have a ton to learn. So far I love the camera. We have season tickets for baseball and I cannot wait to use the 55-300 lens.
Thanks again,

amehta Loc: Boston

jimbo1 wrote:

Thats what I would love, do you have any suggestions for something in the 200.00 price range. Also it's not for a once or twice thing, I would use it probably 30-40 times a year. My wife has a senior entertainment group and I take all of their performance pictures. So I would get a lot of use out of the wide angle. They are a Not for Profit Group so we do not have a ton of money.
Thanks,
Jimbo1

I think you should find a different place to take the shot. The distortion as you get wider than 18mm will be very unflattering.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Close enough, but wide enough. The solution is a bit technical, but I completely understand what the OP is trying to do.

This is how I handle large groups. - As you mentioned, you arrange people in several rows. If I want a close and detailed look without the distortions and other image defects that are inherent to using an ultrawide lens, I simply use a longer focal length, and take a series of overlapping images, and use software like PT/Gui or Photoshop to stitch the images together into a whole. You can go directly to the PT/Gui software, look up some tutorials for creating panos with Photoshop,and google for "creating panoramas of large groups of people" and you will find a ton of useful information. It's a bit more technical than you might want to tackle at the moment, but the techniques are tried and true, and used to shoot groups of dozens to hundreds of people and create one large and wide image, without the distortions. Good Luck!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

jimbo1 wrote:

The problem is the rooms vary in size and if I get far enough back than everyone looks to small.

That's frustrating, isn't it. It's also physics, and there's nothing you can do about it. If you have to get far back to take in something large, the subject will look smaller.

The best option is posing the group differently, with more rows of people and less left/right spread. You can go online and find suggestions about posing groups.

ocbeyer Loc: Baltimore

jimbo1 wrote:

The problem is the rooms very in size and if I get far enough back than everyone looks to small. So I was hoping for something that would get me close enough but still be wide enough to get the whole group. Size wise we are looking at about 10 people wide and four rows deeps

Um... Isn't this just a matter of cropping the photo? Maybe into a 15X9 or 15X10 aspect ratio? If the camera has sufficient resolution that should not be a problem.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

To investigate rental options, visit LensRentals.com. They provide excellent write ups on various models including a few Nikon wide angle options.

steve_stoneblossom Loc: Rhode Island, USA

jimbo1 wrote:

That's what I would love, do you have any suggestions for something in the 200.00 price range. Also it's not for a once or twice thing, I would use it probably 30-40 times a year. My wife has a senior entertainment group and I take all of their performance pictures. So I would get a lot of use out of the wide angle. They are a Not for Profit Group so we do not have a ton of money.
Thanks,
Jimbo1

You're going to have to find a great deal to get a decent ultra wide zoom in your price range. And renting 30 to 40 times a year will put you WAY over that amount! Chances are better for finding a wide fixed lens in your budget, maybe a third party lens.

David Kay Loc: Arlington Heights IL

lighthouse wrote:

Move to a different room.
Arrange the people in a 5x8 or 6x7 instead of 4x10.

You frame dimensions are 3x2. Arrange the people to suit the shape of your photo.
Pay attention to what is in the frame and what isn't. Pay attention to how much wasted room is in your frame.

By doing this he will need to close down his aperture to around f11 or so to keep everyone in focus. His best bet is the Nikon 12-24 or the tokina 12-24. This way he wont have to pump more light into the scene to offset the closed aperture. Yes he could push up the ISO but then with one flash he will start getting to the noise problem if he pushes it too high.

The 12-24 is more of a rectilinear lens so distortion is at a minimum. Not like a fish eye lens at all.

Bill gomberg

DavidPine wrote:

One thing you might consider is renting a lens for this shot. You may even have a photography store in your area that rents lenses by the day. I am planning to rent a 14-24 f2.8 to take with me on a trip.

Good advice .

n9iui Loc: Indiana

The OP said he's shooting for his Wife's senior entertainment group, performance pictures. It sounds like he's shooting stage plays? That would prevent arraigning the subjects to fit the frame.
OP, a previous answer was to take two or more photos, overlapping, and stitch them together in a computer.
This is about the only solution I see other than a proper wide angle lens.
You might check for used lenses on Craigslist. Just be sure that you pick a safe, public place to meet with a seller. There are occasional predators using Craigslist.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

ocbeyer wrote:

Um... Isn't this just a matter of cropping the photo? Maybe into a 15X9 or 15X10 aspect ratio? If the camera has sufficient resolution that should not be a problem.

Actually, no. An ultrawide lens has significant perspective distortion - things in foreground are unnaturally large, and things in the background are unusually tiny and distant. Also, with most lenses, there is significant "volume anamorphosis" where elements of the scene become elongated the closer to the left and right edges of the frame they are placed. Ultrawide angle lenses are the last choice for photographing large groups of people.

The OP already has a lens that is wide enough. In fact. shooting people with an 18mm lens on a cropped sensor is a bit wide, and there will be anamorphosis. Better to stay as close to normal focal length as possible and do the pano stitch, if the intent is to provide a professional looking result with little distortion.

That's how this photographer does it:

http://www.herndonpanoramics.com/gallery.php

Alois

The new version of 18-35 nice and sharp.

Alois

The new version of 18-35 nice and sharp.