Help with Portraits: I have a canon sl1 apcs format and my son has ask me to do some portraits of him and his girl friend, I am not sure what lens to rent I own a canon 24-105 and a...

Mspgolf2000

I have a canon sl1 apcs format and my son has ask me to do some portraits of him and his girl friend, I am not sure what lens to rent
I own a canon 24-105 and a sigma 50mm art so I am thinking a 35 mm and not to sure on this one but I am thinking a canon 11-24 I know that a 35mm is not 35mm on my camera so this why I am need you help

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

The 35 is 35 on your camera.
The focal length does not change.
Forget the 11-24. Not going to be flattering at all.
You should be fine with either the 24-105 or 50mm.
The 24-105 is an excellent lens.
I personally think the 50 is on the short side, even for a couple with your camera.

No need to rent.
Lighting and posing is the hardest aspect of this.
Throwing money at it (rented or bought) won't fix those things.
Concentrate on those.
Is this outside?

Mspgolf2000

I was told that because my camera is not a full frame the lens I put on it is not the same as the lens, it is larger, am I thinking wrong ?

Mspgolf2000

yes it is outside in the mountain in Utah with fall colors

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Mspgolf2000 wrote:

I was told that because my camera is not a full frame the lens I put on it is not the same as the lens, it is larger, am I thinking wrong ?

The focal length does not change.
The angle of view is narrower but it's still what is marked.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Mspgolf2000 wrote:

yes it is outside in the mountain in Utah with fall colors

Nice!
Do you have a reflector and someone to hold it?
Probably better and easier than fill flash.

Mspgolf2000

no I don't have one, I can always find someone to hold one. I can rent one also this will be a late afternoon shot

Robeng Loc: California

Mspgolf2000 wrote:

I have a canon sl1 apcs format and my son has ask me to do some portraits of him and his girl friend, I am not sure what lens to rent
I own a canon 24-105 and a sigma 50mm art so I am thinking a 35 mm and not to sure on this one but I am thinking a canon 11-24 I know that a 35mm is not 35mm on my camera so this why I am need you help

You already have what you need lens wise. I would use the 24-105 zoom or the 50mm and save your money from renting.

Get on the internet and watch a couple of youtube videos on portrait photography and practice before your shoot.

Don't over think it.

Rob

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Mspgolf2000 wrote:

no I don't have one, I can always find someone to hold one. I can rent one also this will be a late afternoon shot

Supposed to be cleaning the house now, so I'll be brief.
Look up "using a reflector for outdoor portraits"- probably tons of videos. Having the sun behind them creates a hair light and use the reflector to kick some light into their faces- always looks good.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Mspgolf2000 wrote:

no I don't have one, I can always find someone to hold one. I can rent one also this will be a late afternoon shot

Why are you so set on renting?

Your 24-105 is a excellent lens, I have gone all day at events without taking it off my camera, and have come up with excellent photos, including portraits at a Civil War Enactment and a Steam Punk Carnival.

As to a reflector, you can use just about anything, many use colored poster board from the art store. The color will give a cast to the light so pick one, or just go with white. You can also use one of those reflectors designed to go inside a car to protect the interior from sunlight, most of them are silver but I have seen gold ones which would make the reflected light warm, which is often a good choice for portraits. Natural parts of the landscape can be reflectors also. One of the best portraits I ever took had the subject sitting on a carpet of fall leaves with early afternoon sun reflecting warm tones off the leaves onto her where she was sitting in light shade.

Here is one quick guide to outdoor portrait tips, you can google pages of these: http://www.techradar.com/how-to/photography-video-capture/cameras/outdoor-portrait-photography-made-easy-tips-for-pro-quality-results-1320817

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

GoofyNewfie wrote:

The 35 is 35 on your camera.
The focal length does not change.
Forget the 11-24. Not going to be flattering at all.
You should be fine with either the 24-105 or 50mm.
The 24-105 is an excellent lens.
I personally think the 50 is on the short side, even for a couple with your camera.

No need to rent.
Lighting and posing is the hardest aspect of this.
Throwing money at it (rented or bought) won't fix those things.
Concentrate on those.
Is this outside?

Mspgolf2000

ok Thank You for your help

JoeJoe

The 50mm or 105mm are the best choices...Anything above 65mm for portraits are best IMHO.... Yes there is a crop factor involved with APSC 1.5X so a 50mm would be 75mm in reality... why do you need a reflector?? a good choice of location will mean you and the subjects only..... A speedlight / diffuser used correctly can really enhance and would be a better choice (even in daylight surprisingly) if you balance the ambient light.

Joe

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

JoeJoe wrote:

o a 50mm would be 75mm in reality...

Joe

Umm,.....no, not the full description.
You left some things out.
This is why people get confused, as the OP did.
The focal length does not change.
In reality, because the sensor is smaller than a "full-frame" camera you get a narrower angle of view by a factor of. 1.6.
With a 50mm on a Canon APS-C camera it gives the equivalent field of view as an 80mm on a full frame camera. (50 x 1.6 = 80) But it's always going to be a 50mm and gives the same depth of field characteristics of a 50mm.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

I would shoot in open shade with some backlighting - a silver reflector from the front if possible. Use your 24-105 at about 70mm , subjects from the waist up @ f4 wide open ......blur the backround.