dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

There is also a "People Photography" forum here on UHH.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-101-1.html

You might want to see what you can learn there.

revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

Canon 60D, 70D, 80D all cropped sensor. Thus multiply stated focal length by 1.6 to get angle of coverage of a particular lens at a particular focal length,

revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

Thus 50mm is equivalent to 80mm with your 1.6 crop factor (not 1.5 as in Nikon).

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

A lens I have been considering for a while (haven't purchased yet) is the Sigma 24-105mm f/4.0 DG OS HSM Art Lens. Effectively a 38-168 which is a decent range for portraits. I am also considering their 50-100mm F1.8 DC HSM Art due to the f/1.8. Effectively 80-160. It should rock in low light. A little more expensive but also well received.

Currently I use the Canon 70-200 2.8 USM and a Canon 50mm 1.4.

dnathan

You might want to google Monte Zucker. He was a mentor of mine 40 years ago & I and many others consider him the best of the best. He brought many cinematography techniques to still portrature and his clear, common sense approach to portraiture guided me and many others to a successful careers.

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

I primarily shoot portraits. I have some wonderful shots using my 50mm prime. Just as good ones using my 18-135mm. You have lenses that are both capable of doing a great job.

Weddingguy Loc: British Columbia - Canada

Welcome to the forum. I have noticed a number of suggestions for prime lenses. Absolutely not necessary, as your 18-200 can be used at the recommended 85mm focal length for portraits. (even push it to 150mm)
Most photographers go to the 85mm prime because it is a very fast lens (F/1.8) and does blur out the background nicely, but learning portraiture is not about equipment . . . it's about seeing and manipulating light. Use what you have . . . keep the background as far away from the subject as possible . . . choose as plain of a background as possible . . . and concentrate on lighting the subject to get the effect that you desire. If using natural light . . . take the subject to the light! . . . and move the subject to get the desired lighting effect.
If using multiple lights . . . start with one only and master that before adding a second light source.

Enjoy the learning process . . . in photography it lasts a lifetime!

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Yes, lighting is probably the best thing you can invest in right now and educating yourself is right there with lighting. YouTube videos by Mark Wallace and Robert Harrington are some I can recommended you look at for starters.

Depending on your budget the Canon 85mm f/1.8 at about $400 is a great low priced lens with fast focus and decent bokeh. The Canon 24-70 f/2.8 and 70-200 IS II f/2.8 are great professional quality lenses, but each cost about $2000 new.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

tdekany Loc: Oregon

http://ljhollowayphotography.com/

Look at her work for natural light photography

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

Actually your 50mm prime lens can be used as a portrait lens. It will give you a field of view of 80mm on a Canon 60D crop sensor camera. Many photographers will tell you that an 85mm prime lens, on a full frame camera, is the best of the Portrait Lenses. And quality of glass is an important factor too. Use what you have, and make the best of it, for now. Buy better glass when you can. Good luck.

jamesl Loc: Pennsylvania

Canon uses a 1.6 crop factor so I would recommend that you use your 50mm since it is effectively the equivalent of an 80mm on a full frame camera and 85mm is a very common portrait lens.

donsyler

Thanks for the link. Beautiful work and excellent use of depth of field.

sirlensalot Loc: Arizona

Your 50mm is all you need to start out with your 60D which will give you an angle of view of about 80mm. Suggest the site "Tangents"by Neil Van Niekirk. Talks about portraits, flash and how to mix ambient light with on camera and off camera flash, flash modifiers etc. Tons of stuff on youtube for free regarding portraits, weddings, etc. Many are produced by some of our favorite vendors, B&H and Adorama.

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

The simple answer is the lenses you own. But, there's more to lens choice when doing portraits. As mentioned above lighting is very important whether using artificial light or available light, or both together. The size of the group you are shooting will be a factor too as will the physical size of your shooting area...let's say a largish group in a smaller room may create problems for you with your 50mm, as you might not have enough width with that lens. However, the 50mm lens is a great all around performer for many shot opportunities...it was my wife's favorite go-to lens for portrait work for many years. You also want to consider speed of the lens, and also focal length. Both of those physical things will contribute to being able to decouple the subject from the background. Lenses with wider apertures, like your 50, and longer lenses will nicely give you the effect of soft blurred backgrounds. And another little tip when doing portrait work is the eyes must always be in focus. It does not matter if the ears are soft, or the tip of the nose. That said, you will want to learn how to do that with your camera, or how to select a focus point (again, on the eye(s)) If you shoot in full auto mode the camera will arbitrarily pick the point of focus, and it probably won't be on the eyes. This can be a real problem when you are shooting with your lens aperture opened wide. I almost feel that if you want to get good results in shooting portraits that will be the first thing you must learn. And lastly, good luck with your trials, and shoot lots and lots of pictures...you will get there :) If you want to see some of my, and my wife's people shots for ideas you can follow this flickr link. It will also tell you on each shot the lens, aperture, ISO, shutter speed, and whether we used flash (off camera mostly)...that info may also help you:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/20127329@N06/463923

ps, click on any picture to enlarge

ycsmith

Your Canon 60D and your 50mm should serve you well for portraiture! Do you have the 50mm 1.8?