How do take portraits like this with my 600D? See Example Photo

JennyXT · May 26, 2012

Hi Guys, I have a 600D. Had a 50mm f1.8 mkII and now have a Sigma 17-50 F2.8.

I love taking portraits with shallow depth of field but can not achieve something like the attached photo (sharp portrait and milky/dreamy background). So am looking to upgrade my lens

What is the ultimate lens for taking photos like this?

007peter · May 26, 2012

JennyXT said:
Hi Guys, I have a 600D. Had a 50mm f1.8 mkII and now have a Sigma 17-50 F2.8.

That photo above can easily be taken with your Canon 50mm f/1.8 II. It is by no mean spectular, nor is the DOF very thin. All you have to do are:
1. Shoot as close as possible
2. leave background as far as possible
3. shoot wide open at f/1.8
4. shoot at the longest length for maximum telephoto compression

The photo above look like it is taken with a typical 70-200mm f/2.8 around 70-100mm focal length. The backdrop would have been creamier if it was taken at 200mm. The best lens are:

Canon 135mm f/2 L
Canon 100mm f/2
Canon 200mm f/2 IS ($6000!)

There is no secret to Thin DOF photography. The Fastest + Longest lens you can buy produce the thinnest DOF. Unfortunately, they cost a bundle. Personally I used my

Canon 50mm f/1.8 II for indoor portrait
Canon 100mm f/2.0 for outdoor portrait
Canon 70-200mm F4 for outdoor portrait / street photography

Jim Cassatt · May 26, 2012

Try shooting portraits with your lens at about f4 fully extended. Keep the background fairly far away from the subject. I would note that more important than the blurry background is the lighting.
--
Jim
http://www.pbase.com/jcassatt

Roger99 · May 26, 2012

This isn't a 50mm. With the perspective (pretty relevant to the feel of the shot) I would put it up around 100 to 150mm, if not more, shot wide open.

007peter said:
JennyXT said:

Hi Guys, I have a 600D. Had a 50mm f1.8 mkII and now have a Sigma 17-50 F2.8.

Click to expand...

That photo above can easily be taken with your Canon 50mm f/1.8 II. It is by no mean spectular, nor is the DOF very thin. All you have to do are:
1. Shoot as close as possible
2. leave background as far as possible
3. shoot wide open at f/1.8
4. shoot at the longest length for maximum telephoto compression

The photo above look like it is taken with a typical 70-200mm f/2.8 around 70-100mm focal length. The backdrop would have been creamier if it was taken at 200mm. The best lens are:

Canon 135mm f/2 L

Canon 100mm f/2

Canon 200mm f/2 IS ($6000!)

There is no secret to Thin DOF photography. The Fastest + Longest lens you can buy produce the thinnest DOF. Unfortunately, they cost a bundle. Personally I used my

Canon 50mm f/1.8 II for indoor portrait

Canon 100mm f/2.0 for outdoor portrait

Canon 70-200mm F4 for outdoor portrait / street photography

--

The one serious conviction one should hold is that nothing should be taken too seriously.

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain an idea without necessarily accepting it. -Aristotle
..oh, and I see by the lack of responses that I am right yet again.

miked58 · May 27, 2012

It is easier once you get above 100mm on a crop to get this type of background. Sample at 115mm at f4.5

Some lenses are better at getting the creamy look. I like my tokina 50-135mm. However you can also get the effect with a 30mm wide open

--

Canon 50D, Canon 600D,Samsung NX100 EFS 15-85mm IS, EF 35mm f1.4 L, EFS 55-250mm IS, 580EX,430EX, Hensel and Elinchrom studio lights, Canon Ixus 80IS

Roger99 · May 27, 2012

miked58 said:
It is easier once you get above 100mm on a crop to get this type of background. Sample at 115mm at f4.5

Some lenses are better at getting the creamy look. I like my tokina 50-135mm. However you can also get the effect with a 30mm wide open

I don't dispute the DOF issues but to me the original sample shot has more of a longer lens perspective feel. I might just be getting too specific.

miked58 said:
--

Canon 50D, Canon 600D,Samsung NX100 EFS 15-85mm IS, EF 35mm f1.4 L, EFS 55-250mm IS, 580EX,430EX, Hensel and Elinchrom studio lights, Canon Ixus 80IS

--

The one serious conviction one should hold is that nothing should be taken too seriously.

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain an idea without necessarily accepting it. -Aristotle
..oh, and I see by the lack of responses that I am right yet again.

JennyXT · May 27, 2012

Thank you very much for your response.

Unfortunately I have sold the 50mm f1.8 and replaced with the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8. I loved the 1.8 but needed versatility.

So am I right in assuming I can achieve close results using the Tamron if I shot at 50mm f2.8 rather than at 17mm?

007peter · May 27, 2012

JennyXT said:
Unfortunately I have sold the 50mm f1.8 and replaced with the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8. I loved the 1.8 but needed versatility.

So am I right in assuming I can achieve close results using the Tamron if I shot at 50mm f2.8 rather than at 17mm?

Yes, you can take thin DOF with any lens . There are many factors involved - in fact - you can even get very thin DOF if you shoot near a lens' mfd ( minium focusing distance ). I'll give you my example. I had own 20+ lens! You named it, I had it. All these are my photo taken with my own lens from my own collections.

Panasonic 14-42mm zoom @f/5.6 kit lens
Tamorn 17-50mm f/2.8 @f/2.8
Tamorn 28-75mm f/2.8 @f/2.8
Tamron 28-200mm XR @200mm f/5.6
Canon 35mm f/2
Canon 50mm f/1.8 @f/1.8
Canon 85mm f/1.8 @f/1.8
Canon 100mm f/2.0 @f/2.0
Canon 70-200mm F/4 IS @200mm F4

Panasonic 14-42mm zoom @f/5.6 - my latest toy. Just showing that you don't need f/2.8 to get ThinDOF if you can shoot near a len's MFD

Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 taken at 50mm F/2.8

Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 taken at 75mm f/2.8

Tamron 28-200mm XR taken at 200mm f/5.6

Canon 35mm f/2 taken at 35mm F2

Canon 50mm f/1.8 II taken at f/1.8

Canon 85mm f/1.8 taken at 85mm F1.8

Canon 100mm f/2 taken at 100mm f2

Canon 70-200mm F4 IS taken at 200mm F4

Joe Hansen · May 27, 2012

I just got the Canon 135mm L f2 a month ago, mostly for taking portraits of my son when we go to parks and other outdoor events. And I have to say that this lens is amazing! It has opened a whole lot of possiblities. Here are a few shots that I have taken.
Joe

imqqmi · May 27, 2012

JennyXT said:
Hi Guys, I have a 600D. Had a 50mm f1.8 mkII and now have a Sigma 17-50 F2.8.

I love taking portraits with shallow depth of field but can not achieve something like the attached photo (sharp portrait and milky/dreamy background). So am looking to upgrade my lens

What is the ultimate lens for taking photos like this?

The ultimte lens for blurry backgrounds would probably be the canon 200mm f/1.8L. After that the 135mm f/2L. With both you can take great full body portraits with really blury backgrounds to the point you can't see where they are

The 85mm f/1.8 and 100mm f/2 are good too, and more affordable.
--
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Imqqmi

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The DSLR jargon cheatsheet:
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Sunset blending tutorial:
http://www.jmbfoto.nl/tutorial/blendingTutorial01a.pdf

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JennyXT · May 28, 2012

Thanks for all the info guys. I've come to the conclusion that I need a tele lens 80mm+ and low aperture to achieve something like this, am I correct?

I've been looking at the 85mm 1.8 as thats the only affordable one for me at the moment!

My budget is £250 (don't mind 2nd hand). Any others you guys suggest?

007peter · May 28, 2012

JennyXT said:
Thanks for all the info guys. I've come to the conclusion that I need a tele lens 80mm+ and low aperture to achieve something like this, am I correct?

I've been looking at the 85mm 1.8 as thats the only affordable one for me at the moment!

There are really only 2 choices for under $500 usd

Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM
Canon 100mm f/2.0 USM

I had both of them. I prefer 85mm f/1.8 focal length for portrait and 100mm f/2 for outdoor/sports. My only....major complain...against 85mm f/1.8 is that it has some severe LoCA Bokeh Fringing. Google it, you're find plenty of purple fringe example. That is why all my 85mm f/1.8 photo are taken indoor ( tight squeeze ) or at night to minimized purple fringing.

100mm f/2 is definitely sharper and suffer from less LoCA fringing. It is the perfect focal length for (1) stage performance (2) indoor gymnastic (3) street photography. However I do find 100mm too tight for most of my shooting environment, as the result, it doesn't get used as much

If you're willing to spend slightly more.....

Canon 135mm f/2L is really the way to go. The "L" lens coating have no LoCA bokeh fringing. You can use this in daylight without worrying

any 70-200mm F/2.8 zoom. If you can handle the weight, I think any 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom makes the best single lens for portrait . I love the composition versatility, and you never miss a shot if you're children suddenly runs toward you. Having that 70mm f/2.8 option is very nice indeed when I have no room to backup.

JennyXT · May 28, 2012

Thanks!

My eyes are on the 85mm at the moment. But one thing.. are your recocommendations based on full frame cameras?

I spoke to someone today and they suggest the 50mm 1.4 to be best for portraits on a cropped camera, which I have (the 600d)

Narcosynthesis · May 28, 2012

The photo was probably taken with a short telephoto (around 85-135mm perhaps?) and wide aperture.

In terms of the background blur, the photo should be fairly easily doable with even a basic lens like a 50mm f1.8 - set the aperture fairly wide, and try and keep the subject away from the immediate background (ie the further apart they are, the more blur you will see in the background with a sharp subject).

The one other thing that lifts this photo from an amateur effort is of course the lighting - very few locations will give you such nice lighting on the subject, so the photographer almost certainly enhanced the ambient light with strobe/flashes to get his desired look.
--
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http://www.illaname.deviantart.com

GarageBoy · Jun 6, 2012

You only need the crazy fast lenses for the "one eye sharp, one eye OOF" shots

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How do take portraits like this with my 600D? See Example Photo

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