Lens suggestion for ferris wheel pic

Somewhat of a newbie, so please forgive...

I'm going to be on a ferris wheel with my daughter this week and I want to get a really cool pic of her. I will be opposite of her, but we will be relatively close to each other (approximately 4-5 feet). I would also like the pics to be wide enough to get some of the ferris wheel so that you can tell where it was taken. It will be night and I'm hoping for a relatively narrow dof.

I have a 10D, 550ex, 28-135IS, and 50mm f/1.8.

I'm assuming the two lenses I have will not really give me what I am looking for. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

At that range, the 50mm probably won't cut it unless you want just her face. ;-) I have the sigma 20mm/f1.8 and have been happy with it. Another option is to get a fisheye and use some software to correct the distortion, you get a much wider "usable" angle of view with one of those. Of course, it also means spending lots of time messing with the software, which may or may not be your thing. ;-)

--lj

Larry Andersen said:

Somewhat of a newbie, so please forgive...

I'm going to be on a ferris wheel with my daughter this week and I
want to get a really cool pic of her. I will be opposite of her,
but we will be relatively close to each other (approximately 4-5
feet). I would also like the pics to be wide enough to get some of
the ferris wheel so that you can tell where it was taken. It will
be night and I'm hoping for a relatively narrow dof.

I have a 10D, 550ex, 28-135IS, and 50mm f/1.8.

I'm assuming the two lenses I have will not really give me what I
am looking for. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

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Lj Wobker CanonD60 Sigma28-70/2.8
Sigma70-200/2.8 w/ Sigma TC 2x and 1.4x

Your 28-135, probably on the low side, will do fine.

John

Larry Andersen said:

Somewhat of a newbie, so please forgive...

I'm going to be on a ferris wheel with my daughter this week and I
want to get a really cool pic of her. I will be opposite of her,
but we will be relatively close to each other (approximately 4-5
feet). I would also like the pics to be wide enough to get some of
the ferris wheel so that you can tell where it was taken. It will
be night and I'm hoping for a relatively narrow dof.

I have a 10D, 550ex, 28-135IS, and 50mm f/1.8.

I'm assuming the two lenses I have will not really give me what I
am looking for. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Larry Andersen said:

Somewhat of a newbie, so please forgive...

I'm going to be on a ferris wheel with my daughter this week and I
want to get a really cool pic of her. I will be opposite of her,
but we will be relatively close to each other (approximately 4-5
feet). I would also like the pics to be wide enough to get some of
the ferris wheel so that you can tell where it was taken. It will
be night and I'm hoping for a relatively narrow dof.

I have a 10D, 550ex, 28-135IS, and 50mm f/1.8.

I'm assuming the two lenses I have will not really give me what I
am looking for. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

--
Brian Kennedy
http://www.briankennedy.net/

Member said:

Larry Andersen said:

Somewhat of a newbie, so please forgive...

I'm going to be on a ferris wheel with my daughter this week and I
want to get a really cool pic of her. I will be opposite of her,
but we will be relatively close to each other (approximately 4-5
feet). I would also like the pics to be wide enough to get some of
the ferris wheel so that you can tell where it was taken. It will
be night and I'm hoping for a relatively narrow dof.

I have a 10D, 550ex, 28-135IS, and 50mm f/1.8.

I'm assuming the two lenses I have will not really give me what I
am looking for. Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

You can make do with what you have, but IMO you're better off going wider, if you can. Wide angle and shallow DOF at 4-5 feet don't mix, so forget the shallow DOF idea. IMO, you're better off seeing the background in this type of shot, anyway.

Here's what I suggest - if you shoot in the daylight, use a touch of fill flash and your wide angle, shoot from the peak of the ride with her hair blowing in the breeze and get a lot of background, meaning the ground more than the sky. Actually, I suppose that depends on how interesting the ground + sky are, but I'm picturing a more interesting ground as BG.

If you shoot at night, that's even better. Use slow-synch flash and your wide angle. Try handholding shots at 1/15", 1/8", 1/4", and longer (maybe even up to 1"), intentionally showing motion by the streaks made by the lights in the background, then using second-curtain flash to stop the action and show your daughter nice and sharp over it.

Make sure to capture the emotion. The background and setup of the shot is important, but the most important thing is to catch her mid-laugh and get a sparkle in her eyes. Don't stress her out - unless she is a model, just let her be herself and forget about you. The more candid results will be much better. That means spending more time with your face not behind the viewfinder than behind it.

HTH.

--
Brian Kennedy
http://www.briankennedy.net/

Brian Kennedy said:

[-snip-]

Click to expand...

Also, if it isn't obvious, have her sit in the seat where her hair will be blown away from her face at the peak of the ride, rather than blown into her face. If you are shooting at daytime and that side is also the side with better light, all the better. If not, decide whether you can get by with fill flash for her shadowed face and make a command decision ;-).

--
Brian Kennedy
http://www.briankennedy.net/