What FL would you choose for outdoor family portraits?

diness wrote:

BAK wrote:

I'd probably start by thinking about how I would like the portrait to look.

Would I like the 4 - 6 people side by side, standing by the fence, leaning on the top rail, with the shorter family members peeking between the rails?

That's pretty wide; a horizontal shot.

Or would I like grandma and grandpa sitting side by each on a park bench. Son and daughter in law standing behind the bench. Two grandchildren sitting on grandparents laps.

That's pretty narrow; a vertical shot.

Or, perhaps, there are family members hanging upside down from a tree branch.

Before you pick a lens, or the focal length of a zoom, think like a real photographer.

What's the shot you want?

What equipment do you have, or can you borrow, that lets you get the shot?

And most good photographers have several ideas, although Karsh seemed to nail a lot of shots with one pose and a couple of sheets of film.

So what are the other shots you want?

An 18-55mm Canon kit lens, or, a newer 18 - 135mm Canon kit lens, are wonderful family portrait lenses because they match a wide range of ideas, visions and concepts.

BAK

Lots of good ideas, thanks. I should have specified full frame and I do have a 24-105 that I use often taking pictures of families. Biggest issue is that it's at it's sharpest at more like f5.6, and I would probably prefer to have the shots taken in the f2.8 to f4.5 range if possible. So I'm thinking I will use that lens as the zoom, have the 85mm handy and also another prime.

With groups, unless thy're all in a line (which is unlikely to be that interesting!) you'll need more DOF than you'll get at f4.5 anyway, so you probably already have the ideal lens in your 24-105 - especially as you really don't need great sharpness for portraits unless you're using perfect models with perfect make-up. Just stay clear of the edges at 24mm wide open and you'll be fine.