Portrait lens for Grandchildren and picky parents

Having been a long time Nikon user, I am new to Fujifilm and need some guidance on selecting a portrait lens that will used primarily outdoors for pictures -both random and planned- for grandkids. I have a 17 year old grandson whose parents want a "professional" look to his senior pictures and then there are the toddler grand kids that will have pictures made as opportunity presents- (there won't be much posing):-)

I own an X-T3 and a 16-55mm lens. I would like a prime lens for simplicity, flexibility, and  bokeh quality. I have considered the 35 1.4; 50 2.0; and the 56 1.2. Need some suggestions and guidance along the way here.

Thanks in advance! Grear

Just getting a different lens isn't going to change a photo from cell-phone selfies look to pro $5,000 photo shoot look.

Learning how to pose them properly, using and knowing good light or using flashes will give a great photo with the current lens you have.  Yes, some lens they say have "magic", "micro-nano contrast", but that's not going to give a pro look.  Knowing how to photograph like a pro will.

Note, I don't know how to pose people, have limited off camera flash and lighting experience, and my portrait people photos reflect this.

A nice camera and good lens will help, but it's the setup and lighting that really make things pop.  I'm member of many of camera flash groups, and most BTS shots of these shoots have 600w flashes in the middle of the day, usually several.  Assistants with reflectors.  Make up artists.  Stylists.  And know how to pose someone.  A slight 2 degree turn of the chin or tilt of the head makes people look so much better.  And the thing with a lot of these shots, is the camera or lens aren't top notch Hassies, I see great shots with kits lens because people know all the above ramblings I posted.  lol.

You're fine with the lens and camera you have.

If shooting in a house where you might not be able to back up a whole lot, then the 35/1.4 should be great. But for mostly head shots, the 56/1.2 will also give that "professional" look (AKA bokeh). Protip... don't shoot the lens wide open if you can't get everyone's face in focus. That alone will make a better photo (assuming decent composition). Also don't overdo it with sharpening; sometimes a lens can almost be "too sharp" for portraits because of how much detail it resolves, but you can decrease sharpness in post if you want. I like sharp images but faces are one area where I've learned not to shoot for ultimate sharpness up close.

I totally agree that you should make sure you're shooting correctly, regardless of which lens you use; i.e. posing them well, telling them where to look, where to put their hands, all sorts of stuff. Just look at examples of portraits online and it'll be pretty obvious what you want to replicate.

gshoward671 wrote:

Having been a long time Nikon user, I am new to Fujifilm and need some guidance on selecting a portrait lens that will used primarily outdoors for pictures -both random and planned- for grandkids. I have a 17 year old grandson whose parents want a "professional" look to his senior pictures and then there are the toddler grand kids that will have pictures made as opportunity presents- (there won't be much posing):-)

I own an X-T3 and a 16-55mm lens. I would like a prime lens for simplicity, flexibility, and bokeh quality. I have considered the 35 1.4; 50 2.0; and the 56 1.2. Need some suggestions and guidance along the way here.

Thanks in advance! Grear

Since you’ll be outside the 50 f2 will be great as well as the 35. Here’s some samples of what the 35 can do for portraits:

https://www.lovegrovephotography.com/fujifilm-xf-35mm/

The 50 f2:

https://www.cameralabs.com/fujifilm-fujinon-xf-50mm-f2-r-wr-review/

But the 90 f2 is also a great portrait lens.

https://www.lovegrovephotography.com/fujifilm-xf-90mm-f2-lens/

You can’t go wrong with any of them, and if you can afford it ALL of them.

For the toddler grand kids in particular, I'd recommend something a little wider, like the 23/2, as toddlers do not typically stay still for long and tracking them with a longer focal length will be difficult.  I use the 23/2 with my 3 and 5 year old boys and it really works great.  AF is fast and provides enough bokeh for me at f2, and even f2.8.  Longer lenses are great for the traditional posed portrait, but the 23mm does a great job with my dynamic subjects.

For reference, I also have the 18-55 and 50-140 and when I'm grabbing something to document a day with the kids, it's the 23/2 most of the time.

What type of portraits? How close? How far from the subject?

From what I've heard, you already have a "bag of primes" in the 16-55. For outdoor portraits the 90mm is amazing IF you have enough space. Need about 10m to fit a 6ft human and works well for 1m high mini-persons at 4-5m distance so you don't interfere in their play space.

gshoward671 wrote:

Having been a long time Nikon user, I am new to Fujifilm and need some guidance on selecting a portrait lens that will used primarily outdoors for pictures -both random and planned- for grandkids. I have a 17 year old grandson whose parents want a "professional" look to his senior pictures and then there are the toddler grand kids that will have pictures made as opportunity presents- (there won't be much posing):-)

I own an X-T3 and a 16-55mm lens. I would like a prime lens for simplicity, flexibility, and bokeh quality. I have considered the 35 1.4; 50 2.0; and the 56 1.2. Need some suggestions and guidance along the way here.

Thanks in advance! Grear

What lens do you use currently?

I would ignore all the 'pose properly' suggestions as you have stated there won't be much of that.  It is absolutely possible to get professional images of kids running about and playing, a walk in the woods is ideal for it.  Especially in Autumn when the leaves are displaying some lovely colours before they 'fall'.   Even with the 18-55 lens you can achieve great results.  Get them out on a nice bright say, use the sunlight coming through the trees to illuminate the backdrops,  shoot the lens wide open and get some separation between the kids and tress in the background - when the leaves are falling get them to pick some up and throw them, this will keep them locked into a smaller area and you get some nice action.  Maybe get them to sit on a pile of leaves on a pathway with some separation to the background where you'll get nice fall off and hopefully some nice colours too.

It doesn't have to be a forest, a local park or anywhere there's trees and room for them to run about.

I say the kit lens because it's much more versatile for this type of shooting, though I prefer primes myself.  Even F4 is sufficient to get some nice bokeh if you're doing it right.  If you feel you do need a prime I would say something like the 23 1.4 or the 35 1.4, they are plenty fast enough, I've captured my kids at play when they were a little younger using the 35 1.4 and had no issues.

Some background info: I've got a three year old son and I am shooting lifestyle family sessions professionally.

I guess there is no perfect solution or answer to what you're asking. Each decission has its pros and cons. I will include in my comments only lenses that I have or have used intensively (Disclaimer: next paragraphs reflect my own opinion only. Not "true" facts)

23 f/1.4 - Excellent for environmental portraits. I find 23mm a FL beautiful for toddlers snapshots. but its AF will make you miss some/many shots. Sometimes I shoot couple sessions (not family sessions) professionally just using this lens.

35 f/1.4 - Amazing image quality and slow AF. Difficult to use with fast moving subjects but nice for posed portraits.
35 f/2 - Much faster AF than the 1.4, so it is easier to use with moving kids. But if you are really seeking for bokeh you will miss the f/1.4 look.

56 f/1.2 - Again, amazing image quality and slow AF. Excellent for posed portraits and really tricky to use with toddlers. You will really have to master AF-C settings and techniques to use it with fast moving kids.

16-55 f/2.8 - Fast AF. Very Versatile. This is my go-to lens when I have to shoot "uncontrolled" sessions. See an example of a full session taken just with an X-T2 and  this lens, combining posed moments and candid ones, all with natural light only, no reflectors, no flash (turn sound on)

https://oscarlagarrotxa.smartslides.com/celines-family-in-mallorca

Nevertheless only you can decide if this looks "professional" enough to you

My final recomendation would be to stick on 16-55 and try to get the most of it.

I hope it helps.

Óscar
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gshoward671 wrote:

Having been a long time Nikon user, I am new to Fujifilm and need some guidance on selecting a portrait lens that will used primarily outdoors for pictures -both random and planned- for grandkids. I have a 17 year old grandson whose parents want a "professional" look to his senior pictures and then there are the toddler grand kids that will have pictures made as opportunity presents- (there won't be much posing):-)

As for the professional look, better send them to a professional. You're basically risking investing in a lens, and then having them saying it doesn't look professional.

That said, the 16-55 at 2.8 should be good enough for that.

A prime lens will not give you flexibility, but instead take the focal lenght flexibility away.

If you want bokeh (have in mind studio portraits are not shoot at f2 or f1.2 90% of the times), then the 56mm f1.2, Fuji 90mm f2 or Viltrox 85mm 1.8 are the lens you're after.

The 50mm f2 won't be much different from your lens at 55mm f2.8. One step forward will leave the background more blurred, like the 50mm f2.

I own an X-T3 and a 16-55mm lens. I would like a prime lens for simplicity, flexibility, and bokeh quality. I have considered the 35 1.4; 50 2.0; and the 56 1.2. Need some suggestions and guidance along the way here.

Thanks in advance! Grear

The way you deal with your grandchildrens' picky parents is to tell them to take their own photos if they don't like yours. 

gshoward671 wrote:

Having been a long time Nikon user, I am new to Fujifilm and need some guidance on selecting a portrait lens that will used primarily outdoors for pictures -both random and planned- for grandkids. I have a 17 year old grandson whose parents want a "professional" look to his senior pictures and then there are the toddler grand kids that will have pictures made as opportunity presents- (there won't be much posing):-)

I own an X-T3 and a 16-55mm lens. I would like a prime lens for simplicity, flexibility, and bokeh quality. I have considered the 35 1.4; 50 2.0; and the 56 1.2. Need some suggestions and guidance along the way here.

Thanks in advance! Grear

Get a Pentax A 50mm f1.7 or f1.4 lens and an adapter. The A series is small and will be fine on your XT-3. This will cost less than $75. Learn how to use light and enjoy. I see no need to spend a lot until you KNOW you need something else for personal portraits.

AndreM365 wrote:

From what I've heard, you already have a "bag of primes" in the 16-55. For outdoor portraits the 90mm is amazing IF you have enough space. Need about 10m to fit a 6ft human and works well for 1m high mini-persons at 4-5m distance so you don't interfere in their play space.

Haha very true on the 90, as great of a lens as it is... I struggle sometimes to be able to back up enough outdoors even using the 60mm...Being outdoors doesn't always mean in an open field...it could mean backing up into a street, around a tree, on side of a cliff, through dense grass, or a bunch of ant beds if you're shooting in somewhat "wild" locations.