Originally posted by jawats All,
I'm going to do some family (my family) portraits and family group shots. Everything I've read on here says that "portrait" length on my K-1 FF should be 85 - 135mm. Does this make sense? I've also seen the Tamron 70-200 2.8 recommended, but that's a wee bit more than I want to spend. I see quite a few lenses on here, Pentax and third-party, in the 85-135mm range that are below, say $400, and also well-liked for portrait. Examples are the various Pentax 100mm, the Tamron 90mm, and the various Tokina / Bokina / Elicar, etc. 100mm / 105mm.
I would tend to think 85-105mm if I'm looking for both portrait and groups, esp. if I have limited distance (where a 135mm could become iffy). Do I have the range about right? Any other thoughts?
Thanks!
There are portraits and there are portraits
The 85mm FL is my favourite for face and head and shoulder/half body portraits. You are not too much in the subjects face, and you dont get the unflattering distortion (think large nose syndrome) that a much wider lens can give. Depending how much space you have to work with a 135mm FL is great too. For group portraits 85mm may be too narrow depending on available space, the 135mm will certainly be.
The other consideration is lighting. If you intend to use a single camera mounted flash (with a diffuser or bounced) you dont want to go too long with your FL or you can find that your flash is too far to properly light the subject.
But before you go and splash out cash for a "portrait" lens, what do you have in the way of lenses at the moment? Any lens can be used for portrait shots, although very wide and fish-eye are probably not the best choice. The key to a good portrait shot is lighting, either natural or artificial. The next most important thing is background, either studio style backdrop or well chosen outside scenery (avoid trees growing out of peoples heads). I would suggest that the lens itself would not feature too highly on my list of important considerations. I say that as someone who does use two of the best regarded FF portrait lenses, the FA* 85mm 1.4 and the FA 77mm 1.8 LTD.
Finally I would suggest experimentation with a head-sized stand in model like a cuddly toy first, so you can see what depth of field you need to achieve the result you want. Focus on the eyes, but make sure that everything in front (nose) and rest of the head is in focus too (use a narrow DOF if you wish for a more dramatic shot, but tread carefully or your image will just look unfocussed).
ps. I have very little experience of human portraits.....most of mine are the fluffier variety ......