Best Lens for Engagement Photos

yoyostock

A couple (friends) asked me to shoot some engagement photos for them. They were not planning on doing any at all, but I was "volunteered" to help out, which I'm happy to do. We already have an existing friendship, so that's a huge plus.

But I was wondering what one lens might be best for a general outdoor engagement session. I'm in Washington, DC, so I'm thinking we'll take the photos in and around Georgetown and a couple of monuments. Would a 24-70 be sufficient? Have two lenses - the trusty 70-200? BTW, I have a 20D.

Any thoughts or recommendations would really be appreciated.

cj99si

bring them both

yoyostock

cj99si wrote:

bring them both

I wish I could. I don't have either...though I have access to both. I have the 70-200 reserved for rental. I also have access to a 17-55 f/2.8, which is nice, from a friend of mine. The 24-70 would take a little effort to find and get, but if that one lens is the winner, then I'll make the extra effort. That's why I was wondering if there was just one overall lens that might be recommended.

urbanaries

yoyostock wrote:

I wish I could. I don't have either...though I have access to both. I have the 70-200 reserved for rental. I also have access to a 17-55 f/2.8, which is nice, from a friend of mine. The 24-70 would take a little effort to find and get, but if that one lens is the winner, then I'll make the extra effort. That's why I was wondering if there was just one overall lens that might be recommended.

Figure out lighting and poses first and then figure out what lens would fit your goals.

I've done entire engagement sessions with either of those lenses due to light and distance capabilities. In crowded streets sometimes telephoto isn't an option. Sometimes it's the only option. Are you going for natural light or will you be using flash? on or off camera? reflectors? all of these things influence lens selection.

geospatial_junkie

If you have a prime lens with a very shallow dof, bring that as well (1.8 or lower).

This is where two camera bodies will help tremendously. I would keep the 70-200 on one, and the 24-70 on the other (swapping with a prime or extreme wide-angle for fun shots).

yoyostock

urbanaries wrote:

Figure out lighting and poses first and then figure out what lens would fit your goals.

I've done entire engagement sessions with either of those lenses due to light and distance capabilities. In crowded streets sometimes telephoto isn't an option. Sometimes it's the only option. Are you going for natural light or will you be using flash? on or off camera? reflectors? all of these things influence lens selection.

I think there will be plenty of natural lighting - it's expected to be sunny / partly sunny on Saturday and we'll be outdoors in generally open areas - plus, I'll have an on camera flash. The places where we'll be shooting will probably contain moderate people traffic. I guess I'll take both?

i_worship_the_King

Whenever possible I carry the 18-55, 50mm f/1.8, and 70-300. You may just be walking along and have a great idea for a neat shot and need to swap. Or maybe you need more reach. Or less reach. Or nice bokeh. I'm terrible at deciding...

Scott_Quier

Truthfully, I think I would save myself the trouble adn take a pass on the 24-70 in favor of the 17-55. You already have the 70-200 on reserve. That lens, in combination with the 17-55 makes for a very flexible package.

Like others have said, a 50mm 1.4 or 1.8 and/or a 30mm of similar aperture would be a nice plus for those really shallow DOf shots, but not an absolute necessity.

yoyostock

Thanks for all the input! It'll supposed to be a pretty nice day tomorrow. The couple's looking forward to spending some time hanging out with and, along the way, taking some nice shots. I'll post a few after it's all done.

rsparts

I use my 28-75 2.8 and have always gotten great results. I also carry my 50 1.8 because i like the DOF option. And I carry an 18-55 since sometimes I have to get a bit of a wider shot - take an arsenal if you can. Better to be safe than sorry

Swartzy

That's a tough question. The best answer is, "what look do you with to accomplish". Do you want a tight compressed look with creamy bokeh? Then pull out that 70-200 with a wide aperture. Do you want an environmental? Put on the 17-55 (or a 17-50 Tammy). Do you want something in between? the 24-105 works quite well. Heck, I've got lots of nice shots out doors with the 28-135 at f/5.6.

davidjay

I love the 70-200 for engagements...especially b/c at the engagement session the couple is usually feeling a bit uncomfortable b/c there isn't all the commotion of the wedding day to distract them. Here is a fun video I did during an engagement in Connecticut last year. I did the shoot at night but wasn't planning on the rain. Made for some fun shots!

geospatial_junkie

Awesome shoot. Well done. I really like your ideas here.

I'll take a look at the video again tonight when I get back from work.

davidjay

geospatial_junkie wrote:

Awesome shoot. Well done. I really like your ideas here.

I'll take a look at the video again tonight when I get back from work.

Hey thanks Will

geospatial_junkie

Your only source of lighting was car headlights (with the exception of the outside building lights)?

I wouldn't mind trying something like this. Very mood and romantic.

Baldy

davidjay wrote:

I love the 70-200 for engagements...especially b/c at the engagement session the couple is usually feeling a bit uncomfortable b/c there isn't all the commotion of the wedding day to distract them. Here is a fun video I did during an engagement in Connecticut last year. I did the shoot at night but wasn't planning on the rain. Made for some fun shots!


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WHOA! What an awesome video. I especially loved the shots of the couple with the umbrella upside-down, letting the rain wash over them. The lighting made the rain drops like silver streaks.

I too love the 70-200 because I like to stand back and not give them the feeling they're being shot too closely.

davidjay

geospatial_junkie wrote:

Your only source of lighting was car headlights (with the exception of the outside building lights)?

I wouldn't mind trying something like this. Very mood and romantic.

For some of the shots I also used an off camera flash connected to a pair of Pocket Wizards. This gave some nice directional lighting.

ian408

When life gives you lemons...holds true in this situation. The lemonade looks tasty.

What I like about this is not only the rain but the fact you've shot something we'd usually see in a daylight setting at night--giving a unique perspective. I bet the b&g dig that.

Are you doing the video as well as stills for them?

joshhuntnm

Just a little insight from my journey.

I bought a 85 mm prime for portraits. Great lens, but you need a lot of room, and if you want to get anything more than faces, just not practical.

so, I got a 50 mm prime 1.4. Again great lens. Stays on my camera a lot.

so, those are two nice lenses to have. But. I am about 2/3 in (financially) to what I would have spent to get what i really want--either the 17 to 55 or the 24 to 105L

In hindsight, I would have been money ahead to just buy one of those first, I probably could have lived without the primes.

sometimes, it is more expensive to go cheap.

dawssvt

Wow DavidJay, that video is awesome! Very nice work there.

I like the idea of the 70-200 so you are not very close to them during the shoot. I use the 17-55 f/2.8 IS for everything these days and I love it, so if you want a shorter lens I would recommend that one. If I could chose I would definitely go with the 70-200 though