What Nikon lens is better for outdoor senior pictures?
I'm going to be taking senior pictures for a senior soon. I have a 50mm and a 24-70 also. I'm looking to do close ups with blur backgrounds along with artistic shots with cool backgrounds… Some blurred and some not, some of them leaning on walls and such. Not sure what lens I should go with to have the best shoot with awesome shots. Thanks!
Added (1). I'm not a dirt bag like you are making me seem. I'm taking classes and I'm playing around. I have taken a lot of pictures messing around but not with these specific lenses. I'm taking a friends senior portraits and YES they know I don't do this as a profession. Just trying to learn and get some nice advice… So Thanks!
Added (2). But thank you to those who gave encouraging responses!
The 50 mm is THE portrait lens.
You need to shoot your photos with your subjects in the shade so you do not get harsh shadows on their faces. If you keep them far enough from the background, it will go out of focus and you can arrange the shots so that the backgrounds are "cool"
The sad thing is that you are shooting senior photos without any apparent experience. I hope your "clients" know this before handing over any money to you.
Just owning a great camera and good lenses will NOT guarantee amazing shots. The two lenses you have indicate you knew what to buy, but it seems you have yet used them to shoot similar photos as you seen to want to shoot now.
Bring them both.
I'm leaning more towards the 24-70 for sure.
Ideas for shots and poses
http://pinterest.com/...pirations/
Edit: 24-70 because it compresses the background more and more easily isloates your subjects from the background and allows you to maintain distance from the subject.
This focal length has less distortion of facial features and the 24-70 allows you to zoom in and out while maintaining your aperture.
The 24-70 is good glass, there's little reason to change your lens from the 50 to the 24-70 when the 24-70 already supports the 50 focal length range.
I do not know which 50 you have. 1.4? 1.8? G? D? An old 50 nor do I know what camera it is on so I can't say if it is true 50 or 75 equivalent.
The 24-70 is going to be more flexible for you in this situation if it is new to you.
24-70 > :O! =P
Zoom the 24-70 to 70mm to get a telephoto effect (blurred background). And bring it back to 24mm and raise the F number when you don't want any blur. The 50mm tends to distort faces when you shoot a tight headshot. But if you back up a bit and get more of the body in it should look fine.
What body? It makes a difference. On a DX, use a 50. On an FX, use an 85. On either, use the 24-70. If you have two bodies, just mount the zoom on one and the prime on the other.
If you want to stick to one lens (no swapping), the 24-70 will work better, assuming "senior pictures" will include everything from head shots to full body shots.