Portrait help

Farno

Farno

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Name
Neil
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I use a D90 and have a 50mmƒ1.4G that i love.

Problem - I have a Sigma 10-20 that I never use honestly used it about four times, so I'm thinking of moving it on and would love to use the money to buy more portrait relevant equipment, but do I invest in a 35mm or plumb to shoot solely off my 50 and get a SB-900
I'll be the first to admit I'm not the best, but i thoroughly enjoy portrait work. I might find more use for a 35mm but the lure of the SB-900 is strong
 
Only just really getting into Portrait stuff but I would suggest your 50mm (I would love a low light lens) is ideal and having just purchase an SB900 would say this will be of more use ......although it throws up a whole new raft of issues and settings to deal with.

Paul
 
Presumably you also have a kit zoom?

In which case, get the flash without any doubt. Loads of things you can do with that. And then some portrait attachments from Flash in the Pan - see For Sale section.
 
You could always get a used SB600/800 and start saving for a 85 1.4 :D
 
@ hoppy UK - No i only have the 50ƒ1.4
@Paulie - It took me a long time to figure out that I don't need the 85mm, but on a very few occasions I could have done with a shorter lens, only a very few and I still didn't reach for the 10-20, hows your 35mm treating you?
 
Farno said:
@ hoppy UK - No i only have the 50ƒ1.4
@Paulie - It took me a long time to figure out that I don't need the 85mm, but on a very few occasions I could have done with a shorter lens, only a very few and I still didn't reach for the 10-20, hows your 35mm treating you?
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In which case, I think you have the absolutely perfect lens for portraits on a crop camera, but it's not much good for anything else (too long).

You can pick up a kit zoom very cheaply, and that will do an amazing amount of things for you. A more expensive alternative is the new Nikon 35mm f/1.8, but if I were you I would try hard to get a kit zoom and a decent Nikon CLS enabled flash. Check Kerso for the cheapest deals (see For Sale section) and keep an eye in there for used bargains.
 
Though I wouldn't normally suggest these lenses for use on a cropped-sensor, in terms of portraits look at lenses in the range of 24/28mm-70mm. The Tamron 28-75mm would give you a lovely range for not much money.

My favourite portrait lens on DX was the Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 - great range for framing.
 
sdb123 said:
Though I wouldn't normally suggest these lenses for use on a cropped-sensor, in terms of portraits look at lenses in the range of 24/28mm-70mm. The Tamron 28-75mm would give you a lovely range for not much money.

My favourite portrait lens on DX was the Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 - great range for framing.
Click to expand...

I'd echo the recommendation of a Sigma 50-150 f:2.8, it's great for portraits, but don't think that you can't shoot portraits with wide angles. You can, and often because they offer a different view, the portrait is all the better for it. Portraiture isn't about the focal length of the lens, its about the subject and what you want to say about them. It's hard to put a subject into any environmental context with a telephoto lens.
 
did a portrait of my dad last weekend, used the canon 50mm 1.4 and it was pin sharp and perfect, off camera flash and remote trigger too.
I would say your 50mm is ideal for portraits, a decent flash would nicely help you out
 
Farno said:
@Paulie - It took me a long time to figure out that I don't need the 85mm, but on a very few occasions I could have done with a shorter lens, only a very few and I still didn't reach for the 10-20, hows your 35mm treating you?
Click to expand...

Hardly use it now i have a 17-55 to be honest. Was actually contemplating selling it on.
 
Borrowed some and have a studio at my beck'n call just down the road, Largest in the North East so he recons!
 
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