85mm vs 20-105mm for indoor group shot

[CherokeeRose33]

Hi,

I have a mark iv. I normally shoot outdoor racing photos but have been asked to shoot an indoor award presentation. There will be a table with a person receiving their award then a group shot with probably 1-3 rows of people around the recipient. 

I own the 24-105mm lens and an 85mm lens. I love the 85 lens but worry in the group shots some might be out of focus. 

Any suggestions or tips? What settings on the 85mm for an indoor group shot for my focus concern or do I bring the 24-105mm instead? 

I appreciate the advice. I'm mostly a live outdoor action shot photographer & don't do the posed shots too often. 

[shadowsports · Accepted solution]

Greetings,

I'm going to guess and assume you have a 5D mkIV, and the lenses you have are the EF 85 f1.4 and the 24-105 F4.

Either lens can take these photos, but the 24-105 Will be easier to compose a group shot with multiple people deep.  The issue is going to be lighting.  You'll need to use a higher F stop to keep everyone in focus which will in turn affect exposure if lighting is poor.  A tripod and flash for the group photo may be a good idea.  This will allow you to be in the photo too.  If you have access to the venue now, you can also visit and make a dry run.  .

[AtticusLake · Accepted solution]

Let's assume that your camera is a 5D -- i.e. full frame.

Then the horizontal angle of view of an 85mm lens would be 23.9° -- you can get that from the table in this article: https://shotkit.com/field-of-view/

You don't say how wide the group will be -- maybe you don't know -- but let's guess, conservatively, 2 metres wide.

To see how far back you need to be to get everyone in, we can solve with trig. Halve the triangle, to get a right-angled triangle, and we have an angle of 11.95°, and an opposite side of 1 metre.  To solve for the adjacent side (i.e. distance to the group), it's just 1 / tan(11.95), which is 4.7 metres, or around 15.5 feet.  If your group is wider than 2 metres, then it would be more.

If you're in a big hall, with a clear 16 feet in front of the group with no obstructions, this could work; although at that distance you will have no modelling at all, your people will look flat, like cardboard cut-outs.  Personally I would prefer a wider lens, like 35mm or 24mm.

Also, you probably don't know exactly how the group will be laid out, or where you will be able to stand; so I would want some versatility, i.e. a zoom.

In other words, if it was me, I would certainly bring the zoom.

You mention focus as an issue -- I assume you mean depth of field.  And I guess you're thinking about the max. aperture of the zoom.  But bear in mind that maximum aperture only matters if you are actually shooting at that aperture.  In this situation, I would guess you would stop down a bit -- to get everyone in focus -- so the maximum aperture that the lens would be capable of is completely irrelevant.

To shoot stopped down, you're going to need plenty of light.  So try to arrange for good light, or be prepared to bump the camera's ISO.

[ebiggs1 · Accepted solution]

This isn't even a debatable question you will want to use the 24-105mm. After doing this type photography work for decades there isn't a better all around GP lens than the 24-105mm. Well perhaps the fantastic 24-70mm f2.8L but the 85mil is a single purpose lens and not as versatile as any zoom.

One tip I will offer, no lens is as good on its edges as it is more near the center. So make sure you don't crop in tight in the camera and you leave some room on both sides. You can crop later in post editing. This is another reason the 85mil is not the lens of choice for this as stated above you will need to be farther back away from the group even if it is only three or four perhaps even two.

Primes have their place but this ain't it.

[CherokeeRose33]

thank you 

[CherokeeRose33]

Thank u for this info 💓 

[CherokeeRose33]

Yes I have the 5D mark iv. Apologies for jot including that info.

[CherokeeRose33]

Thank you for this info. I appreciate it. As someone new to composed indoor shots, I needed this. They understand I'm a live action sports photographer but asked me anyhow so wanted to offer my best.

[ebiggs1]

"Yes I have the 5D mark iv."

Great camera! One of the best!