lense to take family pictures

[karahershley]

I want to take a good family picture.  I have an EOS T7.  What kind of lense should I get.  I'm a beginner and I don't have budget for something high dollar.  Can you please suggest a lense

[Tronhard]

Hi and welcome to the forum:

When you say take photos of family members, are you looking at individual portraits and/or group photos?   If a group, how many people would we be looking at - I have seem family groups of up to 50 people.

The designations of lenses can be confusing, so some notes before you get going:

EF-S indicates a lens designed specifically for your type of Rebel camera.   You can also use EF lenses, but they are likely to be more expensive.  You cannot use lenses with an EF-M, RF or RF-S designation.

Lens focal lengths are measured in mm.  around 35mm for your camera is about the same as a normal viewpoint, smaller numbers are wide-angle, and larger numbers are telephoto.  For group shots you will want some kind of wide-angle capability, while for portraits some telephoto capability is best: wide angle lenses for portraits tend to distort faces if one shoots close.  I would suggest a zoom lens in the range between 15mm and 135mm to cover both possibilities.

IS designation: This means that the lens has Image Stabilization, and that helps to avoid camera shake when hand-holding the lens, especially at slower shutter speeds.

f/stop: This indicates how big a hole allows light into the camera.  That has an impact on what is in focus. As a rule of thumb, a smaller f/stop value means less things in focus, while a larger f/stop will have many more things (close-far) in focus.

For general purposes, I would suggest something like one of the following:

EF-S 18-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM or IS STM lenses - these are fairly cheap, but excellent general-purpose lenses and cover a wide range.  They will be the most economical solution but will not be able to isolate people for portraits as well as the next choice.  The clue to this is the f/number.  The smaller the number the narrower the focus depth (known as Depth of Field or DoF) and that means you can isolate a subject from their background.  However, by placing the subject some distance from the background you can mitigate that.

EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM.  This is arguably one of the best lenses for the type of camera you have and are more expensive.  The f/2.8 value allows you to really reduce the DoF to isolate a subject.  The 17mm (being mildly wide angle) is good for wider groups and the 55mm being mildly telephoto, is fine for portraits or to stand further away from a group.

EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM.   This lens lies about half-way between the first two in terms of price and capability.  It is an excellent lens, has a slightly wider range for larger groups, but the telephoto end is great for portrait shots.

There are lots of lenses available used on various sites, but of course you must be wary of the condition of the units when you are buying them.  It is likely safer to get a lens from a bricks and mortar store as they usually offer some kind of warranty, and you can deal with them in person.  Alternatively, you may be able to get these from the Canon Refurbished Lens website.  These lenses have been received back by Canon and serviced to essential new condition. They come with Canon's 1 year warranty.  The site is available with the three lenses shown for your convenience HERE 

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

[jrhoffman75]

What lens do you currently have (assuming the camera came with a lens)?

If you do have a lens, what is making you believe you can't take family pictures wiuth it?

[deebatman316]

Hi OP what exactly are you looking for. Trevor pointed out some good options for your camera. The EF-S 17-55mm IS USM is a great upgrade to the 18-55mm kit lens. Bundled with most Rebel cameras and mid range APS-C cameras. For a Group portraits on an APS-C camera such as your Rebel T7 you would need a wide angle EF-S lens. EF lenses are designed to cover a Full Frame senor. If you use an EF lens there will be 1.6x crop when used with your camera. Therefor the lens wouldn't be as wide angle as it would be on a Full Frame or 35mm film camera.

1. EF-S 10-22mm F/3.5-4.5 USM
2. EF-S 10-18mm F/4.5-5.6 IS STM
3. EF-S 17-55mm F/2.8 IS USM

-Demetrius

40D, 5D IV, EF 16-35mm F/2.8L III, EF 24-70mm F/2.8L II, EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM, EF 50 F/1.8 STM

430EX III-RT & 600EX II-RT

[Tronhard]

Demetrius, I think we need to establish if the family photos are for wide group shots or personal individual portraits. 

When you suggested your lens choices at the very wide-angle end, what were you considering as the most likely scenario in which they would be used - individual portraits or group shots.  If the intent is a mix of both, which lenses would be most likely to work in both cases, and then consider that they have a limited budget.

BTW, I deliberately chose not to get into crop factors to avoid confusing the situation but I took that into account in my lens recommendations.

[deebatman316]

---

@Tronhard wrote:

Demetrius, I think we need to establish if the family photos are for wide group shots or personal individual portraits. 

When you suggested your lens choices at the very wide-angle end, what were you considering as the most likely scenario in which they would be used - individual portraits or group shots.  If the intent is a mix of both, which lenses would be most likely to work in both cases, and then consider that they have a limited budget.

BTW, I deliberately chose not to get into crop factors to avoid confusing the situation but I took that into account in my lens recommendations.

---

Hi Trevor, my intent was to factor in mixed use of group and individual shots. Without going to high in price since OP doesn't have a high budget. I also wanted to leave out crop factor too. But I also didn't want the OP to buy an EF lens. Such as the EF 16-35mm and expect wide angle shots. (BTW is a very good lens). A wide angle shot with that lens isn't going to happen on a Rebel series camera. 

-Demetrius

40D, 5D IV, EF 16-35mm F/2.8L III, EF 24-70mm F/2.8L II, EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM, EF 50 F/1.8 STM

430EX III-RT & 600EX II-RT

[Tronhard]

Thanks for explaining your logic. 🙂  

To me, even allowing for crop factor a lens in the 10-35 range will give, at best, a very wide-angle to normal point of view, but rather heavily weighted to the wide-angle end - fine for groups, especially in cramped situation but not for those in greater spaces, and especially not for individual portraits where a mild-to-moderate telephoto lens will offer a much more flattering image.  That, for example, is why the 70-200 range is so popular for portraits. There, the ability of a telephoto to define a shallow DoF to separate a subject from their background is something very difficult to achieve with a wide-angle lens.  For that reason, I have stayed away from what are considered ultra-wide-angle lenses 10-16mm range and moved the top-end FL to a bit past a normal field of view and get that ability to achieve a shallow DoF and allow some distance to the subject.  Still, I would be interested in your perspective as to the flexibility of lens requirements. 

The following group photo of a lot more people than I would expect for a family gathering is taken at 24mm, using an EF 24-105 lens on a FF camera - so within the range we are considering for something starting at 15 or 18mm in this scenario.  That, and the image below, would be within the same performance range of the EF-S 18-135, 17-55  or the 15-85mm lenses on the T7 bodies.

The following image was taken inside, low available light using a FF FL of 72mm - this example demonstrates what the telephoto will do to reduce the DoF and thus background distractions.  This would not be possible with a very wide angle lens, and even challenging for normal FL.

Given the availability and modest budget, what are your feelings on the EF-S 18-135 STM or USM in this situation?

[deebatman316]

I've never used the EF-S 18-135mm STM or USM version. But I see that as a viable option for group photos. I haven't used an APS-C camera in awhile. But when I shot APS-C I used the Canon 40D and Sigma 17-50mm F/2.8 EX DC OS HSM. With a focal length between 17-40mm but the max amount of people were 6-8 people. When I did group shots.

-Demetrius

40D, 5D IV, EF 16-35mm F/2.8L III, EF 24-70mm F/2.8L II, EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM, EF 50 F/1.8 STM

430EX III-RT & 600EX II-RT

[Tronhard]

Certainly, the Sigma would be an interesting unit for this scenario - but I am not sure on price for this situation (not living in the USA).  I see you 28-135 which on the long end is pretty close to the 18-135.  I have one too, and am quite impressed with its performance, especially given its age!

I interpreted the OP's phrase 'good family picture' more liberally than you did, I suspect. 🙂   I have frequently seen a group photo session morph into smaller groups, and individuals - when having greater FL and DoF flexibility becomes more significant.

Arguably, one could argue that if all the OP wants to do is to take a few (or 'a') group shots, or even a tolerable close-up shot, they could get away with an EF-S18-55 series, which would be ultra-cheap. I would definitely favour the STM version though, as it has the stepping motor and better optics over its older cousins.  Still, I rather think the 18-135 is actually a better and more flexible optic and is likely the cheapest other option.

Well, short of going to prime lenses (and opening up a whole other set of options), think between us we have given the OP some options that might work for them!

[deebatman316]

The only problem with the Sigma would be compatibility since it's an older lense. When I tried using it on the 90D it caused the camera to fault out. So I don't know if it would work on OP's camera. The 28-135mm maybe too long. Also I found that in low light coupled the variable aperture. Would cause camera shake with long shutter speeds. But the lens still performs well I use it as a travel lens. If a go somewhere that only allows 1 lens.

-Demetrius

40D, 5D IV, EF 16-35mm F/2.8L III, EF 24-70mm F/2.8L II, EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM, EF 50 F/1.8 STM

430EX III-RT & 600EX II-RT