lenses

[jw6898]

need recommendation on lens for rebel t3i for taking large group pictures at family reunion please

[7D5D]

What lens do you currently have and what is your budget? Will these be outdoor shots? Do you have or plan to get a tripod to include yourself in the pictures?

[slerch]

Larger groups require wide angle. If you're using a crop body, which I assume you are, I'd shoot with something like the 24-105 L. I've also heard good things about the EF-S 15-85 as well.

It really depends on how big the group is and what the lighting conditions will be. The 24-105 if f/4 and is good in most situations, though being "only" f/4 it will be a matter of raising ISO to get a good shot, so if you're camera is good at 800 ISO, this would be a good purchase in my opinion.

[ScottyP]

24mm on a crop body is 38.4mm on a ff camera.  That is not very wide at all.

Consider stitching photos together in post, or get a wider lens.

[7D5D]

Without know your budget, current lenses, and shooting conditions here are some general recommendations:

• You will need a wide angle lens something in the range of  about 15-18mm.  If you have the kit lens 18-55mm lens that will work fine if you have adequate light.
• If you want to upgrade your kit lens, I recommend the EF-S 15-85 f/3.5~5.6 or EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 lens.  Both theses lens have much better built quality than the kit lens and both will produce very sharp images.  If you will be shooting indoors or in low light, you will be better off with the 17-55 since it lets more light in the lens.  On the other hand, with indoor shots, the 15-85 is a little wider making it easier in tight quarters to fit all your subjects into the frame.
• Keep in mind shooting close to your subjects with a wide angle lens will cause distortion which will not be pleasing.  You will need to experiment with your lens and subject distance before hand to avoid such.
• Depth of field (DOF) is another factor.  (Not knowing your photography knowledge, DOF is the amount of focus in front of and in back of the point you have  focused on.)  If your group shot is about 6 feet deep, then you will need to have adequate DOF so the front row and back row are both in focus.  Smaller aperture openings increase DOF.

If you can provide us with the lens, approximate subject distance, and depth of your group, we can provide you with some aperture settings to ensure adequate DOF.   By their nature, wide angle lens produce ample DOF so it really shouldn't be a problem anyway.

If you are planning to be in the shots, pick up a decent tripod and remote to trigger your camera's shutter button remotely.   The RC6 remote is very inexpensive and works excellent.  It has a two second delay switch allowing you to press the button, then move your arm back down before the camera fires.

I'm assuming you are shooting in jpg.  Learn how to enable exposure bracketing which will allow you to take 1 shot at normal exposure, one slightly under and one slight over.  This will give you 3 pictures at different exposures.  With the remote in your hand and bracketing enable, you take 3 separate shots in a row and you will end up with 3 images at different exposures so you can pick the best one.

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