Hello everyone, I am a hobbyist photographer and have been given an opportunity to do a photo shoot (pro bono) at a charity school with students ranging from kindergarten to high-school. The “client” would like to have photos of the students at different moment of the day, in the classroom, at recess, at the canteen, etc… as well as some portraits.
It’s basically a journalistic/documenting photo shoots, and the first assignment I ever got. I was wondering what kind of lenses you would pick for this type of job. Would you go with primes only, zoom only or a combination of prime+zoom?
I have a fuji xt5 with the xf 16mm f/2.8, xf 35mm f/1.4 and the xf 18-55mm kit lens. I also have some manual lense in 35mm and 50mm which I use on my “I don’t care” days only. I have been considering for a longtime getting the xf 56mm f/1.2 WR, but I’m afraid of the double redundancy of that focal length in my set.
Thank you for your input!
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Probably your 16 and 50. The 16 will give you a really nice wide shot, and the 50 is nice for portraits. If you can, a 200 or 300 zoom is what i use for candids.
I would use the kit lens at 20 to 28 and the 35 prime, the point being that you can include the setting and still have good moments captured and a bit of reach or even the odd portrait. Even though singling any student out doesn’t feel like the vibe from what you expressed. Hope this helps!
If you’re shooting from the hip without a tripod bring a 35 and 50.
If you’re shooting playgrounds too bring a zoom lens or something about 80mm or longer
the focal length that gives the correct framing at the shooting distance you will be using.
With your selection, the 35mm 1.4 is a no brainer. It’s 50mm equivalent focal length which is great for portraits as well as general shooting, and the aperture will mean you can handle all lighting conditions.
The xf 56mm 1.2 will be even better for close up portraits, but it’s pretty redundant and won’t shine above the 35mm without professional off camera lighting. Your kit lens is likely crappy. The best lens for this kind of work is a professional 24-70 (full frame or 18-55mm crop). However, I would take the 35mm 1.4 over the kit lens all day every day.
I would also bring the 16mm for indoor or group shots. I would leave the kit lens at home. I would only switch to it if you’re stuck in a tight space. You may not put it on at all, but it’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Do not bring your manual lenses. If you are not experienced, shooting moving kids with them will be a nightmare. You don’t need the added stress of manual focus in a situation like this.
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I’d use 23mm, I think 35+ would be too tight. You’re going to want more context for the photos, and for that wider is better. The 35 will be too close and portrait like. Using what you be got, the 18-55 kit would work just fine the 16 might come in handy as well. My bet is you wouldn’t use the 35f1.4 one bit.
That Fuji kit zoom is straight up banger lens. Use that for everything except portraits, and bring the 35 to cover those. If you pick up the 56 one day you don’t have any redundancy, the zoom at 50 and that 56 are different beasts
I shoot a lot of events for our Scout Group. (Lots off people, often spread out.) Subjects are both near and far, depending on the activities. I’ll be on my feet continually, all weekend.
The majority of the time I use my 24-105 f/4. I’ve come to love that range for this type of shooting.
I’ll sometimes use the 70-300 (f/4.0-5.6) to mix it up a bit.
35mm then crop if you need to
Had a similar pro bono assignment for a school overseas. Used a full frame with 35mm and 50mm lenses. The 35mm was very useful for putting context to the pictured and for candid shots of students doing experiments or teachers supervising students cleaning the grounds. The fast 50mm allowed me to do closer indoor shots with subject isolation to highlight what a student or teacher was doing.
Glad I wasn’t asked to take photos of kids doing sports in the oval. I didn’t have any telephoto that day.
I would shoot with your kit lens and keep the 35mm handy. First time shooting at a school to document events isn’t about how “artful” the photos look…nor “wow, the bokeh” You will want to have the flexibility even for the short reach of the 55mm. Ideally you’ll want something along the lines of 24-105 or 24-70 (I’m a Canon shooter)