I am trying to assemble the lenses I will need for most pet portraits. I am starting a business photographing pets on location (I go to the clients home rather than them coming to a studio).

I use a Canon EOS Digital Kiss (a renamed Rebel Xti) and so far I have been shooting with a standard zoom lens (28-105mm) and a speedlite flash.

My concern: I love my zoom, but the lowest f stop on it is a 4, and I wonder if portraits would be better with a "Fixed" lens: an 85mm or 100mm.

I like the zoom, because when the pet is moving a lot (kittens for example) I can adjust accordingly and I worry about taking successful portraits with a fixed lens, when I can't make adjustments like that. OTOH, I face variable lighting situations; since I go to different homes. Some homes I've been in are really dark, and the fixed lenses have a low f stop (1 or 2) which I uderstand makes them fast and very sharp for portraits. Also, they have the ability to "blur" the background.

I am working on building a business, and would appreicate advice on lenses from pro pet photographers.

Thanks,

Tori

It all depends on what you are doing, how you want it to look, how you are lighting it and all that jazz.

Yes, a larger aperture lens will allow you to do a lot more selective focus.

Each lens has its strength and really it is what your vision is. Is it the big headed dog look? Which is artsy and almost silly? Go with a super wide angle. Is it true realistic portraits, like you would want to see in canvas? Go with a longer lens and smaller aperture.

I have everything from 11mm-200mm, Some F2 lenses, and I use them all for different reasons.

Not a definitive answer, but, then it is not a definitive thing

Hi Tori,
as Julie says, it isn't carved in stone. I have my "basic" lens which I use for dog shows and most in-home "studio type" portraits (those where I bring my studio lights): it's the Canon 28-135 F3.5-5.6 IS. It's not fast and it's not as sharp as some of the L lenses but it works for me in a wide variety of settings.

I also have the 85 F1.8 which I use for candids and selective-focus portraits both in the studio/home and outdoors. I back that up with the 50 F1.4 when I want to work closer or have a wider field of vision.

And sometimes I use my 70-200 F4L for candids outdoors. At F4.0, it creates lovely isolation at shorter focal lengths.

If I were to advise on one "bread & butter" portrait lens, it would be something like the 28-135 IS, the 24-105 F4L IS or the 17-55 F2.8IS. All have excellent optical specs and the IS really helps if you have to throw toys with one hand while holding the camera in the other.

For what you're doing, the best single lens is a really good zoom. Later, you can think about acquiring "portrait lenses" like the 85 or the 50 or the 100 F2.0. IMHO.

Hope this helps,

Jim

Thanks, Jim and Julie. I'd like to ask one more question Jim, to clarify your response. You wrote that the best lens for what I"m doing os a really good Zoom. Since we both use Canon, what do you think of the 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 USM II zoom? (My specific lens Should I look at something else, or can I get a good start with this one?

Also, is it acceptable to post pictures here? If so, I can post a couple of portraits and you can see what I"m shooting with the lens I have.

Thanks, Tori

Tori,
of course it's appropriate to post pictures here! That's the whole idea -- to share what we do so we can all learn to do it better.

I don't know about the zoom you have. I've not personally used it. I have used the 17-55 F2.8 IS and it's exceptional. It's also expensive. I've used the 24-105 F4L IS and it is also exceptional and fairly expensive. I've owned and used the 17-40 F4L and it's a very nice lens at a very good price. I loved the image quality from it. I currently own the 28-135 F3.5-5.6 IS and it's very good and relatively inexpensive (around $300).

From my experience, the IS is a major advantage when shooting animal portraits hand-held which is the only way I do it. What can I say, I should probably use a tripod but I get better angles and quicker reaction time when I hand-hold.

To give you some comparisons, here's a shot with the 28-135 IS @ F5.6.



Here's a shot with the 85 F1.8 at F1.8.



And the 50 F1.4 at F9.0.



Here's the 24-105 F4L at F4.5.



And again at F8.0.



This is the 17-40 F4L at F5.6.



And finally (whew), the 17-55 F2.8IS at F5.6.



The thing to keep in mind is that all of these lenses produce excellent images when stopped down to F6.3 or smaller. The better ones produce equally good images wide open. You have to decide what type of shooting you do and then what lens will meet those needs. For example, most of my formal portraits -- either indoors or outside -- are shot with either studio strobes or a 580EX which allow me to shoot the 28-135 stopped down to F8. So I get some pretty decent sharpness out of it.

All of the other lenses I've mentioned here produce excellent images. It's more a question of what you can afford. The primes are wonderful but tend not to get as much use. There have been times when I couldn't get the shot without having either the 85 F1.8 or the 135 F2.0. But when it comes to controlled environments with controlled lighting, the zooms provide a lot of flexibility.

If you have a specific question, just ask. And please post some of your images so we can see what you usually shoot.

Jim

Thanks so much, Jim. How do I attach my pics to a message, like you did?

Tori

You can host them free at http://photobucket.com and then use the img code to post on here

Tori,
it goes like this: first you host your images on a site like Pbase or Photobucket and then as you type your post or reply, you press the "image" hot key under Instant UBB Code and a box will come up that shows you the site address: http://
you paste the address of the image after the http:// and at the end, add ".jpg" and it will come up in your message.

Be sure to add the .jpg and be sure to preview your post to make sure you put in the addy correctly. I usually open a new window and copy it from that window into the NWP post.

It takes some practice but once you get it, it's not all that hard.

You can always add the photos as attachments as well but that's a bit more cumbersome.

Jim

Here Are some of my pictures:

You missed Tori.

The image tag you need looks like this
[img]urltoyourfilegoeshere[/img]