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up vote 4 down vote favorite

I just bought a 24-70 f2.8 which i will be using with D90 (normally it is not for D90 but i am planning to buy a D3 So i bought it in advance). And next week i have a studio photo shoot(this is my first studio photo shoot). Is it good to use 24-70 as my main lens. because my other lens or not that good :( (as i have 18-105 and 55mm f1.8). Any suggestions ? As i have no idea about portrait photography.

Also i have a sb700. Do i need that in a studio photo shoot. because they are already having (scoro A4s with 3 lights, 3200 joules).

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not to spoil the party, but I hope you're not charging for this photoshoot :) – roman m Mar 1 '11 at 22:53
yes i am not charging anything for the shoot :( – Praneel Mar 2 '11 at 8:07
1  
I'm not really digging roman m's comment. Everyone has to start somewhere. Even if it was a paid photoshoot more power to Praneel. – Frank Hale Mar 2 '11 at 17:13

3 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

If you are doing portraits (and it looks as though you are), then a 24-70 on a cropped sensor should be ideal, as it will be the equivalent of a short telephoto, which is generally recommended for portraits. I'm going to guess that you meant 50mm f/1.8, not 55mm? The 50mm is also a very good choice, and between those you should be good.

As far as lighting goes, it won't hurt to have your flash there, so I'd take it, but you might not actually need to use it.

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yup its 50mm .. you mean i should use 50mm for head shots ? and 24-70 should always be used in 70mm right ? – Praneel Mar 1 '11 at 16:52
The 50 might be useful if you want to go wide open, but yes, the 24-70 in the 50-70mm range should give very good results. – chills42♦ Mar 1 '11 at 16:55
what does wide open mean ? – Praneel Mar 1 '11 at 17:26
It means using the maximum aperture, in this case f/1.8 – chills42♦ Mar 1 '11 at 18:40
@Praneel: With a lens, "wide open" means "at maximum aperture". In this case, if you want any aperture larger than f/2.8 (i.e., the maximum on the 24-70) the 50mm is your obvious alternative. – Jerry Coffin Mar 1 '11 at 23:07
up vote 2 down vote

In terms of the lens, as others mentioned, the range is good. I don't see a problem there.

In terms of the studio lighting, it's clear they've configured for a traditional 3 light setup, so the questions to be asking for this are:

  1. Can you trigger the studio strobes with your camera? Nikon is very well supported in this area, but if they only supply the strobes and not the triggers/cables, then those strobes and the power pack are paperweights unless you have the required missing pieces. You may be okay, just check before you go, it's a little late once your're there.

  2. Assuming you can trigger the strobes, the next question is do you need more light? I suspect you probably won't, but since a small hotshoe flash is easy to carry, I would bring it. However, if you intend to use it on your camera, then forget about it. Only bring it if you're prepared to use it off camera and are able to put it to work in combination with other lighting.

For tips on the portrait side... This site has a lot and Google is your friend. Especially if you use terms like "key light" or "portrait lighting" or "3 point lighting" to get you going. I'd advise doing that if you really want to put those 3 strobes to work for you in a portrait setup.

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you want me to use autofocus or manual focus ? – Praneel Mar 2 '11 at 8:10
@Praneel - I use autofocus, as I like to move around and it's quicker. – John Cavan♦ Mar 2 '11 at 11:41
Thanks for the info and what about tripod ?? – Praneel Mar 2 '11 at 12:24
up vote 1 down vote

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking, but yes, that combo of camera/lens/lighting should work just fine for a studio portrait shoot.

If you have specific questions, feel free to ask them. I'd also suggest browsing around here in the portrait tag, or use the search function here or on Google to look for specific information.

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Do u think i need the flash sb700 because i am stuck with its settings whenever i used it for portrait it will end up with over exposure pics .. is there any solution. – Praneel Mar 1 '11 at 16:46

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