So I finally got my hands on a Canon 90D after saving up forever and I am so stoked to start using it but honestly I feel like a total idiot looking at all these lens options online lol. I went to the park near my place in Austin yesterday to try and take some photos of my best friend for her graduation and they just looked... okay? Like they look like phone pictures but a little sharper? I want that really pretty blurry background look that you see in professional portraits but I have no idea how to get it with the lens that came in the box. I think its called an 18-135 thingy?
Anyway I started googling and there are just way too many numbers and letters like EF and EF-S and f/1.8 and I am drowning in jargon. I really want to get a portrait lens specifically because my sister is getting married next month and I promised I would take some nice shots of the family at the rehearsal dinner. I dont want to let her down or show up with something that looks like I used an old iPhone!
Heres what I am looking for I guess:
- something that makes the background really soft and blurry so the person pops
- my budget is probably around 300 or 400 bucks max because the camera already cost me a ton
- it needs to be easy for a beginner to use without me having to watch ten hours of youtube videos
- I mostly take photos of people standing still or posing
I saw something about a nifty fifty which sounds cool and cheap but then someone else said on a crop sensor it might be too zoomed in? I dont even know what a crop sensor is really sorry if that sounds dumb. Is there a specific one you guys would suggest for someone who is literally just starting out and has no clue what they are doing? I just want the pictures to look professional for my sisters big day...
Yo, congrats on the 90D! It is such a killer camera but yeah, that kit lens you have isnt gonna give you that creamy blur you're after. That nifty fifty everyone talks about is honestly the best place to start, but you gotta be careful because on your 90D it acts like an 80mm lens... basically it means you'll have to stand pretty far back from people to get them in the frame. I would definitely suggest these two for your budget:
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM
- Its super cheap and basically the king of blurry backgrounds for beginners. Just watch out in small rooms.
- Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM Art for Canon EF
- This is closer to your max budget but it lets in even more light and isnt as zoomed in as the 50mm. Since you're doing a wedding rehearsal, just make sure to practice focusing before the big night. Use that f/1.8 or f/1.4 setting and you'll see the magic immediately. It might feel weird standing so far away at first with the 50mm but the photos will look way more pro than any phone.
