Lenses for Child Photography: My 3 Must Have Lenses
Wondered what lenses are great for child and family photography? Thats exactly what we’re going to talk about today, where I’m going to share with you my three favourite, and most used, lenses for taking pictures of child and family photography.
Now, when I say child and family photography, I’m actually speaking about 2 different types of photography. The first is documentary photography, which is simply capturing everyday family life - those little moments and details that make up our days, along with the most special adventures like holidays or trying something new, and things like birthdays and celebrations.
The second type of photography for child and family photography is portrait photography, either of the child or its own or a family group photo.
I personally love both genres - I love to take portrait style images of children and I love capturing those everyday little moments as well.
So these are my three favorite lenses that allow me to do all of that, but they're also great for other types of photography too. So if you feel like branching out and doing something different, they can absolutely be used for other types of photography as well.
Now, before we dive in, I do want to let you know that I have a new mini course that you might like: my Ultimate Guide to Lenses! This course gives you example images taken with loads of different types of lenses so you can see what each lens does and how it performs. It also gives you a breakdown of when you would want to use each one of those focal lengths, so it’s a great resource if you’re looking at lenses! Check out the Ultimate Guide to Camera Lenses here.
Let's dive in with my first favorite lens, which is…
Sigma 35 mm f 1.4 Art lens
The Sigma 35mm F1.4 Lens (Canon Version) is probably my most used lens out of all of the lenses that I own!
Unfortunately, this lens is a little bit on the expensive side. It's around $800, but the good news is, it's nowhere near as expensive as the Canon comparable lens, the 35mm f 1.4, which is around $2,000!
So although expensive, it’s cheap when compare to the Canon version :-)
But I have to say, this lens is worth every cent because it is super sharp even when the aperture is opened up all the way to f 1.4 - this is unusual, because most lenses just aren't that sharp when they're open up to the widest aperture!
This has actually been a great boost for me because it does mean that I can use it f 1.4 and - if I'm very careful about where I place my focus - I can still get really sharp images. So that's one reason that I love this particular lens.
I also really love the 35mm focal length.
On a full frame camera, this gives you a wider view than the naked eye and this means that you can fit that little bit more into the frame, which makes it absolutely perfect for those documentary images of your everyday family life! (Confused about the difference between full frame and crop frame - read this!)
For example, I will use this a lot indoors.
Firstly because it's got that wider aperture of F1.4, it means I can let more light into my camera, and when you're shooting indoors, there's a little less light going around than you might like, so letting more light via your aperture is a godsend.
The second reason I love it for indoor shots is because it allows me to fit that bit more into the frame, so I can capture my subject and get more of what's happening in the room too. So it's really great for being able to keep in some of that environment and getting the context around what you're photographing.
This could be indoors in your home, but also other indoor spaces, for example, like an aquarium, or in stores or cafes.
This photo on my son in the lego store in Copenhagen (look at that excitement!!!) is a perfect example of this!
But I also use this lens outdoors,
Again, this is for scenes where I want to add more of the environment in. As an example, if I were photographing my child down at the beach, or maybe at the park, anywhere where I really want to get that surroundings in as well, this lens is great for that.
Again, this example below is in a Jazcuzzi out there in the Scottish Highlands, and I wanted to have my son AND the location in the frame.
Finally, it's also great for a family group photos - where you want to capture the whole family as a portrait style shot.
This is why the 35mm is my major workhouse of a lens, simply because of the number of places that I use it!
The only thing I don't use it for is individual portraits. For example, if you're just doing a head and shoulder shot rather than an environmental portrait, that's not really the lens for that.
So the 35mm is definitely one of the best lenses for lifestyle or documentary style images, both indoors and outdoors. So if that is your preferred genre of child photography, this (or an equivalent like the ) is a fantastic lens for you!.
#2 Canon 85 mm f 1.8.
The Canon 85mm F1.8 is actually one of the cheapest lenses that I own, as when compared to other lenses, it’s not horrendously expensive. (all lenses are expensive in my opinion, so I am talking comparitavely here!)
Let’s start with the focal length. This 85mm focal length is absolutely perfect for portraits, both indoors and out.
The reason I quite like it for outdoor portraits of children is that it does allow you to be close enough to the child that you can talk with them and interact with them, so you can get some smiles going in your portraits!
Also the 85 mm focal length is very flattering, because it tends to slim the face ever so slightly (perhaps not quite so important for children, but for adults, it can be a godsend) but it also gives amazing background blur.
That’s the 2 reasons that this lens great for child portraits because you can get that amazing background blur, which I want for my portraits, and I can still be close enough to interact with my subjects.
I will also use it for lifestyle images outdoors too, so again, it’s a good all rounder, which is why it makes it into my “most used” list!
#3 - Canon 135mm f 2.0.
The Canon 135mm F2.0 Lens is the most expensive lens out of the three that are my favorites, but this lens is just beautiful, so it was worth the wait to save up for it!
The 135mm focal length gives the most dreamy, creamy background blur imaginable. It's just so soft and buttery and beautiful.
I use this lens in 2 situations when it comes to child photography - for portraits where I want that amazing background blur, and get a dreamy, ethereal look, and also for child lifestyle / documentary images, where I don't want to be up close and personal with my subject.
I do tend to use this lens outdoors, rather than indoors, as it’s a bit too much of a squash and a squeeze to use it inside - you need a bit of space around you!
If you don’t like prime lenses..
So all three of these lenses are prime lenses, which means if you want to zoom further in or further back, then you have to move your feet!
Now, I personally don't mind. I love prime lenses.
I think it feels more immersive when I have to physically move closer or further back to get the shot that I want. So I personally like doing that, but I know that many people don't! So if primes aren't for you, then don't worry, you can absolutely get lenses that have these focal lengths as part of a zoom.
So if you prefer, you can use something like a Canon 24-70mm Lens (You can also get the Nikon version here, and a Sigma version here)
The 24-70mm focal length is just a really great range - it’s going to cover that 35mm for documentary style and give you around about the 85mm for portraits as well, in one lens.
Because of this, t's perfect for using indoors, it's perfect for lifestyle images, it's perfect for images where you want environmental style portraits, you can use it for traditional portraits as well.
So as an all rounder lens, the 24 to 70mm is a great one to get!
(I used to have a kind of similar version to this - the Tamron 28 to 75 mm. It is a little bit cheaper than the others, so it's great if you're starting out and you don't want to fork out a lot of money on a lens! You can get this to fit all models of cameras, from Sony to Nikon so remember to get one that fits your camera!)
Another lens that I would recommend for zoom is the 70-200 lens (Nikon version here, Tamron version here).
So this is perfect for outdoor portraits or lifestyle images where you don’t want to be up close to your subject.
The downside to those lenses is they are very heavy. I definitely wouldn't class the as a walk around lens, but they are extremely versatile.
Middle Ground? Go for the 50mm!
Another great all rounder lens is the 50mm F1.8, and it’s lighter on the wallet, so it’s definitely one that you should consider too.
On a crop frame this will give you closer to the 85mm, so perfect for portraits (possibly a little tight indoors if you have small rooms) but on full frame, it’s endlessly versatile as you can do lifestyle, documentary and portraits with it!
(If you use a crop frame, consider a 35mm instead!)
You might also want to read this post I did comparing the 35mm to the 50mm)
So that's it! The 3 lenses all the time for child and family photography - both documentary / lifestyle photos, where I take photos of our everyday little moments, and for child and family portrait style photos.
I have loads more resources for you, here’s a little suggestion to get you started! (And don’t forget to download that Which Lens Kickstarter Guide too!)