Lenses for a canon rebel xsi

<p>All right, so I'm starting my little business and I've been asked to take weddings and portraits. The only problem is..I have crappy lenses: standard lens: efs 18-55mm and efs 55-250. Not that great. So I'm looking for a lens that can be used for both weddings and portraits that's great under $250. Any help?</p><div></div>

<p>what kind of lens are you looking for wide angle or telephoto? what zoom range do you want?</p>

<p>Crappy? The pictures you link to show a lot of shortcomings which are NOT going to be solved by any <250 dollar lens!</p>

<p>Weddings and Portrait business?! There is <strong>so much </strong>to learn before you go and inflict yourself on some poor wedding client.</p>

<p>Get the <em><strong>knowledge </strong></em>you need first.....you may even find that the lenses you already own are better than you think....at least a start point.</p>

 

<p>What shortcomings do you see in her pictures?</p>

<p>Derek....I looked at the Flickr images......bad lighting, posing. processing, if any, complexions, mood set, emotion shown.....everything really.....<br>

Actually, the one posted to show the "crappy" lens shows quite reasonable sharpness and contrast in the areas which are in focus.....</p>

<p> </p>

<p>staple wedding lenses are :<br>

EF 24-70mm f/2.8L >$1000<br>

EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS >$1500<br>

EF 85mm f/1.8 or 1.2 $400 or >$1000</p>

<p>and as Robert says, there is so much to learn about wedding photography. I consider myself a decent photographer and I know a lot about photography and how my camera works and how to get it to do what I want it to (manipulating settings for a desired effect) and I won't touch weddings. Even if a friend asks me, I tell them "no" and refer them to my buddy that's a great wedding photog.</p>

<p>Katelyn,</p>

<p>If you really want a new lens, look at the 50/1.8 lens for $100. It's fast, cheap, high quality, and makes for a good portrait lens on your Rebel. I don't think there's much else within your price range that is a significant improvement over what you have now.</p>

<p>To be frank, lenses are not where you should be spending at this time. You can build a basic lighting kit (see strobist.com) for less than $250 that can make your current lenses sing. Remember that you need backups for everything as equipment WILL fail and generally at the most inopportune times.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Robert, I should really take my Flickr website off on here. I don't use that anymore and it's old photos. It's more for family. (If you want to take a look at some newer things: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/KMC-Photography/152162754796221?v=info ) But yes I do need work, who doesn't? =)<br>

<br /> I am just looking for a basic lens which would be good for both. Wedding isn't really my thing, I was just curious.</p>

I have a rebel XSi and have shot a ton of street photography and street portraits with a Tamron 17-50

f/2.8.

 

It's a great lens for portraits and at a sane price of around $450. Nicely compliments the XSi...

<p>Canon 50mm 1.8</p>

<p>Thank you Jesse!</p>

<p>Another vote for the Canon 50mm f1.8. It is somewhat soft (flattering for portraits) at f1.8 (make sure to focus on eyes), very sharp stopped down. It should be in everyone's bag - a true bargain. The Tamron is very nice, but not as fast and for the price difference you can get a used Canon 420EX flash (<a href="http://www.keh.com">www.keh.com</a> has them for $150) and Gary Fong Lightsphere diffuser for $40-50 or generic versions for about $15-20 on ebay. A flash with the diffuser is really a great investment for portraits (can even help in bright daylight situations - use high-speed sync for a fill flash). You would even have money left over for the difference to get the battery grip - longer battery life and makes portrait orientation picture taking easier with the extra buttons to shoot and adjust settings (see - <a href="http://digitalcamerabattery.us/how-to-use-battery-grip.htm">http://digitalcamerabattery.us/how-to-use-battery-grip.htm</a> )</p>

<p>85mm 1,8</p>