Best Lens for Child Photography? My 3 Fave lenses revealed!
What’s the best lens for child photography? That’s one of the questions I’m asked all the time, so today I'm going to go over my personal three favourite lenses for child photography!
I'm going to tell you what I like about them, what I use them for and what I don't like about them too.
Remember this is my personal“best” lenses for child photography, but that doesn't mean they're going to be right for you, so I'm also going to give you some suggestions for alternative lenses for child photography that might be more better suited to you and the way that you shoot.
Watch the video below, or scroll down to read a transcript instead!
Grab your Which Lens Kickstarter Guide
Resources Mentioned in this Video
Grab your ‘Which Lens Kickstarter Guide”
“What do the numbers on my camera lens mean”
“Tips for using the Canon 50mm F1.8 lens”
Links to Lenses Mentioned in the Video
Sigma 35mm F1.4 Lens (Canon Version)
Canon 24-70mm Lens (You can also get the Nikon version here, and a Sigma version here)
Canon 70-200 lens (Nikon version here, Tamron version here)
Fave Lens #1 - Sigma 35mm F1.4 Art Lens
So I'm actually going to start with the lens that I use most often for photographing children, and it is this one - the Sigma 35mm F 1.4 lens (link above!)
And I have to say this lens is amazing because it’s super sharp, even when the aperture is open all the way at F 1.4. Now this is unusual as most lenses aren't that sharp when they are open all the way, in other words you're using them at their widest aperture. This one is! So that does mean that you can use F 1.4 and still get sharp images.
I also really love the focal length on a full frame camera. It's a little bit of a wider view than the naked eye, so you can fit that little bit more into the frame and as such, it's absolutely perfect for lifestyle images of children and family life.
So I use this a lot indoors because of that wider aperture. And because that focal length means that I can fit that little bit more in the frame, I can take photos indoor while keeping some of the environment and getting that context.
However, I also love it for outdoors, for scenes where you want to create more of an environmental image. So for example, if you’re photographing your child down at the beach or in the park, and I want to include quite a lot of the surroundings as well.
This lens kind of stays on my camera most of the time I would say it's actually my go to lens!
Now, what I don't like about it is at 35mm, as I said, you're fitting more into the frame so it's not particularly versatile. I don't really use this for portraits, for example, at all, so this is really the lens that I use when I want to take lifestyle images, both indoors and outdoors.
Now the other thing to note is that it a fixed lens, so that means it's fixed at 35mm. So if you want to get closer or move farther back, you're going to have to do that with your feet!
Now I appreciate that I'm talking a lot here about focal lens and about aperture. If you're not clear on what all those lens numbers actually mean, then I have a video that's going to be perfect for you. It is called what do the numbers on my lenses mean and that's going to break all that down for you so much more. So if you're new and those terms are a little bit confusing, go do watch that first cause then this video is going to make a lot more sense after watching/reading that!
If you aren’t sure whether a 35mm or 50mm would be right for you, you can also give this a read 35mm vs 50mm.
Fave Lens #2 - Canon 85mm F1.8
This lens is actually one of the cheapest lenses I own (although no lenses are cheap really!) So it's not a cheap lens, but it is cheaper than some of the alternatives out there.
And again, it is a wonderful lens, especially for the price. So this focal length, 85 mm, is pretty much perfect for child portraits. So this is the lens I pretty much reach for all the time when I want to take a traditional portrait outdoors.
I can still manage indoors to fit the person into the frame, and I can kind of cut out some off that clutter that I don't want, so I also tend to use it for portraits indoors.
In a traditional portrait, the 85mm focal length is also uber flattering because it tends to slim the face time ever so slightly and it gives amazing background blur.
So I would also use this lens for portraits because it gives that amazing background blur, plus it’s very flattering to the features and it's amazingly sharp as well.
So I know you can get a really expensive version, 85mm F1.2, but honestly, I've never felt the need to upgrade to that because this 1.8 version is so amazing!
So if you take portraits, I think this is a fantastic lens for you to have in your collection.
You can read more why I think the 85mm is one of the best lenses for child photography here!
Fave Lens #3 - Canon 135mm F2.0
Now my third favorite lens is another Canon one (obviously because I shoot Canon!) and this is the 135mm F2.0.
This lens is just beautiful. It gives the most dreamy background blur imaginable. It's, it's so beautiful and soft and buttery that it is an amazing lens for portraits as well.
But I would also use this lens for any child lifestyle images where I don't want to be in amongst my subject, for example telling them what to do or directing them in any way. This is the lens that I would use if I'm taking kind of lifestyle shot of children, but I still want some off that dreamy background blur.
So I tend to use this for portraits outdoors, or if I'm taking lifestyle images outdoors where I want to be farther back from my subject so I can kind of leave them to get on with it.
And with that nice F2.0 aperture, you can get lots of light into the camera and you can get that yummy background blurred as well. And again, that lens is sharp at F2.0 too.
The downside to this lens is again, it's another prime lens. So if you want to go further in or further back, then you have to move your feet. I personally don't mind that as I like a prime lens, and I think it feels more immersive when I have to physically move closer or further back to get the shot that I want. I like doing that, but I know many people don't! (So if primes aren't for you, don't worry, you can absolutely get lenses that have these focal lengths as part of a zoom)
The other thing that it has is just amazing contrast and clarity and color straight out of camera, so you need to do actually very little editing with this lens because it looks so amazing just straight out of camera. You really can tell the difference I think with an L lens!
Now, although I've shown you some example images here and giving you some ideas of what I would use each lens for, do you also make sure that you download the free Which Lens Kickstarter Guide and in it it has different focal lengths example images and then I've also broken down when you would want to use each of those focal lengths, so not just the ones that we spoke about here today, but the other lenses as well.
My Other Lenses….
Now that was my three favorites, but I have a lot of other lenses as well!
I have a 16 - 35mm that I use for landscapes, a 50 mm, which is just a great all rounder lens, and a camera bag staple.
I have a 100mm macro lens which I use for portraits and for macro (and would also be great for newborn photography specifically) and I have a 200mm lens which just gives the dreamiest background blur ever! It’s great for portraits and also for some wildlife shots as well.
But if you asked me which of my lenses I would keep if I could only ever have three it would be the 35 the 85 and the 135mm That for me gives me absolutely everything that I could need - lenses for lifestyle, indoor shots, portraits both indoors and out, and then one that I can use outdoors for dreamy background blur, either for lifestyle or for portrait style shots.
Alternative lenses for child photography…
Now you will notice all three of of my faves are prime lenses.
I personally love prime lenses - they do tend to be a little bit sharper, and they open up to wider apertures, but on the downside, you do have to move with your feet. There's no zooming in using your zoom - you have to physically move forward or backward.
Now I prefer that because that feels more immersive to me, plus I just find that easier to work with in a zoom lens. But I know that for some people it's the opposite. They really don't like working with prime lenses and they prefer a zoom.
So if that's you, I have a couple of alternative recommendations for you that might be better suited to you for child and lifestyle photography.
So the first is actually the 24 to 70mm, both Canon or Nikon. That's just a great range of focal lengths that would be perfect for indoors and for environmental portraits where you want to get more of the scene in the frame, and because that goes all the way up to 70mm, it’s getting to the point where it's great for portraits as well. So as an all rounder lens, the 24 to 70 is a great one to get. You can get versions for Canon, and for Nikon, plus from Sigma and from Tamron.
(I used to have one that's a similar range of focal length, the 28 to 75 Tamron lens and that's also very good. It's a little bit cheaper but great if you're starting at and you don't want to fork out lots of money on a lens!)
The other zoom lens I recommend is the 70 to 200mm. Again, both Canon and Nikon have version of this, as do Sigma, and again that covers you with that next range of focal lengths. It’s great outdoors for portraits because you're getting everything from that 85 which is the classic portrait focal length, all the way to 200 where you can get really out of this world a background blur.
(Scroll up for links to all these lenses!)
But the downside to those lenses are they are really quite heavy! I wouldn't classify them at all as a walk around lens (unless you want to kind of lift weights the same time as going for your walk) but there's no doubt that they are extremely versatile.
Don't forget, you can also download that Which Lens Kick Starter Guide - it’s got example images from a range of focal lens and a note off which will focal lengths is particularly suited to which type of image. Grab it by clicking on the image below!
And that’s it, a round up of the best lenses for child photography - or at least the ones that I love! Of course there are several other lenses that would be suitable for child photography too, so if you want to know about the suitability of a particular lens - ask! I'm always here to help. And of course if there's something that I know you want to see, I'll definitely help and make a video on that too :)
