I am often laughed at and even ridiculed when people find out that I shoot large group shots with a telephoto lens.
I have to agree with most of them that it does look a little ridiculous and is a lot of extra trouble because I have to be so far away and it can be easy to accidentally get someone out of focus.
But for me, it's totally worth it. Let me explain.
Ever since I started photography back in 2015, I've always wanted that really soft and creamy bokeh (blur) in the foreground and background of my images leaving my subject/subjects tack sharp creating a dreamy image. It's become a big part of my style. Even though not everyone prefers this style, I love it!
When I started doing group shots I wanted to still have that look. Typically you would want to use a wider lens so you would be closer to your subjects, but you won't have that dreamy blur that I like so much.
I decided, why not shoot like I normally would, with a telephoto lens like 135mm or 200mm?
The downside to using these lenses like this is that you have to be laughably far away. You also have to keep everyone very close together so nobody is out of focus.
The upside, gorgeous dreamy bokeh, and unique group photos.
Learn how to do this yourself in the videos below.
Also, if you like my style of photography, check out my free photography course on my website.
Sony a7iii Sigma 135mm f1.8 ART 1/400 ISO160
Sony a7iii Sigma 135mm f2 ART 1/500 ISO1250
Sony a7iii Sigma 135mm f1.8 ART 1/500 ISO640
Sony a7iii Sigma 135mm f1.8 ART 1/1600 ISO160
Sony a7iii Sigma 135mm f1.8 ART 1/500 ISO200
Sony a7iii Sigma 135mm f2 ART 1/1000 ISO320
Sony a7iii Sigma 135mm f2 ART 1/500 ISO100
Sony a7iii Sigma 135mm f2 ART 1/500 ISO125
Sony a7iii Sigma 135mm f1.8 ART 1/500 ISO160
Sony a7iv Sigma 135mm f1.8 ART 1/500 ISO125
Sony a7iii Sigma 135mm f2.5 ART 1/400 ISO400
Sony a7iii Sigma 135mm f1.8 ART 1/800 ISO100
Sony a7iv Sigma 135mm f1.8 ART 1/500 ISO160
Nikkor 200mm f2.0 manual focus lens from 1977
