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D750 - Help Needed - what glass for street photography, video and flat-lays

fashion street video

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7 replies to this topic

#1
kie120

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Hi there!

 

I'm a designer who works for a small tech startup and we've decided to invest in our own photography/videography kit. Looking at our requirements I think the D750 is the right body, we need good stills and video options, wifi, strongish in low light. However, I'm not sure which glass is going to give us the max amount of flexibility. The sort of stuff we'll be shooting -

 

1.Street style shoots 

2.Fashion/outfit flatlays

3.Talking head video pieces, maybe some behind the scenes stuff

 

Our total budget is around £2.5k so really we're looking at spending around 1k-1.5k on lenses.

 

I'm thinking -

 

Either 35 or 50mm for the street stuff - maybe an 85mm if we can stretch?

A wide angle for the the flatlays - think top down shots of 5-6 items of clothing

No idea on the video - I'm hoping the 35, 50 or 85 would do the trick

 

Also what other rig might we need?

 

Tripod?

External Mic?

 

Really want to make sure we get the best bang for our buck and more importantly don't buy kit we're unlikely to use or are too niche. 

 

Many thanks!

 

Kie

 

 



#2
dcbear78

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Can't go wrong with the D750. I think a 24-70mm would be your best option. It will cover the focal lengths you most need. Will go wide for the flatlays. Longer for portraits. Plus it is one lens, which means less hassle, nothing else to lose or misplace. For dedicated photographers prime lenses will provide a superior image but it is at the cost of convenience and price.

 

Just to play devils advocate here. Not thought of working with an established, skilled photographer? One with all their equipment (far beyond your budget) and more importantly the knowledge in how to use it. Additionally this person will have the inter-personal skills and experience to work with your models to get the look you are after. You will (or should) get far superior, professional results. 

 

If I buy a really nice sowing machine, over-locker and some "good scissors" just how good do you think the clothes I create will be?



#3
Merco_61

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I agree with Darryl about the 24-70 being the best to start with. Primes give better results in the right hands but shooting primes under time constraints is stressful compared to a good zoom.

 

I agree about turning to a pro rather than trying yourselves as shots for marketing must be close to perfect to stand out and show in what way your products are better than the competition's.

 

You will need a good tripod with a smooth fluid head to produce good video captures. You will probably need some light panels with a steady colour temperature to get consistent talking head clips. You can light the flatlays with the video lighting, but a pair of softboxed strobes make large product shots so much easier.



#4
M.Beier

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Agreed, 24-70 is quite ideal.

As for tripod, I have not found the ideal for my purpose yet - so I deff wont advice others.

 

As for 24-70, read about all the choices - pick the one that will suit YOU - be it SIGMA, NIKON, TOKINA, TAMRON etc.



#5
Kenafein

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With how ubiquitous photography has become with cell phones, etc, everyone is a photographer, but you can't just buy a tool and become a craftsman.  I am an intermediate hobby photographer, with years of experience, but I wouldn't feel qualified to turn out professional photoshoots.  Flatlays are one thing, you can buy a tent and some lights for those, but fashion/model shoots are another.  Understanding lighting and composition is key.  I agree with Merco and Bear.  If you are asking us which lenses to buy, you should include several private lessons focusing on the areas of photography you're interested in, at the very least, but you probably should find a professional photographer.  As for the 24-70, I haven't taken it off my camera, very often, since I bought it. 



#6
Brian

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"A Small tech Startup" to me means designing a product, are the street shots and fashion shots designed to market the product?

 

Is the company also interested in technical photographs of the product in the design cycle?

 

For technical photographs of products in-design, some macro lenses and ring-lights were always my first choice.

 

Street shots- the 24~70. Depending on the product and what you intend, some perspective-control lenses might be nice. Hard to tell without knowing more details.



#7
Merco_61

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The problem is the woefully small budget. A D750 and a Nikkor 24-70 alone blow the budget significantly, getting a Tamron gets back within budget, just. A good basic video tripod is ~£230 or so with a fluid head and a video lighting kit to get started is ~£150. The 24-70 can handle product shots, but as Brian said, a macro lens does it better. An R1C1 macro flash and a Tamron 90 macro lens are another £1100 or so.

You can get good results sometimes with consumer lenses but for consistent results the f/2.8 zooms are necessary.

The next question is how much time you have available to spend on getting the most out of the gear. Snapshots won't cut it as you will be building the firm's reputation with these early marketing efforts.



#8
Jerry_

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....
I'm thinking -

Either 35 or 50mm for the street stuff - maybe an 85mm if we can stretch?
A wide angle for the the flatlays - think top down shots of 5-6 items of clothing
No idea on the video - I'm hoping the 35, 50 or 85 would do the trick

Also what other rig might we need?

Tripod?
External Mic?

...

Agree that the 24-70/2.8 would be an excellent choice, but also agree that a macro would be an essential improvement.

So, assuming that the OP feels comfortably with prime lenses, my proposal would be
Nikon 35/1.8
Sigma Art 50/1.4
Tamron Macro 90/2.8

Which should be closely fitting the budget.

Nonetheless, this is missing both tripod and light installations.

To what extend a micro is needed, depends.