Which lens should I use for a big group shot?

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Question from Beth: “I am shooting a large group picture of a graduating nursing class 63 people). I have some gorgeous natural light to work with but wondered what you all thought of which lens to use? Not sure if I would have to rent a lens for this but I have my 18-200 mm lens that might work….thoughts? I have a Nikon D7000.”

Carla:  if you want to risk it, buy one froma london drugs, or another place with good return policy, use lens for shoot, take care of it, return right after …lol

Brian:  I would rather do the right thing and rent, rather than take an advantage of a return policy.

Brian: On that note, you may want to go ahead of time, and test your current lens, to see if you will have enough light, either by boosting your iso, or adding some fill light.

Monica: I’d go with 35mm but that’s me. I’d rent one or if you have the $$ buy it.

Erick: Since you are shooting with a DX 1.5 crop sensor your 18-200mm becomes a 27-300mm, so probably not as wide as you would have liked. If you feel that you cannot achieve the shot with your current focal length, then you might want to consider renting either a Nikkor 10-24 (15-36) or a Nikkor 14-24 (21-36)… shooting wide on either of these can give you barrel distortion… so keep that in mind. I hope this helps.

Tommy:  I’d look for a wider lens with a fast aperture than 18-200 because of your crop factor

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