The Best Beginner Lens for Full Frame Canon DSLR Photography: Tips for Shooting Artsy Fashion

As a beginner in full frame Canon DSLR photography, especially focusing on artsy fashion photography, it's essential to start with the right equipment. But before we delve into lenses, let's address a critical point: investing in lighting and modifiers is paramount.

Understanding the Gear Investment

If you're buying gear to shoot fashion, you need to prioritize lights and modifiers over lenses. Investing wisely in these components can significantly enhance your photo quality and help you achieve the desired artistic look.

Key Lenses for Budget Artsy Photography

Focussing on budget-friendly and artsy lenses, two options stand out: the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM and the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM. These lenses are renowned for their ability to produce a shallow depth of field, making them perfect for capturing that artsy look. They are invaluable tools for those starting in photography and are a great investment for your budget.

Defining Fashion Photography

It's important to note that you don’t necessarily need a fast prime lens to shoot fashion, even as someone who primarily uses fast prime lenses. The fashion look is achieved through skilled lighting and styling, rather than solely relying on a shallow depth of field. This is a key aspect of learning to shoot fashion effectively.

Understanding the Fashion Look

Take a look at fashion ads and editorials. You'll notice that most of them feature a crisp, focused image from front to back, often with hard or semi-hard light and a high lighting ratio. Bright highlights and sharply defined shadows are common. Learning to interpret these images and replicate the lighting and exposure helps in mastering the art of fashion photography.

Lighting for Fashion Photography

Shooting at a shutter speed of 1/200 and an aperture of f/8 requires a significant amount of light. To achieve this, even a cheap kit lens can be reasonably sharp at f/8. If you're outside, you'll need enough power to overpower the sun. Learning to work with flash and balancing flash with ambient light is an essential skill in fashion photography.

Building a Lighting Kit

If you're starting, buying a single light or a single light plus a reflector can provide a range of fashion looks. As you progress, you may need to start with a key light, fill light, hair light, kicker/rim light, and a background light. In the studio, I use up to five lights: a key light, fill light, hair light, kicker/rim light, and background light.

Powerful Lighting Options

Powerful lighting fixtures are crucial for fashion photography. However, you don't necessarily need a studio strobe, especially if you're on a budget. Options such as ganging three speedlights on a bracket or getting a more powerful studio strobe can provide the required power. I currently use the Link system by Paul C Buff and recommend their entry-level AlienBee lights, which give you a lot of bang for your buck. Another great value option is the Yongnuo speedlights.

Advanced Light Strobes and Brand Choices

While speedlights like Yongnuo and Godox are highly portable, lack modeling lights, and have lower power, they are still a cost-effective choice. If you need more power, consider a higher-end option like the Paul C Buff system, which offers modeling lights and more power. Godox has excellent, powerful, and budget-friendly lighting options that bridge the gap between speedlights and strobes.

Investing in lighting and mastering the art of styling and lighting will lead you to better results in your fashion photography. Remember, the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM and EF 85mm f/1.8 USM are budget-friendly options for those looking to achieve a creative and artistic look.