Architectural - 35mm f2.8 shift. It’s very useable as an every day lens too. There’s a 24mm shift that’s even better, but heavier and more expensive.

Portrait… 135 is the classic, grab an f2 if the budget allows. You can also get anywhere from 85mm through to 180mm. The 180mm f2 is one of the best lenses of the era if your budget allows…

For portraits:

The 85mm f2 is a classic. Used almost exclusively by Jane Bown who took some incredible portraits.

If money is truly no obstacle, the 100mm f2 is the holy grail of Zuiko lenses. Rare and very pricey though.

The 90mm f2 is similarly well regarded but perhaps unflatteringly sharp and with less ideal background blurring than the other two I mentioned as it is a macro lens first and foremost

Too much gap between the 2 requirements for me here. I tend to choose a smaller gap, like a 28mm and a 50mm for portrait, it dépends what’s my main goal of my trip. Or my 40 + 85/90mm

Budget pair: 100/2.8 and 28/3.5 bargain grade.
Take photos and note issues. If taking interior architectural shots, 28 may not suit you. With exteriors, 50/1.8 might be just right.

Better & pricier: 85 and 24/2.8 or even pricier 21/3.5 for wide angle shots. I don’t go for the expensive faster lenses since they are also bigger and heavier. I also prefer 85 to 100, so I wouldn’t consider the 100/2. YMMV

„Best“ is subjective and highly dependent on your specific use case. There are general guides but not set rules, meaning you can use a wide angle for portraits (for a more dynamic look or to include some of the environment) and telephoto for architecture (which I actually love to pick out details and capture it free of distortion)

As an allrounder wide angle, I like the 24/2.8 as it‘s wide enough most of the time and accentuates dimensions without introducing strong unnatural distortion.
You can also pick a 21/3.5 or a 28 (pick any f-stop). Most smartphones use a 24-28mm equivalent as their standard lens, so you might already be accustomed to that focal length.

For portraits, I like everything from 35 to 100mm.
35/2, 50/1.4 (good middle ground and compromise when the 1.2 is outside your budget, but f1.8 is already enough most of the time), 85/2 or 100/2.8 are all excellent.
Pairing a 35mm with a 85mm has been common practice among people photographers. The 90/2 macro is just as great, perhaps even perfect, as you can really close but perhaps the sharpness might be deemed unflattering to some people. If you can find it, the 100/2 is regarded as one of the best Zuikos ever.

Sometimes, a 28mm (the 28/2 has an interesting bokeh) fits just right as I love the more intimate look it can create when you get really close - but that doesn’t fit anybody and your model needs to feel at ease with this. A wide angle might not be flattering for some faces and bodies but great for others.

Some people like a 135mm or even 200mm for portraits to maximise background separation by blurring everything out.
135/2.8, 180/2.8 or 200/4 are such candidates.

However, I often feel like this creates too much of a distance (literally, since you’re standing so far back from your subject) that visually translates to your images. Faces can look flat like pancakes as well.

Your photos look great my friend. What are you currently using? There are multiple ways to deal with your situation:

• use a tripod not to get blurry photos, you don’t have any moving subject so you should be good with longer exposure times
• take panoramic pictures and stitch them together in post, having a tripod makes this extremely easy to plan, just make sure you lock the exposure
• get a wider lens like 20mm 1.8 (you can buy below $500 on eBay and it’s a great prime lens). I recommend renting it from a local store if possible to make sure it does the job for you
• if you don’t want to break the bank on lighting, get a decent flash (been a while since I looked at flashes but I believe sb-800 series are still a solid pick), a small diffuser and bounce the light off the ceiling

Good luck

I'm assuming you have the 18-55mm kit lens. Since you mentioned wanting wider angle shots, I recommend going for an ultrawide like a 10-20mm. There are several around this general range, but I don't have any specific recommendation. One option is the Nikon DX 10-20mm. I'm seeing it on B&H around $300 new and $200 used. Looks like it might lack autofocus on D3100, but you probably don't need AF anyways at such a wide angle doing still shots. There might be a better option with AF though.

Nikkor 50mm f1.8D. Really cheap and fast glass. I do portraits mostly

50mm 1.4 is my go to for portraits!

18-55 cuz I’m poor and unemployed at the time

50mm 1.8

Fuji 56mm f/1.2. It has fantastic image quality, and way more than enough subject separation. This one is my money-maker. I can do portraits with my 23/1.4 or 35/1.4, but the 56 is the one i'll likely pick up the most for this.

I use a lot the 16-35mm 2.8 for interiors, but every time I can change to the 35mm I'll do it, if the space alouds it, I like more the sharpness, bokeh, no vignetting.

I'll use the 50mm for medium portraits in the studio, but I rarely use it outside on location. It's been years since I tried the 28mm, but something felt off for me with that lens.

I'll even use the 35mm for food photos in restaurants, it captures the ambient of the place and still take amazing pics of the food.

There is the Sigma 18-35 f1.8, which may be the best lens you can buy for crop sensors.

I absolutely LOVE the Z, 70-200, 2.8 by Nikon.

LOVE IT.

Go for the 17-50mm f2.8 equivalent then, it's very versatile

Yeah… mid-range zooms make the money. Long, wide and fast make the cool shit… which also sometimes makes money.

24-70 f2.8

Oh, I know what "too much" kit is:

17-35, 24-105, 70-200, 150-600.

Primes.

14mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm.

And that's just my canon EF glass.

70-200mm 2.8 and 35mm 1.4

I could live without the rest, but not those two.

Most used? 24-105 f4

24-120 F4 S.

It's fairly lightweight and relatively compact for a lens spanning that wide of a focal range. It's sharp and has beautiful rendering.

The only real downside is that it's not particularly great in low light with the f/4 aperture, but you also won't really find a wider aperture in a single lens setup with that much versatility.

24-120 f/4 is the most versatile lens, not too big, not too heavy, not too expensive, and maintaining reasonable quality. For everyday photography, that's what I would use.

I loved my 24-70 2.8 when I had it. Covered basically everything I needed it to.

Hi, I have the 24-120 f4 Z mount lens and the Tamron 35-150 f2-f2.8.

I agree that they are both excellent pieces of glass.

And although the Tamron is much heavier than the Nikon s 24-120, the selling point for me is the f2-f2.8 maximum aperture.

As a professional photographer, shooting live music, weddings and events, I find that the Tamron focuses much faster in low lighting conditions, in comparison to the nikkor f4 piece.

Both are very sharp lenses, and the difference in focus speed is very important, but we do “pay for it”, in price and weight.

The one negative of the Tamron, in my opinion and use case, is that it doesn’t go wide enough for indoor table shots and group shots, etc.

So when I am shooting with the 35-150, I do carry a 17-35 f2.8 lens on my promediagear holster.

As far as holsters go, I much prefer the one from promediagear as compared to the spider holster brand.

They feel and function very well. Excellent quality, like all of their products.

And since I wear two of the holsters every single day, I am especially happy, because the promediagear holsters (model SH-1) have a much lower profile, so they aren’t as obvious, when wearing them.

If you don’t need the two extra stops of light sensitivity, (f2-f2.8 v. F4) for focus under low light, then I would recommend the 24-120 for sure.

It does everything well, and it’s lighter and less expensive than the Tamron brand lens.

As a matter of fact, since I shoot with Z9’s, with a very high, 46 megapixel sensor, and I make a lot of 13x19 prints or larger, I can easily appreciate the quality of the lenses

BTW: I also own the Tamron 50mm-400mm zoom, Z mount lens.

It is also a terrific lens and the fact that unlike most lenses in this category, this lens goes all the way down to 50mm, not 80mm or 100mm as the others do.

That does make a useful tool even more useful.

I wish you much luck with your choice.

IMHO YMMV

Best 📸 Regards, Randy 📸

A 50 mm

Getting bokeh effects is not "creative photography".

If you have problems with creativity, then it might be better to get a "boring" autofocus lens that will not distract you from creative process. I like some of the effects of old lenses, in some situations they have a use, but you should not think that it will boost your creativity.

And it may seem paradoxical, but they give the best results precisely in the conditions of well-organized photo shoots, where you know exactly what you are doing, where there is no rush, where their shortcomings are taken into account and will not be a problem. This is exactly that "But even Denis Villeneuve shoots with Helios!!"

I saw your photos with cats. I think at this stage you need to learn to see when the light is on your side and when it is not and maybe you shouldn't even take your camera out of bag. And as for cats, they don't go well with manual lenses at all

https://preview.redd.it/v9l1djy9fw5f1.png?width=1194&format=png&auto=webp&s=5e347504e1f6dad78b6f41c4f444805cc341bb6d

Some fancy glass won't help with creativity, going out and trying different techiques and genres will. If you want cheap manual primes, TTArtisan and 7Artisans have a lot of them, or if you want a cool party trick/lowlight lens, their F/0.95 manual 35 and 50mm lenses can be fun, though ofc far from clinically sharp

How about sticking with the lens you have and getting some filters and accessories? A circular polarizer, 10-stop ND filter and some extension tubes will give you a lot of creative options to play with, and aren't that expensive when compared to a whole new lens. If you have more money to spend, get a good tripod, a ring flash and a TTL flash and some triggers, again to open up some creative possibilities.

How about the lens over your eye that’s where interesting things begin. What you see or how you interpret it is far more exciting than any piece of glass you can put on a camera. 😢

That swirl bokeh effect is nauseating.

I have an R8 and have the 24-105 f/4 that I use for almost everything and I bring the 50 1.8 that I swap to for low light/indoor situations. Those 2 lenses cover just about everything for me.

I do plan to add the 70-200 2.8 eventually once my kid gets a little bigger and starts getting involved in events and/or sports.

Based on your “every condition” use, I’d grab a zoom lens for the versatility. Try renting first if you can’t make up your mind.

I will die on the hill that 24-105 f4 is the best zoom for every day use.

I have an EF that I use with an adapter and it's great, I think the RFS are even better

The 24-70 Canon L is a VERY versatile lens for shooting weddings. If you can swing it, also rent a 16-35 Canon L, which is insanely popular for wedding shoots as well. It will give you those really buttery close-up shots and that lens in particular is just a beautiful look, color, everything. Good luck!

Great kit, Here’s what I use at each moment during the wedding day.

50mm/35mm - wedding prep, makeup, suits on etc. 70-200mm - wedding ceremony 70-200mm - photo time 50mm/35mm - reception / bridal party arrival 70-200mm - reception speeches 50mm/35mm - reception, food, dance.

Switch between the 50mm and 35mm depending on how much room you have at each location. 70 - 200mm at photo time will make your shots look beautifully cinematic.

11-24mm will give you a perspective that your other lenses won’t BUT I wouldn’t use it much for a wedding unless it had helicopters or other crazy things you need a wide lens for.

24-70mm is a great run and gun lens. Highly recommend!!

Let me know what you think.

I don't believe there is any "must have" anything for any type of gig/job. I literally think it all is dependent on the style of the creator/film maker. Some people prefer wide shots and some like to get up close and personal. I guess the only lens that's almost a requirement would be some form of telephoto for the ceremony but everything else is dependent on how you like to shoot. Just my opinion.

Minolta 70-210mm "Beercan" for Sony A. there's something about the "focal length" that really makes your photos incredible to look at.

Also, the one combo i keep going back is a cheap DSLR with a 70-210mm lens ( and an iphone for wide/normal shots).

I don't get scared to lose or break this gear as they are easily available and replaceable. You can buy 4 of these combos for 1 iphone.

I love the busy backgrounds of my Rokkor 58mm 1.4. I don't know what it is but it is si different from any other 50mm I got

TTartisan 50mm 1.2 for aps-c and also TTaritsan 50mm 1.4 tilt.

Both have their flaws and are optically dog crap but somehow they give an interesting feel to the photos

Do yourself a favor and rent/try the 35 GM 🫡

Sigma 56mm F1.4
It tricks everyone I know into thinking I'm a decent photographer.