Comments on: Which Lens for Portrait Photography?

By: Mark Kirwan

Mark Kirwan — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:24:55 +0000

i am trying to decide on which lens to cover when doing wedding photography i have canon 10-22 and 70-200 f4 IS usm but i am looking for a lens to between these to cover me doing wedding portraits on the day .I was looking at the canon 24-105 f4 is usm, and 15-85 f3.5-5.6 is usm ,and 24-70 2.8Land the 17-85 f4.5 IS usm,any advice would be appreciated.

By: Rajeev

Rajeev — Wed, 26 May 2010 12:54:46 +0000

@ Annie: That’s right!
Thanks guys for sharing your experiences. I appreciate.

By: citmariñas

citmariñas — Tue, 25 May 2010 05:39:54 +0000

Nikkor AF-S 35mm f1.8 I would say is one of the sharpest.. and the built-in motor is ultra silent.. The lens arrived the day when I was scheduled to attend a wedding, and it just blew me away.. Sharp images, fast focusing.. and very light..

By: Eeps

Eeps — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:53:46 +0000

I have a 50/1.8 and while it does separate the subject from the background nicely, I have some issues with the bokeh. I’d like my background lights to be blurred more roundly but the 50/1.8 only has 5 petals, thus making them slightly “pentagonish” in nature. I’ve since ordered a Tokina 535 (50-135/2.8) since I read so many rave reviews about them as portrait lenses. Can’t wait.

p.s. There’s a rumor going around that the Tokina 535 has been discontinued. Not true. They’re still being manufactured but the distribution has been limited to Japan.

By: Gregory Taylor

Gregory Taylor — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:47:16 +0000

I love taking portraits with my Canon 50mm 1.8 – this is probably the best $115 I ever spent. The depth of field allows me to focus in on my subject and capture something special.

I was never much of a portrait photographer, I mostly shot concerts or local live music – but this lens made portraits fun again. If you don’t have a prime 50mm look into one – you won’t regret it.

By: mike

mike — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:45:30 +0000

I started with 1.8 canon 50 mark I, got an smc 50mm 1.4, blows the canon away in every catagory, but no autofocus. Best way to get them are to find they on cameras, like smc 50 is ~100 by itself, but 60 on a spotmatic, crazy. Believe the quality of smc is somewhere between canon 50mm 1.4 and 1.2. Very close to 1.2 but for 60$. Also the kit lens for xsi rocks for price, not quite as good as 17-55 2.8, but really close for 900$ less. Anyway use all 3 for portraits, 50 mark I when chasing kids in low light, smc when people can be still. And kit lens for tight shots. Probably will actually spend some money when tamron comes out with 28-75 vc.

By: Jennifer Moore

Jennifer Moore — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:28:59 +0000

This is a great article, though I too am new and am just learning my equipment. All I can say is you all have given me serious lens envy!

Great tips and advice here!

Jennifer Moore
JenniferLynn Productions, LLC

By: Doug McKay

Doug McKay — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:23:39 +0000

I liked this very much, and make me feel good that I was not an island. The one lens I use 97% of the time is my 18-200 zoom lens (Nikon) on a number of my D-Type bodies. But I use it on my D300 even though it is a DX lens! While it tends to function more as a normal image pick up of a 18-200, as apposed to a 30 to 300 plus when used on a DX formate camera. It shows considerable loss of area (the unused portion of the sensor is shown blacked out.. Still the excellent results relative to what you see with your eye is worth it..

I am old school and feel that the techno has sort covered over some of why it is facts. To start a 50mm lens is a nice even number that is closest to how your eye actually sees (your eyes see at 48 mm) Thus it was the standard lens on 35mm cameras for year and years. The 105mm lens are made for macro and portrait work because they capture the cleanest “Proportionally correct” at “True Size” magnification. [true for full frame 35mm]- if you have a DX formate then 85 to 90mm would produce the cleanest true size, in proportion images.

By: Annie

Annie — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:27:58 +0000

I don’t think there is a “wrong” lens to use for portrait photography or any other kind of photography. If we all had the same artistic styles and used the same equipment, then how boring would all of our art/photography be? This is an interesting topic though!

By: Holly

Holly — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:22:07 +0000

Hands down favourite lens for portraits is my Canon 85 1.2L, for family/portrait sessions it’s on my 1D MkIII most of the time. The Canon 70-200 2.8L IS is great for dog photography though!