Which lens for Portraits?

Bossman

Senior Member
I have been a full time Commercial Photographer now for over 35 years. One question I am frequently asked is which is the correct lens to use in Portraiture. To be honest there isn't one. It all depends on many things, studio, location, head or full length etc etc.
Try this tip 1st, get someone to pose for you. Start with a wide angle lens and shoot a head & shoulders, what will you get,,, a Barry Manilow look-a-like. So a wide angle is not really the right lens. Follow up with the same head shot with different focal lengths,, 50mm, 80mm 100mm 150mm etc etc keeping the same size head in the viewfinder. Then look at the results, whichever image looks best to you then use that focal length lens for that particular shot. The longer focal length, the more out off focus the background which for me,, is good. Do the same for other shots and you will learn what works for you. If the results work for you and you are happy,, then thats just fine. :cool:

Regards Peter.
 

Dave_W

The Dude
Many will say that anything between 35mm to 105 make good portrait lenses and for the most part I agree with them. However, I find that macro lenses are the best due to their ability to flatten out your subjects portrait so they don't look all distorted. My favorite lens for portraits is a toss-up between my 105mm macro and my 60mm macro. Both are excellent, IMO.
 
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