The Best Lenses for Portrait Photography
When it comes to portrait photography, choosing the right lens can make all the difference. Different lenses give you varying results, whether you seek a lens for full-body portraits or tight close-ups of heads and shoulders.
Professionals usually go for an 85mm or 50mm focal length, depending on their personal style. However, a wider 35mm can also be a good choice if you want to take environmental or group portraits. Another consideration to ponder when taking portraits is the aperture. Buttery bokeh backgrounds are more than a fashion fad today, and having a wide aperture produces the most dream-like blurry backgrounds.
Here are the best lenses for portrait photography available today.
1. Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens
As part of Sigma’s “Art” range, it goes without saying that its 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM lens delivers outstanding image and build quality. As it’s a 50mm lens, it’s an excellent choice for all-purpose photography, including tight and close-up portraits. you could also capture wonderful group and environmental portraits thanks to the lens' wider build. Once attached to an APS-C body, it becomes equivalent to a 75mm lens (80mm on a Canon), making it perfect as a short telephoto for natural-perspective portraits.
This lens has superior optics with 13 elements in eight groups, including one aspherical element to reduce optical aberrations and three FLD elements providing color accuracy and detail. It also features a superb HSM delivering fast, reliable, and silent autofocus. Additionally, with a bright f/1.4 maximum aperture and a rounded nine-blade diaphragm, it’s excellent in low light and isolates subjects well with beautiful bokeh.
2. Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G
A 35mm lens may not be the first thing you think of when taking portraits. However, it’s an excellent option for capturing wider environment portraits, such as a musician with a range of instruments. It’s also wide enough for group portraits like a sports team and a top choice for street portraits where you want to include more story-telling background.
With the AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm’s maximum aperture of f/1.8, you get excellent control over the depth of field for isolating your subject. That subject, whether it’s a person or pet, will be well-detailed, while the background will be wonderfully blurred. However, it does require you to get up close, which may make your subject uncomfortable and consequently pull unnatural expressions. If candid portraiture is your thing, you may be better off with a longer focal length to buy some distance.
With a lens construction consisting of eight elements in six groups, including one aspherical element to reduce distortion, image quality is sharp and vibrant. Additionally, Nikon’s proprietary Super Integrated Coating reduces ghosting and flare. It also features Nikon’s Silent Wave Motor, which powers a speedy and silent autofocus for snapping in-the-moment images.
3. Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM
For those not quite ready to spend a fortune on a lens yet still demand high quality, you can’t do much better than the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens. It’s a versatile lens ideal for many types of photography, including portraiture. Despite its affordability, it still offers premium-quality images and is an excellent budget lens that experienced photographers are sure to endorse.
This ‘nifty fifty’ is excellent for natural and lifelike portraits. When attached to an APS-C body, its effective focal length is 80mm, giving you more distance from your subject and more flattering perspectives. It’s also perfect for snapping headshots, full-body portraits, and small group shots.
It features six elements in five groups with one aspherical element and delivers sharp, accurate, vibrant images with excellent contrast. With its wide f/1.8 aperture and 7-blade rounded diaphragm, you can isolate subjects beautifully with nice bokeh. The wide aperture also makes it an outstanding low-light performer, while the autofocus is reliable, fast, and exceptionally quiet.
4. Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G
Many experienced and professional photographers consider 85mm the best focal length for portrait photography. Subjects often feel more at ease with a greater distance from the lens, allowing them to relax and pose naturally. This focal length also gives a more flattering and natural effect on subjects.
With this lens, you also get soft and natural-looking bokeh with the fast aperture and seven-blade rounded diaphragm. You can beautifully isolate your subjects while also capturing genuine expressions. Whether that subject is a laughing child, an adorabke pet, or an exotic animal at the zoo, the SWM ensures fast and silent autofocus, making it easy to capture timeless candid moments.
The f/1.8 maximum aperture also makes it an excellent choice for low-light situations. That aside, you also get high-quality optics. With nine elements in nine groups, including one extra-low dispersion element, you get detailed images with minimal aberrations and distortion.
5. Sony FE 85mm f/1.8
Another outstanding 85mm lens perfect for portrait photography is the Sony FE f/1.8. With its popular-for-portraits focal length and fast aperture, you can snap countless flattering and natural headshots. Your subjects will enjoy the comfortable distance while you can still fill the frame with heads and shoulders.
It’s also a good choice for capturing candids at events like weddings or concerts with the lens’ accurate autofocus. It’s ideal for following faces and snapping emotions, and the fast aperture also allows for a shallow depth of field. Together with the 9-blade rounded diaphragm, you’ll get natural, buttery bokeh to draw attention to your subjects. Eye detail and skin texture stand out, thanks to the outstanding corner-to-corner detail produced by this lens.
However, if you need to get closer to your subject, the minimum focusing distance of 2.63ft allows for tight headshots. Additionally, its lightweight and compact build ensures shoulder-ache-free usage during extended periods of time.
6. Sony E 50mm f/1.8 OSS
The Sony E 50mm f/1.8 OSS is a versatile lens at a reasonable price point. It’s a fabulous ‘nifty fifty’ suitable for portrait photography, and on an APS-C camera, it has a 75mm equivalent focal length. It’s an all-around good choice for portrait photography.
With its bright f/1.8 maximum aperture and seven-blade rounded diaphragm, portraits are well-detailed with smooth bokeh. The lens also features Sony’s Optical SteadyShot image stabilization. Together with the wide aperture, it’s an excellent low-light performer, making photos taken in dim environments, such as portraits at dawn, especially pleasing.
The nine-element, eight-group optical design includes an aspherical and ED element, which reduces spherical and chromatic aberration. Additionally, the lens is lightweight and compact, making it a good choice for shooting portraits on location. Last, it also has a fast and accurate AF, helping you lock in on subjects and capture spontaneous and natural images.
7. Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
With its 85mm focal length, the Canon EF 85mm f1.8 USM lens is a popular choice among portrait photographers. It provides compression and a positive perspective, while you could easily isolate the subject in your photos with dreamy bokeh.
Thanks to its maximum f/1.8 aperture, it’s also a fantastic lens for low-light conditions. You can take stunning portraits at dusk or in dimly lit rooms, and your subject’s features will still be detailed. With the wide aperture, you can also use fast shutter speeds to capture sharply-detailed in-the-moment expressions. Additionally, with the outstanding USM driving a speedy and reliable autofocus, capturing those moments is all the easier.
The nine-element optical design includes an aspherical element, which reduces spherical aberrations, while the Super Spectra Coating reduces flare and ghosting. Overall, this lens offers excellent color rendering and contrast with images of high quality and clarity.
Q: What Lens Do Most Photographers Use for Portraits?
The 50mm and, in particular, the 85mm prime lenses are the go-to for portrait photographers. However, for a wider perspective, you may want to use the 35mm on occasion. These prime lenses offer finer details and have wider apertures (which are essential when isolating subjects).
That said, some portrait photographers may also opt for a telephoto lens for more versatility or travel purposes. They typically stick to shorter focal lengths on these lenses, usually between 24mm and 200mm.
Q: Is 50mm or 85mm Better for Portraits?
The 85mm lens is widely considered the best for portraits. But it ultimately depends on the photographer’s style.
With a 50mm, you will need to be closer to your subject when snapping photos, which can cause discomfort for the subject, and expressions may appear unnatural or insincere. However, as it is wider, the 50mm allows you to capture more background. This makes it a good choice for telling stories with images, such as artists working in their environment. A 50mm lens is also smaller and lighter than an 85mm, which may make it a better choice for traveling.
The 85mm lens is better for full-body or tight head and shoulder portraits. The perspective is compressed and more flattering to the subject, and you don’t need to be as close as you would with a 50mm lens while taking the photo. This longer distance allows for capturing more natural expressions and also makes it a good choice for snapping people at events.
