Upgrading to a portrait lens

reeseoriginals

I played with a friends 70-300mm and plan on getting that one for sports shots (my sons tee-ball) and things I want a little bit closer. I am also looking for a good portrail lens. I have been told that the 50mm f/1.4 is good. Also the 18-200mm. Can you please tell me which portrait lens I should get?

t2iski

I have the 50mm f/1.4 and it's a great lens. If money is tight the 50mm f/1.8 is also a great lens. I been looking at the 30mm f/1.4 also.

Moose

Howdy @reeseoriginals - When it comes to portrait photography, you want to have a lens with a maximum aperture between f/1.2 to f/2.8. Lower f-numbers shorten the depth of field (smaller area in focus) which helps isolate your subjects against a blurry background.

In addition to the maximum aperture, you also want the focal length to fall between an effective length of 50mm to 150mm. Any wider and you'll end up with large noses/chins/foreheads. Any longer and faces will start to look "flat".

The 50mm f/1.4 (see here) is a fantastic portrait lens. It has an optimal maximum aperture and falls inside the ideal focal length range for portraits. It's super sharp and will give you that buttery smooth background that really makes your subjects "pop".

The 18-200mm isn't an ideal portrait lens. While it does fall into the ideal focal length range for portraits, it has a less than ideal maximum aperture range between f/3.5 to f/5.6. This means the lowest f-number you can use at wide-angle (18mm) is f/3.5 and f/5.6 at telephoto (200mm).

If you have the budget, the 50mm f/1.4 would be an excellent choice. Happy shooting! :)

JSchafer

I have the 50mm f/1.8 and I love it! I found that in shoot in tight spaces like at clients houses it's not such a great lens. After research I found that I really like Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8. It captures great photos.

Moose

@JSchafer - Thanks for sharing! :)