Question about portrait photography...

Mav · May 15, 2008

Here's a nice write-up on the topic. I used to have a Nikon 85mm f/1.8D but ended up selling it. I like the 105-135mm range much much better for portraits and plus the bokeh on that lens is pretty ugly, but it's style dependent too. If I want to take portraits today I just use my Nikon 18-135 lens which actually looks outstanding at the long end, which is a bit surprising. I also have a 70-300VR, but haven't tried that much outdoors yet. I'd love to get either a 105 or 135mm f/2DC lens, or maybe the 105VR f/2.8 micro. But I think I'd rather get an 80-200 f/2.8 zoom for about the same money just for the superior versatility of a zoom.

There's another great write-up here: http://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=165754

jlykins · May 15, 2008

The 18-200 isn't junk by a long shot. For a "walk aound lens" I haven't found a better lens. It's light, and it allows me to go from a tight head shot to a full body shot quickly. Also the VR is superb. It's not a 70-200 2.8 but it gets the job done for a lot less. On a side note, I will be picking up the 70-200VR this week so I won't just be using this "junk" lens for my portraits.

JIP · May 15, 2008

jlykins said:
The 18-200 isn't junk by a long shot. For a "walk aound lens" I haven't found a better lens. It's light, and it allows me to go from a tight head shot to a full body shot quickly. Also the VR is superb. It's not a 70-200 2.8 but it gets the job done for a lot less. On a side note, I will be picking up the 70-200VR this week so I won't just be using this "junk" lens for my portraits.

I don't care what it "lets" you do it is a marginally sharp overpriced gimmick lens that anyone should realize is a waste of money.

deudeu · May 16, 2008

You might want to check out something like the Tamron 28-75 f2.8 if you are looking for a zoom.
I don't have it yet, but from the samples I have seen around it seams like a very good one. Plus it can be found for a very reasonable price for the IQ.

Right now I am mostly using a 50mm prime for my portrait but i find it a little too short sometimes.

Of course your question was what kind of lens mm wise. I would say from 50 mm all to way to however much your space allows you to go and how far away you want to be from your model.

PattiS · May 16, 2008

I always use prime lenses when working with clients, but my favorite all purpose lens for personal snapshots is my 24-70mm.

angelusagendi · Sep 18, 2017

gryphonslair99 said:
It really depends on the amount of area you have to work and the conditions. My favorite is either an 85mm or a 100mm lens. The characteristics of those lenses are my favorite. They tend to keep facial features nicely compressed where wide lenses will exaggerate them a bit. If you do not have that kind of room to work then the 50 is good. Try to stay away from anything below 35mm unless you are looking for that exaggerated look.

Hi, you are very right about the amount of area and also the conditions. I have a lovely Canon 50mm F1.8 lens. I take nice portraits during morning on a cloud days. However, recently I tried to take photos of a friend in the forest in a very sunny day. I didn't have a reflector. In the shadow under the trees, the photos came out awful. Her make up showed so much. I tried to shoot in Aperture and also in Manual settings. Trying really hard, increasing ISO, and decreasing aperture. Most of the photos had terrible colours and many our of focus. The we tried some creative shots under the sun. Obviously since we didn't have a reflector, we could not avoid shadows. So we use the sun directly, and of course it was hard for my friend to open her eyes. The colours and focus were not good. It was my worst photo shoot. I was so disappointed. Obviously I never took classes and lacking technique. So light and conditions are truly important. Even the colours on a model and clothing. She was wearing white-beige dress and her make up was of warm colours and she died her hair recently to blonde (but she used to have dark hair), so the hair were yellow. Many things just didn't fit there. I felt like I don't know what I was doing wrong. I tried hard with different settings, yet failed in this photoshoot. So much to learn...