Portrait Lenses

I think of portrait lenses as the range from 85mm to 135mm, longish, but not telephoto. Plenty of great portraits get taken with 50mm and 200mm lenses, but I think of 85-135 as the sweet spot for portraits. The focal length is long enough not to distort the face and not so long it flattens it out too much. It gives a comfortable working distance between the subject and the photographer.

Bottom Line: A lens with a range of 85mm to 135mm gives you both a comfortable distance from your subject and a look that is neither comic nor flat.

This category is a bit overlapped with the high speed lens category, since a fast 85mm is a common choice.

(A number of my examples are substantially cropped, which make the shots you are seeing more like a 135mm or 200mm.)

By the way, you can get nice double images by using the sliders to mix images 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 7 and 8.

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Left
Right

Here is a portrait of Nicole taken on a cloudy day, no makeup. I love cloudy days.

This was not cropped, except at left and right for square format.

105mm, 24-105 zoom, f6.7, 1/350, ISO 800

 

This was taken two shots after the one to the left.

Also, this WAS cropped in quite a bit, making this closer to a 150mm focal length.

105mm, 24-105 zoom, f6.7, 1/350, ISO 800

 

Nicole leaning on a window sill, getting some warm inside light and some cold window light.

This was cropped a bit, so it is about 135mm effective focal length.

105mm, 24-105 zoom, f4.5, 1/6, ISO 1600

Two shots after the one to the left.

This was cropped quite a bit, so it is about 200mm focal length.

105mm, 24-105 zoom, f4.5, 1/60, ISO 1600

Portrait with 100mm fixed focal length.

This was cropped just a bit, so it is about 120mm effective focal length.

100mm lens, f5.6, 1/350, ISO 800

Portrait with 100mm fixed focal length.

This was cropped a lot, so it is about 180mm effective focal length.

100mm lens, f8, diffused flash on left, ISO 800

Tight portrait with 100mm fixed focal length.

This was cropped at least double, so it is about 200mm effective focal length.

100mm lens, f9.5, diffused flash on left, ISO 800

Tight portrait with 85mm fixed focal length.

This was not cropped, except to get to square. It was shot very close in order to give the intimate look, and also to maximize the narrow depth of field.

Confession: I would have used the f1.2 exposure, but did not get that shot in critical focus on the eye. These fast lens required much more careful work habits.

85mm, 85mm f1.2 lens, f2, diffused Speedlites, ISO 200

Here is a portrait of Nicole taken on a cloudy day, no makeup. I love cloudy days.

This was not cropped, except at left and right for square format.

105mm, 24-105 zoom, f6.7, 1/350, ISO 800

 

This was taken two shots after the one to the left.

Also, this WAS cropped in quite a bit, making this closer to a 150mm focal length.

105mm, 24-105 zoom, f6.7, 1/350, ISO 800

 

Nicole leaning on a window sill, getting some warm inside light and some cold window light.

This was cropped a bit, so it is about 135mm effective focal length.

105mm, 24-105 zoom, f4.5, 1/6, ISO 1600

Two shots after the one to the left.

This was cropped quite a bit, so it is about 200mm focal length.

105mm, 24-105 zoom, f4.5, 1/60, ISO 1600

Portrait with 100mm fixed focal length.

This was cropped just a bit, so it is about 120mm effective focal length.

100mm lens, f5.6, 1/350, ISO 800

Portrait with 100mm fixed focal length.

This was cropped a lot, so it is about 180mm effective focal length.

100mm lens, f8, diffused flash on left, ISO 800

Tight portrait with 100mm fixed focal length.

This was cropped at least double, so it is about 200mm effective focal length.

100mm lens, f9.5, diffused flash on left, ISO 800

Tight portrait with 85mm fixed focal length.

This was not cropped, except to get to square. It was shot very close in order to give the intimate look, and also to maximize the narrow depth of field.

Confession: I would have used the f1.2 exposure, but did not get that shot in critical focus on the eye. These fast lens required much more careful work habits.

85mm, 85mm f1.2 lens, f2, diffused Speedlites, ISO 200