What lens for portrait

I use an 85/1.4 on a full frame camera for portraiture. The 135 f/2L is also an outstanding portraiture lens. Generally the longer the lens, the better. Anything wider than 35mm is bad news for portraits.
 
I use the 50mm and 85mm for my portrait work and I couldn't be happier, just make sure you have the afs verions.
 
I have a D90 and used to have a 50mm but found i used the Tamron 17-50 more, the 50mm is too in your face for head shots and makes people feel like you have invaded their space too much for my liking. I now have a 85mm f1.8 for head/shoulder shots and 35mm f1.8 for full length.

The 85mm on D90 is perfect for head shots as you now stand a fair distance back from them to fill the frame making them more comfortable also, i just found the 50mm made me get in their face and for full length it was no good because it was too long and not wide enough. Dont get me worng the 50mm is a great lens and very lightweight but just didnt work for me.
 
depends on the size of the studio, and what sort of portrait you want to take

on a DX camera A 55-200 zoom will be the most versatile

As you are in control of the lighting, lens speed is pretty irrelevant

If you want to go purist, go with 60mm, 85mm and 105mm (ish) fairly quick primes, knowing that you will be shooting at the lenses optimum aperture as opposed to the fastest

Primes are great, but if you are shooting anyone that moves (babies and pets for example) then go with the zoom
 
Great info guys. I'm just jumping in late as I've only just joined. I'm also looking for a portrait lens on a cropped sensor (D5100). The sales man I spoke to surggested the 50 was to short for portraits (H&S) although it is an excellent lens. He suggested 85mm1.8.

Mmarques, what did you get?
 
Peter69 said:
Great info guys. I'm just jumping in late as I've only just joined. I'm also looking for a portrait lens on a cropped sensor (D5100). The sales man I spoke to surggested the 50 was to short for portraits (H&S) although it is an excellent lens. He suggested 85mm1.8.

Mmarques, what did you get?
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Hi peter69, I haven't got a lens yet as I'm waiting for my bday (in 2days) to save up some money, it might be an 85mm lens that I go for.
 
as some people have already mention the 60mm macro is a fantastic lens. i have the tamron 60mm macro F2 and in combination with my d7000 its awsome even compared to nikon 50mm 1.8 (which i also have).
cheers
 
So it's my birthday today and my girlfriend kindly bought me a 50mm 1.4d :) but she's going to change it for a afs as it won't AF with my d3100 :(
 
If its for studio use then most lenses are pretty sharp when stopped down nowadays.
I started off with a sigma 24-70 2.8 on crop. It was ace.
 
I love my 105mm for portraits but you need room to back up, other than that I tend to use my 50mm but ive just bought an 85mm and cant wait to try it out :)
 
I'm now using the tamron 17–50 f2.8 for my studio shots, although I am also yearning for a 50-135 f2.8 for those head and shoulders poses
 
^ the 17-50 Tamron is a great portrait lens imo. Infact I kind of missing it since going full frame! I use a 24-70 Canon 2.8 now and it just doesn't feel the same.

Of course a 50mm is ok (mainly if your on crop) but id say a good 85mm is almost perfect for this work as it has a good working distance, sharpness and can focus pretty quickly.
 
I use my 17-50 lens for lots of my portraits on a crop sensor.

Just put above mentioned Tamron 17-50 up in the sales forum as upgraded to the Nikon.
 
GHP said:
Me too, but I defer to the 135 DC whenever humanly possible !!
I love the 135, and what it does to skin tones.
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hey Gary...is the Dc really that good? I recently bought nikon 105mm F2.8 macro and was contemplating with 105dc but in the end decided to go for the cheaper option.....sometimes I wished i went for the dc
 
cybergools said:
hey Gary...is the Dc really that good? I recently bought nikon 105mm F2.8 macro and was contemplating with 105dc but in the end decided to go for the cheaper option.....sometimes I wished i went for the dc
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I have the 105 micro, which is nice for portraits, especially on full frame.
The reason I like the 135mm f2 DC is not only the beautiful bokeh it renders, and the fact that you can effectively "dial in" the amount.
Also, the way the lens is designed is that the red part of the spectrum is focussed on a different plane to the rest of the spectrum, so it is specially designed to render skin tones in a special way.
Also, it's razor sharp.
Heres a couple of examples:
1: Showing how sharp it is.

Click on the image, and it will open in Flickr, at full size, click it again to zoom in to 100% !


Charlotte Louise Baker-1 by G_H_Photography, on Flickr

A couple of examples of the bokeh:


GHP_1271 by G_H_Photography, on Flickr

One from the studio:


Kristina G-20 by G_H_Photography, on Flickr
 
Sorry Gulam !
As a lens, it takes a bit of getting used to, but on the D700 it is lovely.
On the D7000 it is the equivalent of a 200 f2 !! (Well, just about anyway)
 
cybergools said:
Gary
where and when would you use the 135 Dc over 105mm macro (or vice versa)?
cheers
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To be honest, the only reason I keep the 105 is for macro. I don't do a lot, but when I do, it's a great lens for it.
I also dive, and have a housing for my camera, and I like doing underwater macro, so it stays in the line-up.
The only time I would use it for portraits now, would be if there was not enough room to use the 135. If I am shooting in a tight-ish space, I also have an 85mm f1.4 which I would probably use over the 105.
But for portraits, especially outside, in good light, there is nothing like the 135.
The focal length is ideal, and the amount of distortion due to compression is just right.
135 used to be the "standard" length for portraits, and I can see why.
When I get the chance, I should shoot a few portraits with both, side by side, and show the difference.
 
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