BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Answers

Lori J. Zeigler		What lens is best for portraits? What lens is best for portraits? To love this question, log in above February 22, 2002

Jeff S. Kennedy		Whatever lens you happen to have with you. ;-))) Seriously, there is no single lens that is the best for all portraits. Portraits can be made with any lens from a fisheye lens to a 600mm lens. It all depends upon how you want the shot to look. That's the real world answer. The text book answer is that a lens somewhere between 85mm and 200mm is the most flattering. That being the case, a 70-200mm lens gives you all kinds of options. My favorite lens for portraits is my 85mm f1.8 lens. The 85mm is long enough for flattering headshots and short enough so I don't have to stand 2 blocks away to take a full length shot. I also like the f1.8 aperture because it allows me to not only handhold in lower light but it keeps my DOF short allowing me to blur distracting background. To love this comment, log in above February 22, 2002

Lori J. Zeigler		Thanks Jeff K. That is just what I thought. I have 3 different lens. They all work really good for portraits. I just wondered if there was a special one. Thanks again. Lori Z. To love this comment, log in above February 23, 2002

Jeff S. Kennedy		You just have to be aware of the characteristics of different lenses and how they affect portraits. Longer focal lengths tend to compress features. Consequently if you shoot someone with a big nose and use a 200mm lens it will help to shorten the appearance of the nose. Conversely if you take a head shot of person with a 28mm lens it will make them look like they have a very long nose. If your subject has short legs shooting them from a lower perspective with a moderate to wide angle lens (50mm-28mm) it will make them look like they have longer legs. Lenses are just tools. Pick the right one for the job you need to do. To love this comment, log in above February 23, 2002

Bunny Snow		On my Nikon FE and FM3A, I've always used the 105 mm lens, as I did not have anything longer. With my Mamiyaflex C2 professional, now an antique 2 1/4 square format (circa 1962-1986), I used a 135 mm - 165 mm, and 180 mm lenses. Since a "normal" lens for this formatted camera is an 80 mm. These are good sized telephotos. The normal lens on a 35 mm camera is 50 mm. And, on my Pentax K-1000, I would use the 135 to 200 mm. zoom (zoom longer but those are the only areas I would use for portraits). http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2002/MiriamJanove.shtml This is the same that my photography teachers. They told me that with a longer lens, you can get OUT of your subject's face, and allow them to act more natural. At the same time, because one often shoots with a wider aperture, the background is out of focus which draws one's eye to the subject. On the other hand, a wide angle, distorts and the distortion may not be flattering to the subject. I used to think that it was better to shoot large groups with a wide angle. But, the people on the outside near the borders of the picture, tend to look fat when a wide angle lens is used. Unless they are extremely skinny people, it would be better to move them to the center of the picture, and leave the outside for "string bean" figures. In general, it is better to move your subject into a tighter 45 deg. angle pose (to the camera), and move back further to get the whole group together. After all, the reason is often to flatter a subject rather than enhance their negative characteristics. Bunny -- Visit my web site at: http://BunnySnow.us To love this comment, log in above December 16, 2004

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