Which focal length for portraits

In addition to affecting how much of the background is visible in your shots, different focal lengths will affect the shape and proportions of your subject's face. A wide-angle focal length can even give a caricature effect if used wrongly, while a telephoto focal length can give a more flattering result.

While using a nice fast, prime lens is desirable, they do come at a cost and it's important to remember that you can achieve stunning results with kit lenses and standard zooms as well. It's not just a matter of focal length: which aperture you select is important too. See below for how you can use depth of field to control which parts of an image appear in focus.

This means that the areas before and beyond the point of focus that also appear sharp will be very small. This is ideal if you want to blur the background, keeping only your subject sharp. However you'll need to make sure your focusing is tack-sharp as it's unforgiving. Focus on the eyes. There's usually a narrow enough depth of field to create a sense of separation from the background, and focus is more forgiving, while you're less likely to have to compromise on shutter speed or ISO.

A mm zoom, for instance, is a great portrait lens because every focal length it offers works well with faces. By virtue of their versatility, zoom lenses make for great lenses for traveling photographers who want to carry less gear without sacrificing a variety of focal lengths on hand.

Prime lenses, on the other hand, are prized by portrait photographers, because they have traditionally been sharper than zoom lenses. Though if the truism about a lens with fewer optics performing better than one with more elements inside is accurate, then prime lenses do have a quality advantage. Prime lenses are typically faster than zooms, with wider maximum apertures that remain constant.

As mentioned, some zooms save on size and weight by using a variable maximum aperture that stops down during zooming.

This shallow depth of field is a benefit because portrait photographers are always trying to isolate their subjects against simplified backgrounds.

Speaking of depth of field, nowhere is the quality of the out-of-focus area in a picture given more attention than in a portrait. This out-of-focus area, or bokeh, actually gets its look from the optical design of the lens. In an ideal world, all out-of-focus parts of a picture would simply be smooth and graduated blurs. But, in reality, everything from the shape of the aperture blades to their quantity has an impact on the resulting shape and quality of the bokeh.

Bad bokeh is typically out-of-round and with hard-edged blurs. Good bokeh, on the other hand, is typically soft and round and smooth. To produce soft, round bokeh, lens manufacturers use more diaphragm blades to construct the aperture, and they ensure that they come together to form a true circle. Other popular portrait lens features are beneficial for all types of photography. These include optical coatings for scratch protection on the front element, as well as internal coatings and elements that are engineered to reduce lens flare, ghosting and other aberrations.

Vibration reduction is useful for photographers who handhold their cameras, and this is true in portraiture as it is for any other type of photography. Some portrait photographers prefer to move around while photographing their subjects, while others prefer to remain locked down to a tripod.

Knowing which group you fall into will help determine if vibration reduction is a feature you should be investing in. The WR abbreviation indicates the lens is weather-resistant, perfect for serious shooters who work in all sorts of challenging conditions without fear of sand, dirt or moisture infiltrating the lens and camera body. Comprising 11 elements in eight groups including three ED elements , the XF90mm provides even illumination from edge to edge and minimizes vignetting.

It also delivers beautiful bokeh because of its circular seven-blade aperture. The quad linear motor provides fast autofocus as well. Website: fujifilmusa. Available in practically every lens mount imaginable, the Lensbaby Velvet 56 is a nontraditional prime lens that provides—as its name implies—a velvety, glowing effect when used at wide apertures. The forgiving nature of the lens masks wrinkles, blemishes and fine texture, in general—all the things that portrait subjects often want to hide.

The lens doubles as a makeshift macro lens, capable of focusing as close as 5 inches and providing magnification for interesting extreme close-up portraits. The barrel is all metal and can be used with 62mm screw-on filters, too. When mounted to smaller APS-C sensors, it provides a still-ideal-for-portraits 90mm focal length.

Website: lensbaby. This seriously fast new telephoto prime lens is an ideal focal length for pros who want to shoot portraits. The mm prime lens sports 14 elements and Nano Crystal coatings designed to reduce aberrations and improve image quality. The nine-blade aperture makes for smooth and beautiful bokeh, so the out-of-focus areas of portraits made with this lens will remain unobtrusive and allow the subject to take center stage.

The Nikon mm is useful for professionals who work in extreme conditions thanks to its durable, weather-sealed construction. Full-frame and Micro Four Thirds camera shooters will have to spend a little more cash, but it's definitely worth it for this focal length. You can shoot tighter head shots but this has to be done with care because distortion of facial features can occur here.

When shooting in the studio, an 85mm lens is ideal for shooting above-the-knee crops and head-and-shoulders shots and everything in between, but for tighter headshots the mm would be the superior option. These types of lenses have the bonus of allowing you to get close to the model without invading their space. Longer telephoto lenses create the opposite type of distortion to wider lenses; while wider lenses make the face appear narrower, with an unflattering enlargement of the nose, long telephotos make the face look slightly wider.

On location, mm lenses can be as versatile as you like because you can stand as close or as far away from the model as necessary to compose at the desired crop.

Not only that, but the lens produces absolutely stunning full-length shots, thanks to the narrow field of view and pronounced bokeh, although you will be more than a few metres away from the model. In the studio, however, things are a little different. The long working distance required for a full-length shot means the mm is just too long, but for more intimate head-and-shoulders shots and headshots they're the best of the three options here.

For APS-C cameras, an 85mm lens will provide a close equivalent focal length of Lens choice ultimately comes down to the individual, but in an ideal world, having all three lenses would be the best option because you would have all bases covered.