The 10 Best Canon and Nikon Lens for Portraits

 

By Chase Brown

Motlow Buzz Reporter

            When it comes to photography, people think that they need to buy the most expensive camera for the best quality pictures. That statement is far from true. Lenses are one of the best things you can spend your money on. An entry-level camera with a high-quality lens can take absolutely stunning portraits, but the reverse is not necessarily true. So basically if you want to spend thousands of dollars on a camera setup, then pay more for the glass rather than the body.

            Understanding how a lens works and how to pick a lens for the perfect portrait is hard work to do, but I am here to give you some help. In this article, I will talk about some things to keep in mind when choosing the perfect lens for portrait photography.

            First off, what is a zoom lens, and what is a prime lens?

             A zoom lens has a ring on the lens that will zoom in and out. It will have an indicator on the lens that will tell you what your focal length is set to. For example, if a lens is a 70-200mm, like below, it shows that the lens is zoomed in at 100mm.

             A Prime (or fixed) lens is a lens that has a fixed focal length. You will not be able to zoom in and out. It is only fixed to the number that is on the lens, like shown below.

What does EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L mean?

            So you’re wondering what all these numbers and letters mean on your camera lens? EF means “Electro-Focus,” which means that it has a built-in motor in the lens for automatic focusing. A 70-300mm means again what the focal length of the lens is, if it’s a zoom lens. If it was a prime lens, it would simply read 70mm, rather than 70-300mm. f/4-5.6L indicates the maximum aperture of your lens, which is how wide it will go, and ultimately how much light it will allow in. When the number is lower, for example 1.6, then it is a “low light” lens, which means it will allow more light in.  These lens are good if you are shooting in a place that has low light. For example, inside somewhere or close to dusk.

How many lens should I carry?

            You should carry all the lenses you have, because you don’t know what could happen and where you will be located. If you are wanting to only bring one lens, then you need to bring a zoom lens. The zoom lens will give you a lot more options on your focal length. A good example for this is the 24-105mm lens. This lens will allow you to take many types of pictures without swapping it out. If you plan on brining a prime lens, then you need to bring plenty of those.

How many people are in the portrait?

            If you are planning to shoot portraits of a bunch of people, then you will need to use a wide-angle lens, which will capture more people in the picture. You need to keep in mind though that a wide-angle lens will make people at the edge of your picture look bigger and longer. If you don’t want this to happen, then don’t use a super-wide lens.

             Bokeh Effect

         Sometimes when you look at portraits, the background is blurred, and your subject is in focus. This is called the Bokeh effect. The larger the aperture, or the smaller the f-stop number, the more Bokeh you will get. If you are looking for the Bokeh effect, then shoot for a large aperture lens like a f/2.8 or f/1.8. See an example of this below from a picture that I have taken.

Your Camera Sensor Size.

           Remember that the camera body will affect the effective focal length of your lens. The same lens will act longer on a crop-sensor camera than on a full-frame one. Get more advice in Full Frame vs. Crop Frame Sensors.

Price

            Do not go cheap on a lens. The lens can make a big difference in all of the pictures that you take. Invest more money into the type of lens you use rather than the body that you are using.

            My experience and my favorite lens

           From my experience with shooting different types of lens, my favorite is the EF-50mm f/1.8 prime lens. This low-end lens has a high image quality because fixed lenses are typically sharper than zoom lenses. It has a wide aperture, which is perfect for low-light shooting, which I typically do a lot. The price of this lens is roughly about $125. So you can’t get more bang for your buck.

The Top 5 Canon Lens (Courtesy of BorrowLenses)

1)      Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L ll USM

($1,900 retail)

2)      Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS ll USM

($2,100 retail)

3)      Canon EF 50 mm f/1.4 USM

($350 retail)

4)      Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM

($1,800 retail)

5)      Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM

($1,800 retail)

 

The Top 5 Nikon Lens (Courtesy of BorrowLenses)

1)      Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G

($1,600 retail)

2)      Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G AF-S ED VR II  

($2,200 retail)

3)      Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S

($177 retail)

4)      Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.4G

($1,700 retail)

5)      Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

($1,700 retail)

 
       With so many options on the market, finding the perfect lens for you can be challenging. The choice really narrows down to your personal desire. The advice I can give you is to go out and practice and experiment with different lenses and see which one you like the most and the one you are most comfortable with.