{"id":18260,"date":"2013-12-09T06:40:34","date_gmt":"2013-12-09T10:40:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/?p=18260"},"modified":"2020-08-31T19:22:50","modified_gmt":"2020-08-31T23:22:50","slug":"85mm-best-lens-change-portrait-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/85mm-best-lens-change-portrait-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"85mm – The best lens to change your portrait photography"},"content":{"rendered":"

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85mm – The best lens that could change your portrait photography<\/h1>\n

If that hat seems familiar, yes,\u00a0\u00a0Elle<\/a>\u00a0was the model in the series of photographs for the\u00a0Nikon Df review<\/a>\u00a0article. For some of the sequences of photos that we shot, I used the 85mm lens, wide open. This had the effect of just melting the background. You can pretty much shoot anywhere, and make the background look good and non-intrusive.<\/p>\n

While a 70-200mm f\/2.8 lens can be even more effective in controlling the background<\/a>, the shorter focal length, an 85mm lens can make this somewhat easier in some respects. Specifically, it’s a smaller lens and less intrusive when you photograph portraits. It’s less “threatening” to the person you’re photographing, and easier to carry around.<\/p>\n

Just how well can you blur the background when shooting wide open with an 85mm prime lens? Compare the photo above with the pull-back shot, taken with an iPhone from the same spot \u2026<\/p>\n

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The pull-back shot should tell you the entire story of just how the 85mm lens works its magic!\u00a0That’s exactly where we stood for the shot above. I was using the traffic lights to create some pleasant colored effects in the background.\u00a0Yes, you really can shoot pretty much anywhere when you use a wide open aperture, whether f\/1.8 or f\/1.4 or f\/1.2<\/p>\n

We just used available light here. No flash. With the slowly setting sun, we had lovely soft light falling on Elle.<\/p>\n

camera settings: 1\/400 @ f\/1.4 @ 400 ISO
\nNikon Df<\/a>\u00a0(affiliate<\/em>); \u00a0Nikon AF-S 85mm f\/1.4G<\/a>\u00a0(affiliate<\/em>)<\/p>\n

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More examples of portraits taken with an 85mm lens<\/h2>\n

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The pull-back shot below will explain the background here. That orange safety netting. With the super-shallow DoF, the netting merely becomes an interesting background, and not an ugly intrusive background. (Excuse the image softness in the pull-back shot. Somehow, I didn’t keep the camera still for this one.)<\/p>\n

camera settings: 1\/500 @ f\/1.4 @ 400 ISO
\nNikon Df<\/a>\u00a0(affiliate<\/em>); \u00a0Nikon AF-S 85mm f\/1.4G<\/a>\u00a0(affiliate<\/em>)<\/p>\n

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An available light portrait in the studio, using the window light as main light.\u00a0More details about the setup are described here: Direction of light \u2013 Using available light in the studio<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Even though this was a posed shot of Anelisa, the passerby added an interesting incongruous element while shooting out on the street. Again, because an 85mm lens is relatively compact as a portrait lens, it is ideal for this kind of photography out on the street. \u00a0And then of course, there is the dreamy bokeh.<\/p>\n

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Because an 85mm lens is such a compact portrait lens, it is also ideal for informal portraits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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This example is from the article on\u00a0portrait lighting setup in limited space \/ home studio<\/a>. The model’s eyes are half the impact with this photo. The way the super-sharper areas gently slide into the pleasantly soft areas, really helps accentuate those sharply focused areas, and draw your attention in.<\/p>\n

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Recommended 85mm lenses<\/h2>\n

The faster lenses are a bit more spendy than the f\/1.8 optics, but the change in depth-of-field is incremental. You’d get a similar shallow depth-of-field effect at f\/1.8 so if your budget is limited, f\/1.8 lenses are excellent choices too.<\/p>\n