Last Updated on 12/17/2017 by Chris Gampat
If you shoot portraits, an 85mm lens (or equivalent) should really be in your kit.
85mm – THE classic portrait focal length. If you are just getting into shooting portraits, or maybe have been shooting on the wider end with a 35mm or 50mm lens, then shooting with an 85mm lens could be something you are looking for tips on. If that is the case, then this is the post for you as we will go over some helpful hints to getting the most out of your 85mm lens when shooting portraits.Tip 1 | Don’t Be Afraid To Get Close
The natural thought when shooting at 85mm is to stand back from the subject so you can get more of them in the frame while maintaining the subject-background separation a fast 85mm lens will produce. While this is a fine way to utilize an 85mm lens, you should also not be afraid to get closer to your subject.
This is a great way to get detail shots of them without having to be all up in their personal space. If you are shooting boudoir portraits, for example, this can be an ideal way to maintain a professional distance from your subject while still getting the all-important close-ups.
Tip 2 | Stop Down For Incredible Detail
Thanks to the telephoto characteristics of an 85mm lens, you don’t need to shoot totally wide open in order to have good subject-background separation and bokeh. This means you can stop your lens down a little to F2.8, F4 (maybe even F8 if you are feeling adventurous), and still have good separation, but at the same time capturing, even more, the detail in your images.
No lens performs its best wide open. Obviously, some perform better wide open than others, but every single lens will perform better in terms of sharpness and image quality when you stop down. So if you shoot your portraits at F2.8 or F4 on 85mm, you still get really respectable separation and bokeh while also getting a huge bump in sharpness and edge to edge image quality.
Tip 3 | Utilize Your Foreground To Give Your Image Layers
One really artistic way to give your images another dimension is to add foreground elements to your image to help draw the viewer into your subject and add another dimension. For example, including a tree close enough in your shot to give the viewer the feeling they are looking at your subject in the woods.
In a home setting, it could be an out of focus coffee mug on the table between you and your subject, to help sell the in-home feeling and give the shot a somewhat voyeuristic look. This can be done with wider lenses, but the effect is more pronounced and easy to accomplish with a telephoto lens like an 85mm.
Recommended 85mm Lenses
Ok, so now you have some tips on getting the most out of an 85mm lens. So, what 85mm lenses should you be considering for your kit? Here are some of our favorite 85mm (or 85mm equivalent) lenses on the market right now.
- [amazon_textlink asin=’B01M0UO0HX’ text=’Sigma 85mm F1.4 Art’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’b9d03731-c32b-11e7-a1a2-ffa330087482′] (Our Review)
- [amazon_textlink asin=’B006TAP096′ text=’Nikon 85mm F1.8G’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’bf4b1c2c-c32b-11e7-8f99-7fea530c2a19′] (Our Review)
- [amazon_textlink asin=’B00007GQLU’ text=’Canon 85mm F1.8′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’cde6bc0a-c32b-11e7-937e-4353c3ebe078′] (Our Review)
- [amazon_textlink asin=’B00HK8Z9AG’ text=’Fujifilm 56mm F1.2′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’d555a7a3-c32b-11e7-bcca-917db836ee90′] (Our Review)
- [amazon_textlink asin=’B01BESR5KO’ text=’Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’e4e0ff52-c32b-11e7-b509-2f483a72b77a’] (Our Review)
- [amazon_textlink asin=’B0163K1BP8′ text=’Zeiss Milvus 85mm F1.4′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ee5139ef-c32b-11e7-809b-e129564ee249′] (Our Review)
- [amazon_textlink asin=’B00WII52ZU’ text=’Zeiss Batis FE 85mm F1.8′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’f40863d5-c32b-11e7-a482-7f3ce3ac2b90′] (Our Review)