The art of portrait photography is one that’s got a whole lot to deal with talking to people. There needs to be a connection. And oftentimes, you should talk to someone before you shoot their portrait. But of course, you don’t always have the time to do that. So instead, you should make sure you’ve got the best gear you can. That means getting fantastic portrait lenses. We dove into our reviews index to get just what you’re looking for. And here are four of our favorites.
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LED lights are so cool! They’re easy to use. Gel them a bit and they can give you a totally different look. Better yet, they’re incredibly versatile, which let’s you focus on just creating. The cherry on top: they can give you a cinematic look. Most of The Phoblographer staff swear by flash and studio strobes, but there are times when an LED can surely do the job. Lucky for you, we’ve reviewed some of the best LED lights for photographers. Dive in with us!
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The tried and true 35mm lens is a favorite for many photographers. You can find it affixed to the cameras of portrait photographers, photojournalists, street photographers, landscape photographers, and more. The convenience that it comes with is invaluable. No matter the situation, it’s hard to not justify shooting with a 35mm lens. At least, it’s hard to justify not having one in your camera bag just in case. We dove into our Reviews Index and found some of the best. Take a look with us at some of the best under $500!
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If you’re looking for something in-between an 85mm and 135mm lens, consider 90mm Lenses. For many years, it was considered a classic portrait lens. And today, there aren’t many of them left. However, that doesn’t mean that modern 90mm lenses aren’t great. In fact, they’re arguably some of the best lenses in the market. And for what they are, they’re instrumental in a variety of situations. We’ve rounded up some of the best we’ve reviewed over the years.
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Prime lenses are usually the go-to options when it comes to portrait photography. Primes offer faster aperture speeds than zooms, and they can be sharper due to less complicated designs. However, they aren’t as versatile as a good zoom. Also, constantly switching out lenses to achieve different looks can become a chore. This is where 70-200mm f2.8 zooms come into play in the portrait arena. 70-200mm zooms cover four loved portrait focal lengths. 85mm, 90mm, 105mm, and 135mm. You can switch between these focal lengths in a matter of seconds. Of course, you can even zoom past them too on to 200mm, where these zoom lenses will offer an incredible amount of compression and glorious bokeh. At f2.8, you give up speed over primes, but you gain versatility and a simplified workflow. Check out five of our favorite 70-200mm f2.8 zooms after the break.
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Natural light portrait photography is easy to do but difficult to master. But indeed, some of the most beautiful portraits are shot with diffused window light, skylight, or outdoors. Always remember that a five-in-one reflector is your best friend. However, the love of your life, the one you’ll always want by your side, is a lens that’s perfectly synced with the look you want to create. Finding the right balance of color, bokeh, and sharpness can be pretty tough. Luckily, The Phoblographer has reviewed the most lenses of any publication out there. And we’ve got an essential list and a few pro tips right here for you.
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Macro lenses are fantastic. They allow us to get closer to objects than other lenses, which makes them great for product photography. Sharing images of products that highlight fine details can really help sell a product to those interested. Fortunately, there are quite a few great macro lenses on the market these days, and they’re affordable. If you want to elevate your product photography game, you should consider a solid macro lens. After the break, we will share four macro lenses that have seriously impressed us.
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With things starting to ease up a little regarding COVID, many people will start traveling again. That’s something we’re all ready for, but are you ready for it from a photography standpoint? When traveling, keeping your kit as light as possible is a must. Sure, it can be cool to take a half dozen lenses with you, but you’ll soon get tired of carrying so much gear. The answer is to have one lens that can do it all: one lens that can shoot wide to telephoto within a blink of an eye. The lenses we have rounded up after the break are perfect for travel photography due to their versatility, excellent optics, great builds, and price points. If you want one lens to take with you on your travels, take a look at these options after the break.
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Camera bags are a vital accessory for every photographer. We all need a way to get our gear safely from point a to point b. The camera bag market is a minefield, though. However, Tenba has been making camera bags for 44 years this year. You can guarantee that not only will Tenba camera bags stand up to both city and trail life, they’ll also be easy on the wallet, and they’ll look great. After the break, we rounded up four of the best ones that suit multiple genres of photography. Head past the break to see what you’ve been missing out on.
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One of the most satisfying things to do is to photograph birds in the wild. And appreciating nature is taken to the next level when photography is involved. These days, we don’t need extremely high-end gear to get better bird photos. Instead, you can do it with a decent lens and a powerful camera. So we dove into the Reviews Index to find the best cameras for birding photography.
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Mmmm, the pancake lens. It’s seriously one of our most favorite optics for any camera. Mount it to your mirrorless camera and the whole package will be small and lightweight. It’s hard to hate on the image quality when the feeling is this great. Luckily for you, we’ve reviewed a ton of different pancake lenses. So we dove into the old Reviews Index to figure out which ones on the market are the best. Without further adieu, here’s the list.
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When you shoot portraits with film, you’re expecting a specific look. This is so yearned for that there are digital presets created to emulate the look. But it’s never quite the same thing. Shooting with film is a lot more involved. But the extra work you do is always worth it. The reward is something worth bragging over. So we dove into our Reviews Index to find some of the best film for portrait photography. Take a look at our favorites!
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The year is 2011: and the camera world is only starting to really lose ground to the smartphone world. But the interchangeable lens camera market is still holding strong. Fast forward to 2021, and things are different. Point and shoots have been nearly wiped out. And the only things that mostly matter are interchangeable lens cameras. Lots of them are full-frame too. But the aesthetics older cameras deliver are still cherished by those looking for nostalgia. Luckily, The Phoblographer was still cutting its teeth in 2011. And we’ve got some reviews that you’ll be very interested in. Dive into a look at these cameras from 2011.
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There are lots of black and white film emulsions on the photography market. And quite honestly, it’s hard to find a bad one. Instead, you just have to understand them and expose each one according to what you want. But some brands have been making Black and White Film longer than others. And a few have a very iconic look to them. So how do you choose? Well, we dove into our Reviews Index to help pick out some of our favorites.
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The look of Kodak Portra has helped define so many aesthetics for years. Lots of the most popular portraits in magazines in the 90s were shot using it. It continued even through the early 2000s. Kodak Portra is a beautiful film that was specifically designed to shoot portraits. It’s arguably also the best when it comes to being scanned. Digital, even now, still can’t quite reproduce its look. Lucky for you, we’ve reviewed the most recent Kodak Portra film emulsions. And we dove into our Reviews Index to figure out which one you need.
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There aren’t many things that can spruce up a photo like good lighting. Best of all, you don’t need to wait for it to happen. Instead, you can make it yourself. What’s more, you don’t need to spend a million bucks to make it happen. So we dove into our Reviews Index to bring you some affordable LEDs and flashes. If you’re still unsure about spending a lot of money on a flash or strobe, try these instead. You’ll love them! Dive in with us in our roundup of good, affordable lights.
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If you love film photography, you’re missing out if you don’t use medium format film cameras. Arguably, this is where you’ll really to start a major advantage over digital photography. There’s also things like the look, the feel, and the overall approach to how you work with subjects. You have to be a million times more conservative with how you shoot photos. So we dove into the Reviews Index to find some of the best medium format film cameras we’ve used.
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Fact: no one is making the perfect camera bag. Many bags come very close to being perfect. And there are only a few that we regularly take out with us. These everyday camera bags are made very well, can accommodate lots of gear, and are very comfortable. Even better, they find ways to work for both men and women, which is kind of a rarity. We’ve reviewed more camera bags than any other photo publication out there. So we dove into our Reviews Index to pick some of the best. Here’s our selection.
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Fact: some of us have never shot film before. Others amongst us are just getting into it. In 2021, film photography co-exists with digital and is in demand by lots of clients. There are lots of the mainstays like Portra, Tri-X, and Velvia. But there are also lots of options out there that aren’t traditional. And we’ve reviewed a bunch of them. So we dove into the old Reviews Index to look at our many years of film photography coverage. Here are some of our favorite emulsions.
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There is nothing like the look of film. Some people think they know what it looks like using editing presets, but you’re better off doing it in the camera. Luckily, a few companies have begun to recognize this and built those looks right into their cameras. We dove into our Reviews Index to find some of the most unique and highest quality choices. There are more that can give you the look of film, but here are some of our favorites and the best we’ve tested.
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Big cities are a lot quieter than they used to be. That means that you’ll have more room to explore. This is one of the most exciting things about photographing in big cities at night. Besides the surreal feeling of them being empty at times, there are still signs of life. So if you’re planning on heading to a big city for some R&R, consider one of these lenses. They’re perfect for just the occasion.
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