For many aspiring photographers, portrait lenses are actually the first and most important purchase. This is due to the fact that they allow you to shoot people of high quality, which in turn makes a good profit, especially if the photographer works part-time on the shooting of various events. Care must be taken when choosing a portrait lens.
Instructions
Step 1
Choose a focal length for a portrait lens. It should be between 50 and 200mm to minimize optical distortion, which must be avoided in portraits. In this case, it is necessary to decide on what kind of portraits you will shoot. If you are tall, then you need a 50mm lens. For chest- or waist-length portraits, 85mm is ideal. If you want to get high-quality close-up photos of faces, then opt for lenses with 135 mm and above.
Step 2
Use constant focal length for portrait photos. In order for the picture to be of the highest quality, it is necessary that the device has a minimum of lenses (no more than 7-8), therefore it is recommended to abandon the zoom lenses. Also, a constant focal length has a large aperture ratio, which has a good effect on the volume and plasticity of the image.
Step 3
Pay attention to the aperture value of the lens. It is recommended to shoot portraits up to an aperture of 4.0. This will allow you to shoot high-quality photos in low light, create perfect bokeh, separate the subject from the background, and much more.
Step 4
Determine the resolution ratio for a portrait lens. This value is indicated by the number of lines or MTF abbreviation. The higher the lens resolution, the sharper the subject in focus will be.
Step 5
Check for auto focus. This parameter is especially important if you are a beginner photographer and do not know how to properly focus on the subject. If there is an automatic function, then you are guaranteed to get a clear image and the picture will not merge into one multi-colored spot.
Step 6
Find out if this portrait lens model has extra diffusion lenses. They allow you to get contrasting portraits, human skin will be softened by a slight optical blur, and defects will be smoothed out. This effect can also be obtained using special diffusion filters.
