Yackers' Photography Tips and Tricks: A fast lens isn’t essential for portrait photography

Read any portrait photography tutorial and I will bet that when discussing lenses it will say you need to use the fastest lens, i.e. the lens with the widest maximum aperture you can find. Shooting at wide apertures does enable you to blur the background by throwing it out of focus however there are risks associated with shooting at very wide apertures.

Many portrait photography articles would have you believe you need lenses with maximum apertures of f1.2 or f1.4 to get the depth of field you need for a decent portrait but this simply isn’t true. Lenses with an f1.2 aperture are damn expensive, and f1.4 lenses are very expensive and to get the most out of these lenses you need to practice, practice and then practice some more.

When shooting at apertures this wide the depth of field could be too shallow leading to parts of the photo that should be sharp a little soft. For example, shooting at these wide apertures often results in soft noses, soft ears and soft hair. Stopping the lens down, and narrowing the aperture a little will sort out all of these problems.

The depth of field using f1.8 and f2 lenses is sufficient to capture sharp portraits against a nicely blurred background, and these apertures will ensure all facial features are sharp as well as the hair. If you can get sufficient distance between the subject and background you can get the same type of portraits using f4 lenses.

The learning curve with f1.8, f2 and f4 lenses isn’t any near as steep as with f1.2 and f1.4 lenses, and this is something you need to consider when choosing a lens for portrait photography.

Canon 35mm f2 IS (full review here)

Focal Length – Full frame/APS-C:- 35mm/ 42mm/ Aperture:- 2 - 22/ Min focus:- 9.4"/ Dimensions:- 3.07" x 2.46"/ Weight:- 11.8oz/ Image stabilization:- Yes/ Price (approx.) $USD/£ GBP:-$550.00/£445.00

A mid-priced, mid-range 35mm prime lens with image stabilisation. This lens is well built, has great image quality and is capable of capturing photos that rival that of lenses costing several times more.

For a quick honest and unbiased review, i.e. the pros and cons of the Canon 35mm f2 IS lens take a look at the following video clip, courtesy of Youtube.

YONGNUO 35MM F2 (full review here)

Focal Length – Full frame/APS-C:- 35mm/56mm/ Aperture:- 2 - 22 /Min focus:- 9.8”/ Dimensions:- 2.9” X 2.3”/ Weight:- 5.4oz / Image stabilization:- No / Price (approx.) $USD/£ GBP:- $90.00/£85.00

A budget and affordable 35mm prime lens based around the Canon 35mm f2 lens. This lens isn’t as tough as the Canon, and the image quality isn’t quite as good but then given the cost this lens what can you expect? All things considered this is a great lens and gives a lot of bang for the buck.

CANON EF 40MM F2.8 (full review here)

Focal Length – Full frame/APS-C:- 40mm/ 64mm/ Aperture:- 2.8 - 22/ Min focus:- 11.8"/ Dimensions:- 2.69" x 0.9"/ Weight:- 4.6 oz/ Image stabilization:- No/ Price (approx.) $USD/£ GBP:- $180.00/£145.00

A tiny (and I mean tiny) pancake lens capable of capturing some awesome photos. The 40mm focal length may seem a little strange, but give it a go and I reckon you will be a convert. A great portrait lens that is well worth considering.
Below is a short clip explaining the pros and cons of the awesome Canon 40mm f2.8 STM lens.

CANON EF 50MM F1.8 (full review here)

Focal Length – Full frame/APS-C:- 50mm/ 80mm/ Aperture:- 1.8 - 22/ Min focus:- 13.8"/ Dimensions:- 2.72" x 1.55"/ Weight:- 5.6 oz/ Image stabilization:- No/ Price (approx.) $USD/£ GBP:- $125.00/£100.00

Canon’s budget nifty fifty has been on the “must buy” list for several years now. The build quality is a little suspect, it is a little soft wide open (but that’s not always a bad thing) but it is capable of capturing some great photos.

YONGNUO 50MM F1.8 (full review here)

Focal Length – Full frame/APS-C:- 50mm/80mm/ Aperture:- 1.8 - 22/Min focus:- 17.7”/ Dimensions:- 3.15” x 3.27”/ Weight:- 4.2oz/ Image stabilization:- No/ Price (approx.) $USD/£ GBP:- $58.00/£40.00

A very cheap 50mm prime lens that is equally as good as the Canon 50mm f1.8 lens, but a fraction of the cost. This is a very capable portrait lens and one that is definitely worth considering.

Related reading:

Below are some links to other portrait photography related articles, posts and tutorials you may find useful/interesting:-