A lot of my clients and friends have asked me how to take better portraits. This subject is so incredibly broad that it’s impossible to cover everything. Photography is not only an art, it’s also a science, so gear does matter. Think of lenses as your brush as a painter – different lenses are like different strokes and completely free you if you choose the right ones.

For more traditional portraits, you will want a lens with a large aperture to isolate the subject. I know many pros will argue that you can also use light to isolate the subject as well – I do this a lot, but that is more advanced and a topic for a later date.

In technical terms, the bigger the aperture, the smaller the “f” number. For example, you will often see kit lens zoom ranges from f/3.5-5.6. This means at the wide end, the largest aperture possible is 3.5, and on the long end it is 5.6. You must understand that each stop is multiplied by 1.4, and the amount of light doubles or halves at each “stop” of light. For example, f/1.4 lets in double the amount of light than a lens at f/2.0. The stop increments are: 1, 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, etc. This means, if you buy a lens at f/1.4, your shutter speed is capable of being ~8 times faster! (2^3)

A large aperture (which means the lens can let in more light in a given time) will blur out the background, isolating the subject and making them “pop”. This forces your eye to the subject, and viola! You have a portrait!

The fact that it lets in more light also means you can increase your shutter speed for fast moving objects. Parents, take note: you will have a better chance at taking pictures of your moving kids in darker places (indoors).

Generally speaking, the larger the aperture, the more expensive the lens will be – this is especially true for zoom lenses. To achieve this effect at a much more cost effective rate, there are “prime” lenses – single focal length lenses that you can zoom with your feet. These lenses are generally cheaper and easier to engineer, so the optical quality is much better per dollar spent.

If you’re just starting out and not sure which lenses to try out first, here are some gateway drugs to better photography:

Nikon:
Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras ~$130
Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras ~$200

Canon:
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens ~$120

If you want to splurge a little and get a really really awesome lens in the same range, I have this one:
Canon:
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras ~$499
Nikon:
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras ~$499

The above picture was taken with this lens. I would recommend splurging for the Sigma version of the lens if you can afford it. It has excellent background rendering qualities, sharp at 1.4, and excellent resistance to flare. It even comes with a lens hood and pouch, which is a plus! Be sure to fully test the lens before committing to keeping it, sometimes they have focus issues in which you should exchange it for a different one until you are satisfied. Luckily for me, mine was perfect on the first try.

If you are just starting out and don’t want to invest that much money in a lens because you’re not sure about photography yet, the cheaper lenses listed above are also excellent choices. Please note that certain Nikon bodies without focusing motors will not play well with the 50mm 1.8 AFD, get the excellent 35mm 1.8 DX AFS instead.

If you have any questions or comments please leave a comment