When it comes to the world of photography, portrait photography is regarded as one of the most common types of photography. Portrait photography is the art of capturing a subject — it can be a person, or a group of persons — with a particular focus on their face and facial expressions. While another aspect of the subject’s body may be showcased (and it sometimes can be), the focus tends to be on their face.
With the introduction of several types and models of digital cameras, the portrait photography game is changing quickly. Now, most notably, you can feature anything or anyone as your portrait subjects, and very few preconceived notions still apply.
In this world of cameras and lenses, and how they function together in portrait photography, the Sony FE 85mm F1.8 E-Mount NEX lens () has quickly become my favorite.
The Sony 85mm lens is one of the ideal, if not the best, lenses for portraiture related jobs. It offers a smooth bokeh (the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas), and sharp details while separating the model from the background. Whether you’re doing a candid portrait show (also known as a stolen shot, and is common among press photographers), an environmental approach (where you capture the setting and background), or a constructional and creative approach, this lens is a top choice.
This also leads us to the next, and most common, topic for debate among photographers around the globe: How/why prime lenses are perfect for portrait photography?
What is a prime lens?
A prime lens is a type of lens that has a single focal length. Unlike zoom lenses that offer the zoom in and out feature, the prime lens does not have this ability because its focal length is fixed. On the upside, the prime lens does bring it with a higher quality image.
When it comes to portrait photography, the type of lens you work with plays an integral part in the quality of the photo you deliver at the end of the job, and prime lenses tend to be favorites. The Sony 85mm (a prime lens) offers little to no distortion or vignetting, and has exceptional sharpness. Another big bonus of using prime lenses is that they’re usually faster, because they have a larger maximum aperture, which enables quicker shutter speeds. For example, a typical 18-55mm zoom lens has a maximum aperture of roughly f/4 at the wide-angle end, shrinking to a mere f/5.6 at about 50mm.
Meanwhile, the Sony 85mm offers a f/1.8 maximum aperture and delivers a fine prime lens performance with a dedicated ED glass for chromatic aberration compensation, a 9-blade circular aperture, and carefully-controlled spherical aberration. All of these qualities contribute to its superb sharpness and smooth bokeh.
