The lens matters more than the camera for portrait photography. I’ve seen stunning portraits shot on decade-old camera bodies with excellent lenses, and mediocre results from the latest cameras paired with cheap glass.

When you’re photographing people, your lens choice affects the entire look of the image. The background blur, how facial features are rendered, even how comfortable your subject feels at different shooting distances. Let’s talk about what actually works.

Focal Length First

For portraits, most photographers work between 50mm and 135mm. This range gives you flattering perspective without distortion.

A 50mm lens on a full-frame camera (or 35mm on APS-C) is the budget-friendly starting point. It’s close to how human vision works, relatively wide so you can work in tighter spaces, and usually affordable. The downside is you need to get fairly close to your subject for headshots, which some people find uncomfortable.

An 85mm lens (about 50mm equivalent on APS-C) is the classic portrait focal length. It compresses facial features slightly in a flattering way, gives beautiful background separation, and lets you stand at a comfortable distance from your subject. This is what most portrait photographers reach for first.

A 135mm or longer puts even more distance between you and your subject. Great for candid shots where you want people to forget the camera exists. Also creates gorgeous background blur. The trade-off is you need more shooting space.

Anything wider than 50mm can work for environmental portraits (where you’re showing the person in their surroundings) but gets tricky for close-ups. Wide angles distort faces when you’re near, making noses look bigger and facial proportions weird.

Aperture Matters More Than You Think

The maximum aperture (the f-number) determines how much background blur you can create and how well the lens performs in low light.

An f/1.8 or f/1.4 lens creates that dreamy blurred background that makes portraits pop. Your subject is sharp, everything else melts away. This also means you can shoot indoors or in shade without cranking your ISO into the noisy ranges.

The difference between f/1.8 and f/1.4 is real but subtle. The f/1.4 gives slightly more blur and slightly better low-light performance, but usually costs twice as much. For most people, f/1.8 is the sweet spot between price and performance.

Be aware that shooting wide open (at maximum aperture) makes focus incredibly critical. At f/1.4, your depth of field might only be a couple of centimeters. If you focus on the tip of someone’s nose, their eyes might be slightly soft. This is why portrait photographers often shoot at f/2 or f/2.8 even with faster lenses.

Specific Recommendations by System

For Canon RF mount: The Canon RF 85mm f/2 IS STM is excellent value at around $650. Sharp, great autofocus, and the image stabilization helps with handheld shooting. If you want to spend more, the RF 85mm f/1.2 is extraordinary, but at $3600, it’s for people who are certain about their needs.

For Canon EF mount (older DSLRs): The Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM is a classic. Around $500 used, and it produces beautiful images. Also consider the nifty fifty, the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM for about $150 new. It’s plastic and basic, but optically it’s great.

For Sony E mount: The Sony 85mm f/1.8 is fantastic at around $750. Or go with the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art for about $1300 if you want the absolute best quality. For budget-conscious shooters, the Sony 50mm f/1.8 is about $300 and very capable.

For Nikon Z mount: The Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 S is superb, around $1000. The Z 50mm f/1.8 S is excellent too at about $750. Nikon’s S-line lenses are consistently good.

For Nikon F mount: The Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.8G is a bargain at around $350 used. Beautiful rendering, fast autofocus, built to last.

For Fujifilm X mount: The Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2 R (equivalent to 85mm on full-frame) is lovely at around $1000. The XF 50mm f/2 R WR is compact and affordable at about $600.

For Micro Four Thirds: The Olympus 45mm f/1.8 (90mm equivalent) is small, sharp, and cheap at around $400. The Panasonic 42.5mm f/1.7 is similar and excellent.

Don’t Ignore Third-Party Options

Sigma’s Art series lenses are incredibly sharp and well-built. The 85mm f/1.4 Art is available for most systems and rivals or beats manufacturer lenses at a lower price.

Tamron makes some excellent portraits lenses too. Their 35mm and 45mm f/1.8 primes for Sony are compact and affordable options if you want something a bit wider.

Samyang/Rokinon offer budget options, though you’ll usually give up some autofocus speed and occasionally some sharpness. Their 85mm f/1.4 variants are well under $500 and can produce great results if you’re careful with focus.

What About Zoom Lenses?

Many photographers use 24-70mm f/2.8 or 70-200mm f/2.8 zooms for portraits. These are versatile and professional-grade, but they’re big, heavy, and expensive (often $2000-3000).

The advantage is flexibility. You can quickly change your composition without moving. The disadvantage is size. You’ll be more conspicuous, and the weight gets tiring.

For portrait-focused work, prime lenses (fixed focal length) are usually better. They’re smaller, lighter, have wider maximum apertures, and force you to move around and think about your composition.

Real-World Considerations

Autofocus speed matters for portraits. People blink, move, shift weight. You want a lens that locks focus quickly and accurately. Eye-detection autofocus on modern cameras helps enormously, but the lens still needs to be responsive.

Weather sealing is nice but not critical for portraits. Unless you’re shooting outside in rain regularly, it’s not a deal-breaker.

Image stabilization helps if you’re shooting handheld at slower shutter speeds, but with portraits, you’re usually at 1/125 or faster anyway. The wide apertures of portrait lenses give you enough light that stabilization becomes less important.

Build quality varies. Metal lenses feel better and last longer, but plastic lenses can be optically identical. Don’t judge entirely on the material.

Start Simple

If you’re new to portrait photography, get a 50mm f/1.8 for your system. They’re cheap, often under $300, and they’ll teach you the fundamentals. Shoot with it for six months. Figure out if you want to go wider or longer.

Then invest in your main lens. An 85mm f/1.8 from your camera’s manufacturer is usually a safe bet. It’ll cost $600-900, but it’s a lens you’ll keep for years.

The best portrait lens is the one that gets you excited to go photograph people. That might be a $200 fifty or a $3000 premium prime. Both can create beautiful portraits. The difference is usually more about the photographer than the glass.