There are so many different lenses out there how do you know which one to buy as a beginner ? Well that is why I am writing this blog post. I don't want you to waste your money! So honestly I spent a lot of money playing with lenses, buying new lenses, and then realizing the lenses that I actually needed . I want to save you that step. Basically I want to save you all the time, all the money, and all the frustration when it comes to lenses .

So this blog post is specifically about lenses for portrait photography in what lens you should buy as a beginner portrait photographer . If you are looking to get into landscape photography I also created a blog post about that . So make sure to head on over to my what lens to buy for landscape photography as a beginner blog post if you are interested in landscape photography .

Best beginner lenses for someone looking to get into portrait photography

Okay so going back to the plethora of lenses that are on the market . For portrait photography there are really two things that that you're going to need to pay attention to. The first is Aperture and the second is focal length. So how you're going to be able to know what those numbers are is for aperture you're going to be looking at the F value and for focal length you're going to be looking at the mm number.

F Value:

So for the F value you're really going to want to be able to create those images that have an amazing creamy background that's known as bokeh . This is where the background blurs out and it looks absolutely beautiful . How you get that is by a lower F number . so you're going to want to have a lens that is f 2.8 or lower. Honestly the lower the better, but the lower number comes with a bigger price tag.

Focal Length:

There are some standard portrait focal length . The two that are the most common are the 50 mm + 85 mm .

I do have to mention though that a lot of photographers that get into wedding photography always recommend the 35 mm . I'm not going to say that I agree with this, but I do want to throw it out there that it is one of the most common lenses for wedding photographers right now . Every wedding photographer that I talk to says that it's a must have lens .

For me, I do not use a 35 mm lens for a wedding. I typically have my 24 to 70 mm lens on my camera body for all my weddings. I then also have a second camera which will have either my 18 mm lens on it or it will have my 50 mm lens on it. We can get into why on a different blog post but I did just want to throw that out there for you.

Make sure to check out my full gear list here.

So What Lens Should I Buy For Portrait Photography?

There are few lenses that I'm going to highly recommend:

The Nifty Fifty

If you are a Canon user this is the lens for you to get into portrait photography. Do not spend your money on any other plans but this one. It is only $125 and I don't even know how it's that much money when everything else is almost a thousand . This is the best lens and you need it in your life .

50mm Sigma Art

This is the lens that I use . I love this lens for the reason of the Bokeh . It is so creamy and so beautiful and I love it so much!

Other Lenses

So basically you will need to decide on if you want a 35mm, 50 mm, or an 85 mm.

Is 35 mm is going to be more of a wide-angle, a 50 mm is your standard portrait lens , and 85 mm is going to be a little bit more up close and personal . These are all prime lenses. Meaning that they do not adjust the focal length you have to move your feet to be able to get closer or further away from your subject.

Here are your Canon options 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm:

Here are your Sony Options:

Here are your Nikon Options:

What lenses do I use?

Now I use the Sigma art 50mm . I love this one's like I said before and would highly recommend it to anyone . I was hesitant about doing a non-native lens for my camera but now that I've taken that leap I wouldn't go back. It's a great lens, has great quality, and is for a fraction of the price .

The lens that I have on my camera body for about 90% of the time is my 24-70mm f2.8 G master lens . This is the best lens ever . Now if you're only going to want to buy one lens I would say you need to buy this lens. Please note that I have only used the Sony version of this lens. So here are the options for this lens for each main camera brand:

Sony 24-70mm G Master F2.8

Canon 24-70mm F2.8

Nikon 24-70mm F2.8

All right friends I hope this helped you out a little bit. What lens are you debating on? Or what lens do you already have in love for your portrait photography? Leave me a comment below and let me know . I want this blog to be a community where we can chat and help each other out. That's only going to happen if we comment and talk with each other. So make sure to leave a comment below

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Bessie