Portrait photography is the art of capturing a person’s likeness in a photograph. It is a popular form of photography that is used for a variety of purposes such as family photos, headshots, and engagement photos. To achieve the best results in portrait photography, it is important to use the right lens.
One of the best lenses for portrait photography is a telephoto lens. Telephoto lenses have a longer focal length, which allows you to capture a subject from a distance. This is particularly useful in situations where you are not able to get close to your subject. Telephoto lenses also have a shallower depth of field which helps to blur the background and make the subject stand out. This creates a more pleasing and natural-looking portrait.
Sony 50mm G lens
Another great lens for portrait photography is a prime lens. Prime lenses have a fixed focal length, which means that you can’t zoom in or out. However, they are known for their sharpness and clarity, which is especially important for capturing fine details in a person’s face. They also typically have a wider aperture, which allows for a shallower depth of field, making the subject stand out even more.
Low cost Sony 85mm lens
A third lens that is great for portrait photography is a medium telephoto lens. These lenses have a focal length of around 85mm to 135mm. They are great for capturing a more natural-looking portrait as they are able to capture a subject with a more natural perspective. They also have a shallower depth of field which helps to blur the background and make the subject stand out.
Sony 135mm G lens
In summary, the best lenses for portrait photography are telephoto, prime, and medium telephoto lenses. They are all great choices for capturing stunning portraits because of their ability to create a shallow depth of field and focus on the subject, while blurring the background. They can also capture the fine details of a person’s face, which is essential for creating a pleasing portrait
This is My Ten simple tips to create beautiful lighting that flatters for professional photos or perfect selfies
1: Use natural light whenever possible. Natural light is often the most flattering and easiest to work with. Putting your subject in the right place at the right time of day with natural light can be the softest lighting to work with, and most effective.
All natural overcast day light
2: Experiment with different times of day. The quality of light can change significantly depending on the time of day, so try shooting at different times to see what works best for you or your subject.
3: Use reflectors or a white card to bounce light back onto the subject. This can help fill in shadows and add dimension to the subject. Bring out a glow to the eyes and under the chin to make an image more appealing to the eye.
4: Experiment with different light sources. In addition to natural light, you can also use artificial light sources such as studio strobes or continuous lights. Even a simple ring light can be a creative tool or a small video light will add a pop to your pictures.
5: Pay attention to the direction of the light. Light that is coming from the side or from behind the subject can create a more dramatic effect, sometimes a bright light from behind will result in a more silhouetted looking image.
Natural light with a reflector to reduce shadows and add a catch light to the eyes
6: Use diffusers to soften the light. This can help reduce harsh shadows and make the light more flattering to the subject. A simple white sheet over a window will give a soft touch to any image.
7: Avoid shooting directly into the sun. This can create harsh shadows and cause lens flare and in turn make the images soft with less contrast. Though this rule isn’t always bad. It can also be creative if used in the correct environment .
Bright side light from back lighting in mid day sun
8: Use negative fill to create shadows. By placing a dark object near the subject, you can create shadows and add depth to the image. If you have a very light room from natural light through a window or a white bedroom this idea will be great, even a dark sheet/ blind or black card will reduce some light giving more depth to a subject.
9: Experiment with different apertures. Aperture controls the amount of light that enters the camera, as well as the depth of field. This can be found on all manual settings in camera or on smartphones. This is perfect to add a little creative look when using a low F number ..
10: Keep an eye on the colour temperature of the light. Different light sources can cast different color temperatures, which can affect the overall mood of the image. Use a colour checker or white balance tools to help ensure accurate colour. For instance house lighting and sunlight can produce a warm tone to an image.. where a window lit by indirect light or even a snow scene will have a cooler more white look..
Please remember that these are my personal tips, we all have our own ideas. There’s nothing wrong with using a bunch of the above methods and then in your preferred editing software creating something much more refined or dramatic.
Let me know what you try and how it works out for you.
This is my Five reasons I love my 85mm lensit’s one of my bread and butter lenses.
1: It’s great for Portrait photography:
The 85mm focal length is ideal for portrait photography because it allows you to capture flattering, up-close shots of your subject without distorting their features. This is especially useful for capturing headshots and full-body portraits.
Portrait with the 85mm Sony lens
2: Bokeh:
The 85mm lens is known for its ability to produce beautiful, creamy bokeh in the background of your photos. This is especially useful for isolating your subject and drawing attention to them.
Bokeh balls
3: Low light performance:
Many 85mm lenses have a wide maximum aperture, which allows them to perform well in low light situations. This makes them a great choice for indoor photography or for shooting at dusk or dawn.
Wide open aperture and small fits in your hand form factor.
4: Compact size:
85mm lenses are generally smaller and more lightweight than other lenses, making them a convenient choice for photographers on the go.
5: Versatility:
While the 85mm lens is often used for portraits, it can also be used for a variety of other subjects, including landscape, street, and event photography. It’s a versatile lens that can be used in many different situations. The 85mm is always with me!
In closing:
So, in all honesty this lens is one lens I would recommend any photographer purchasing.
These days the 85mm 1.8 isn’t that expensive and if you’re a multi shooting photographer who likes shooting landscapes events or models, this lens would pay for its self ! Low cost, high quality prime lens that will get plenty of use!
To finish … if you’re a photographer or someone just starting out. And own an 85mm lens let me know in the comments if you agree that it’s worthwhile buying one..
Hey guys I’m giving these simple arrow assets / overlays away these are simple and all you need to do is download these and add them as a picture then use chroma to clear the green around the edge.
Resize them to suit your video add a little transition and you will have a fantastic yet simple overlay ..
This weeks ‘More Info Monday‘ is about the shot I took last week (Friday 15th October) free reference card download with this post
Back story!
While I was taking a well earned break from writing new scripts for the New YouTube Channel
I was sitting in the bay window, Drinking a very hot coffee and munching on custard creams ! While watching the better half outside filling up the bird feeder .. on her new bird table,
Now if you’re a photographer like me this sparked the mind into capture mode. See I’ve taken a few weeks away from people photography.. ! So I’m missing the thrill of the shutter .. I thought ‘Let’s try and capture a starling’
Now you’re probably like most people and asking why a starling! There’s so many other birds like robins and blue tits ..
Well I love looking at starlings, there’s something about their plumage this time of year thats just beautiful! Now when I post the images below I hope that you will see what I’m getting at! . Also to me everyone seems to neglect the starling family and always head right for the money shot with a robin .. it’s too normal for me 😉
Main story
So I headed to the camera bag unzipped it and took out the camera of choice the Nikon D7200.
Again I bet there’s a question 🙋♂️ why the D7200 and not your Sony gear! The answer is simple .. the Nikon D7200 is a 24 mp Crop sensor not a full frame 24pm like the Sony bodies I have .. see the way I see it is I’m pretty close to the bird table and with the crop multiplying the lens choice by 1.5 ish this will give me a nice close up shot. while still being in a warm house with my coffee ! (Can’t forget the Coffee! )
Now lens choice was questioned as I do have a bunch of lenses for the Nikon one being the sigma contemporary 150-600mm but being close to the table I thought better of it and decided let’s use the 55-300mm Nikon lens, remember this on the D7200 is equivalent to 83 – 450mm due to the crop!
Perfect ! All set..
.. so once the good lady come back into the house I perched myself by the window (pardon the pun ‘perched’ ) did I mention that’s where the coffee was 😉 I opened the window and waited !
And waited …..
I could see and hear the birds but they wasn’t coming to the feeder because I was to close .. I could see them on the roof opposite my upstairs window ! New plan leave the comfort of the bay window and head for the bedroom window ..
New plan of action.
See when I was in the bay window there was a close wall as a backdrop the setting I would have used would have been pretty simple .. ISO 100 f6.3 and at least 1/250 as these bird would be standing pretty still .. and maybe I could get some wing movements .
Now I’m up in the bedroom I have a different backdrop .. the birds are on the roof and tv aerial so I have sky to deal with .. I want detail in the blue sky.. so I need to find a good balance between bird detail and sky brightness. First test shot I started with was iso ..
ISO. Native 100 to get the best for low noise .. I wanted a lot of light coming in so the widest aperture of the lens F 5.6 was best I could do.
Now this time the birds are moving a lot so needed a faster shutter speed and there was clouds so didn’t want to blow them out wanted some detail. So shutter speed 1/1000 I snapped a few shots and no detail in the birds and dark sky
I forgot to mention this is 5:30 ish pm evening setting in .. but still some sun behind the clouds . Giving lovely soft but bright light ..
A few winds later the shutter speed was set to 1/640s looked out the window and realised every starling was gone!
All but one ! The one you will see pictures shortly! He / she was stunning ! Beautiful colours .. deep black tone and speckles on it’s under belly.. I couldnt ask for a better looking starling .. though it was perched on the tv aerial it did look great with cloud and blue back drop.. but the distance was about 5 metres away could be a little far for perfect detail knowing this lens .
I pointed my camera at the sky a quick test shot and sky perfect lots of detail and perfect white clouds
Now’s my chance bird still alone .. I pointed the camera at the starling zoomed the lens to best fill the frame … focused and started reeling off shot ! About twenty total .. now I’ve worked with models but this bird was such a poser ! 😉 head up head down tilt to the side even a one leg pose !
I got a little carried away and,
Forgetting I didn’t take into account the bird deep tones before reeling off the shots I quickly pressed the review button and to my surprise pretty much perfect ! Just a tad under exposed on the bird but lovely detail, lovely tones and nothing a little post production couldn’t fix !
So in post all these images had done to them was. Simple adjustments in lightroom .. my normal
Shadow lifted , highlights dropped, detail clarity vibrance +10 and a little tone curve adjustment ..
Now this is the finished product .. well five images .. I’ve also done a card with shot details on that if you’re on a phone you can screenshot so that you have it so that you can try the settings to capture a few starling shots of your own..
If you do please tag me in the images on Instagram be great to see what you managed to get and how you got on..
Also if you liked this post and want to see /read more of how I got the shot.. settings so on.. please follow the blog I would love to have you along on my journey.. and more will be coming in the future like presets and review /news
Okay here’s the pictures and under that the card download file for reference.. let me know what you think !
Now you all know I’m first and foremost a photographer .. a portrait and boudoir photographer predominately.. but over the last year I’ve been taking time out to gain skills in landscape and nature photography..
Also having won a number of competition with my landscape work I feel I’m doing pretty well! Like having my work shown at the fujifilm print life stand at the Birmingham photography show.
Fujifilm print life stand !
Now I know I’ve been doing short posts and running this is because I’ve been doing so many things I’ve not had time to do deep messages and long posts!
Well I’ve just started to add to that! Even more!
With a new section to my website and my Adrian Day YouTube channel this is going to be where I post tips, tricks and reviews of photography products and ideas to help all you guys and girls become better photographers and to enjoy the craft and the creative side of the industry.
But before I start posting videos and blog posts about this I would love to hear from others as to what you would like to see! .. I know what I look for but that’s me ! I don’t just want to post what I want to know .. I want to post at the needs of others !
See this could be anything for creative tips like using a prism or coloured lighting. Or it could be what I suggest to be the best lens for portraits or landscapes
It could be that you want to know about editing and how I edit my images using Adobe Lightroom or photoshop.. and what you want to learn specifically like colour toning or black and white conversion
Maybe you only have your phone to take pictures and that’s a perfectly great option as they say “the best camera is the one you have with you!” and want to know the best apps I use to edit the questions are endless!
But please feel free to comment below with your questions and I will write them all down and create future posts to answer your questions !
Also coming soon to help users of lightroom I’m going to start putting together downloadable products Things like brushes for photoshop and presets and Lut’s for both Lightroom and photoshop
These will be priced at silly prices ! So anyone can obtain them on the smallest of budgets to help them grow and learn faster! I currently have over 50 presets from colour to black and white! Ready to go! Just sorting out the website over the next few weeks to make them downloadable for you all!
There is so much more to come ! So if you have read this far please hit the follow button so that you can be notified when I post.. and as I say please leave a comment below if you find this page helpful and have a question you want answering!
Once again thank you everyone for your support and sticking with me over covid months ! It’s much appreciated!
BTW WHEN LEAVING A COMMENT .. YOU DONT NEED TO ADD EMAIL ADDRESS OR OTHER DETAILS BUT PLEASE LEAVE A NAME SO I CAN RELATE THE POST BACK TO YOUR QUESTION.. .. BUT PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BE GREAT TO CONNECT TO YOU ALL!
Adrian Day Photography 
