Lenses

After recently learning that 50mm lenses are not always the best lens for portrait photography, I have decided to do some research on different lenses and what is appropriate for the kind of work I want to produce.

Naturally prime lenses are great for portrait photography as they have a wider maximum aperture for shallower depth of field and are often better quality than zoom lenses.

Canon.co.uk posted the following specifics about two of their lenses:

Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM

A wide aperture, fast-focussing professional telephoto lens.

The EF 135mm f/2 L USM is a fast, lightweight, high-quality telephoto lens. It is the ideal tool for capturing indoor sports in low-light conditions and for shooting portrait photography.

• Large f/2 aperture
• Fast, quiet autofocus
• Super Spectra coatings
• L-series construction and optics
• Circular aperture for soft bokeh
• Integration with E-TTL II flash system
• Soft case and lens hood

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

An extreme portrait lens with a very fast maximum aperture and swift focusing.

A professional short-telephoto lens, precision-made for low-light shooting and those situations where extremely shallow depth of field is required. Perfect for creative portraiture.

• Extreme f/1.2 maximum aperture
• Fast, quiet autofocus
• Super Spectra coatings
• Circular aperture for smooth background bokeh
• Integration with E-TTL II flash system
• Soft case and lens hood

I think both of these lenses are great choices for portrait photography. I have used an 85mm in the past to shoot this:

And I was extremely happy with the outcome! The focus was crisp while the depth of field was shallow. The only problem I had was the space I had to take between the lens and the subject. This will only increase with the 135mm lens so I must bare this in mind in the future.

The 85mm would be very useful in a location shoot as I could use the f1.2 to my advantage and blur out anything that was distracting where as the 135mm would flatter the models most.

A lens that would definitely not be appropriate would be anything over 135mm, so for instance the 

Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM or the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM

The distance needed between the lens and the subject would not be realistic for shooting in a studio environment. Nor on location as the photographer would just be too far away and there could be obstructions like trees in the way. These lenses are telephoto lenses and much better used in sports and wildlife photography, not portraits.