Portraiture Advice - lens choice

I have a documentary project that will require some portraiture. I'm generally a landscape and architectural photographer and only shoot people and portraits occasionally and with casual intent. These will be more formal, made using natural light, probably with a 35mm Nikon, and hopefully showing some of the environment as well. What lens should I use? Most of this project was shot using a 24mm lens plus an 85mm as well. Can anyone give me advice or suggest a book that might help with these kinds of pictures? Thanks.

On 35mm, I would use a lens between 90mm and about 135mm, as this will allow you a camera subject distance for a flattering perspective. Keep the lighting simple, window light and white card reflector. If the subjects hands are in the picture, keep them side on, so the mass of flesh does not detract from the face. Keep it simple. Less is more.

Are you seeking to obtain closely cropped, head and shoulder type portraits, or is your goal more like environmental portraiture, or is it something in between?
The rule of thumb that suggests moderate telephotos for portraits is based more on the head and shoulder type of portrait.
Your goal is to achieve flattering perspective, which itself is really a result of appropriate camera to subject distance. Decide on that distance first, and then choose a focal length that fills the frame with your subject.
It isn't unusual to run into space constraints that force a shorter lens than the ideal - sometimes the studio isn't big enough!
By the way, I'll fix the typo in the title, and add a reference to lenses.

Thanks for the fix.

The 85 is a great portrait lens. Depending on how much environment you want to show, a 50 or even the 35 will do. Hand-holding a 135 means using fast film if you are shooting inside unless there's a lot of natural light--otherwise the wide apertures needed produce flattering portraits but pretty much eliminate the background.

If you want the portraits to have a similar "look" or "style" as the rest of your project, you could use the 24mm for full body portraits and the 85mm for everything else. There's not one magic focal length for portraits, but can be dependent on your style. I've seen phenomenal portraits with 20mm lenses through 300mm lenses, but those obviously had different feels to them. I personally really like the 50mm focal length as I can take a few steps back and get nice full-body portraits, or take a few steps closer and get some nice headshots.

Crit-ter85 said:

If you want the portraits to have a similar "look" or "style" as the rest of your project, you could use the 24mm for full body portraits and the 85mm for everything else. There's not one magic focal length for portraits, but can be dependent on your style. I've seen phenomenal portraits with 20mm lenses through 300mm lenses, but those obviously had different feels to them. I personally really like the 50mm focal length as I can take a few steps back and get nice full-body portraits, or take a few steps closer and get some nice headshots.

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Like others, I'd say you are all set. Use the 85mm for closer portraits -- move back if you want more background included, and stop down. When using the 24mm, don't get too close to the foreground subject, and keep the camera level. Assuming you have a 50/55mm, use that when you can't decide between the 24mm & 85mm. And there's no law against taking the same shot with different lenses -- and distances.

The 85 is a good length for a 3/4, Nikon's 85s have great boka, for full frame 24 to 35 depending on how much space you have to work in, for head shot, 105 or 135 again depending on much space you have. I would use the 2 lens you have. A book I really like from the past is The Fine 35mm Portrait by Jack Manning who was a New York time photographer it was published in the 70s by I think Amphoto, with any luck you might be able to find it at Thrift Books.

Thanks for that Paul.. I've ordered that book, Not sure why I'm so intimidated by portraiture. I think in this regard I'm a shy person, happier with rocks and trees than people.

Crit-ter85 said:

If you want the portraits to have a similar "look" or "style" as the rest of your project, you could use the 24mm for full body portraits and the 85mm for everything else.

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Yes, that's what I'm thinking. I guess I'm more interested in in the environmental aspect. I think I'll have to practice on friends before I shoot my project subjects.

Hi Arthur

Also shooting a portrait project after years of landscape and architecture shooting here.

The 85mm focal length cliché is a safe route of convention to follow. Perhaps you might find copies of Contact22 and similar photo agency tomes to browse through. They are online too now, with a social media account. The breadth and scope of the work which these classic illustrative styles show is really inspirational - many of our students start here to look for synthesis of their own style, rather than repeating formulaic shooting styles.

An interesting discovery for me came from a very old volume the photographer Andrew Bret Wallis (UK) whose stylistics are very distinctive (images below), although sadly like many practicing photographers, have bitten the digital algorithmic bait. His then work used the wide angle lens. A wider aperture like a 28mm f2 or 35mm f2 landscape wide lens is sufficient for environmental portraiture too.

Good luck with your shoot planning!