The most commonly used portrait lens by most photographers would be the 50mm f/1.8. It has a large opening which is good in gathering light and achieving a thin depth of field. The size of it is also a plus since it’s very small and compact. And with a price of around 100$, it is relatively cheap and it is surely bang for the buck.

However, the 50mm is not really an ideal portrait lens. When used in headshots, distortion is noticeable. This is very unpleasing to the subject since this distortion enlarges their features particularly the nose. The focal length is also too short. When using a full frame camera, you must be quite close to the subject. The same holds true for cropped sensors despite others saying that a 50mm in a cropped sensor is like an 85mm. An 85mm in a full frame compared to a 50mm in a cropped sensor is quite different.

The 50mm is a not  a bad portrait lens, one must just know when to use lenses for portraits.

Wide Lenses

You can use these lenses beside landscapes. The 10mm-17mm range can achieve a great effect when used in portraiture. If you want to capture the environment and model, you can use a wide lens to achieve that. This is particularly useful when there’s a relationship between the model and the background environment. However, be wary of the models personal space as you don’t want to be too close to him or her.

The effect made by this lens can be limited so if you pursue portraiture, I suggest to get another lens.

Normal Lenses

The 50mm lens goes to this category. The same with most kit lenses  and the expensive 24-70mm 2.8 lenses. This lens is not too wide and too long. So most use these as walk around lenses for their versatility. With this, you’re not too close and too far with the subject which results in an easier communication between the two of you.

Telephoto Lenses

70mm lenses and above are called telephoto lenses. The 70-200mm 2.8 is the most used lens in this category. Since it’s a zoom lens, it’s versatile.  You’ll want to use a longer focal length so you can easily blur backgrounds. And with a f/2.8 opening, that would be a piece of cake. The downside is this kind of lens can be quite expensive. Price ranges from 800$ to 1200$.

So an alternative is the 85mm f/1.8. Having only  a 35mm increase compared to the 50mm, this lens can perform much better at portraiture. The focal length helps in isolating the subject and the aperture helps in blurring the background. This lens is also sharp wide open so you can freely use the widest opening.

Every lens can be used as a portrait lens. It depends of the creativity of the photographer and how he uses his or her tools in creating a portrait. So keep on shooting and embrace the light!