Canon Rebel Portrait Lens - Which Lens Is Best for Canon Rebel Portraits?

Let's say you just got your very first DSLR and it's a Canon Rebel. You are now a pro, or at least a semi-pro. That's what everyone around you will be thinking.

So what about portraits? What are the requirements for a Canon Rebel portrait lens?

Canon EF 50mm

Every photographer is a portrait photographer at some point. Your family will assume that you are a great portrait shooter. More importantly for them you will do the job cheap.

Canon Rebel Portrait Lens - Which Lens Is Best for Canon Rebel Portraits?

It's just a fact. When people see that monster camera, they just take it for granted that you are a pro and you can take any kind of picture with excellence.

Don't tell them you are just getting started. Keep that awesome camera in front of your face and let them think you are great at your chosen hobby.

Here are a the two main things to keep in mind for getting a decent head shot.

First, you will want to be anywhere from 6 to 20 feet away from your subject. Any closer than 6 feet and you will be seeing some distortion in the body features.

Second, you should choose as wide an aperture as possible, like f/2.8 or f/4. A wide aperture will result in a narrow depth of field, meaning that the plane of focus is limited to a couple of inches in front of and behind the main focus area (the face in the case of a head shot). The object of a narrow depth of field is a blurry background.

Selecting a lens to accomplish this may simply mean looking in your camera bag or on your camera, because you may already have a good lens.

Your Canon Rebel has a sensor that multiplies the focal length of the lens by a factor of 1.6. So, if you have a Canon Portrait lens of 100mm, you are actually taking a picture with an effective focal length of 160mm (that's 100 x 1.6).

A head shot usually involves a photo area roughly 3 to 4 feet in height. Taking a picture with a 100mm lens would put you about 15 feet from your subject... perfect.

The very least focal length you could use to get that same shot would be a 50mm lens with you positioned about 6 feet from your subject. A Canon EF-S 60mm macro lens will do the job, too, and it is made specifically for a Rebel.

The perfect Canon Rebel portrait lens could also be a longer focal length. In particular, a 70-200mm zoom lens works really well because of how totally awesome the images are. It is actually what many consider the Canon "Flagship" lens. If you own one of the 70-200mm lenses (and there are five of them now), you are set.

However, many photographers think that a prime lens takes the best portraits (a prime lens has a single focal length rather than a zoom). There is no argument that a fantastic head shot can be taken with a 100mm prime or a 135mm prime lens. These are excellent lenses. But they are also more expensive than some others.

Assuming budget will play some part in your decision, keep in mind that the focal length can be anywhere from 50mm and up. It is really your position (distance from your subject), the perspective of the shot, and the quality of the lens that make the shot.

If you will be taking lots of portraits, then a quality lens with the right focal length and aperture will be a good investment. However, if you are not planning on making head shots your main type of photography, you may want to get a lens that will suit your needs for whatever kind of images you plan to major in and let it double as a Canon Rebel Portrait lens.

Canon Rebel Portrait Lens - Which Lens Is Best for Canon Rebel Portraits?

Canon Portrait Lens On a Budget - How To Choose A Portrait Lens

Getting a good portrait lens is not difficult, but knowing which ones qualify is important. Before you go out and make a purchase, you should take a look into your camera bag to see if you may have a Canon portrait lens in there cleverly disguised as.. let's say a Macro lens or maybe a sports action lens.

The first issue is to determine what the qualifications of a good Canon portrait lens actually are. But in the process, keep in mind that you want to save money.

Canon EF 50mm

I hope this does not burst your bubble. I mean, photographers are kind of like fishermen and golfers. We are always under the impression that we need the next new camera or lens that comes out. Or, like my mother-in-law used to say, "If you don't have it, you need it." While the grass may be greener on the other side of the fence where your neighbor has a Canon EF 135mm f/2.0 portrait lens that she paid 00 for, it's possible that you can get by with something that you either already own or that costs just a tad bit less.

Canon Portrait Lens On a Budget - How To Choose A Portrait Lens

OK, real quick, the qualifications:

1. Image quality - this has to be really good. You do not want a lens that has poor image quality. After all, you will be shooting people, and most people are very vain about their appearance. It's not like taking a picture of a monkey or bear at the zoo. Those animals don't care what their picture looks like.

To find out whether the lens in question will qualify as a Canon portrait lens with respect to image quality, check some expert sites. But keep in mind that these guys are going to be very technical. You might just want to go to the Amazon or B & H Photo website and check user reviews. In that case, look for reviews from advanced amateurs or professionals. They will also be fairly reliable.

2. Focal length - Portraits can be taken with a lens that is as short as 50mm or as long as 300mm. Some of the pros use the extra long length to get the great bokeh, but normal portrait shooters use a lens of about 85mm to 135mm. The good news is that if you have an entry-level or mid-level digital SLR, you have what is known as a crop factor, which simply means that your camera multiplies the focal length of the lens by either 1.5 or 1.6 depending on the make of the camera. So if you have a 100mm lens, multiply it by the crop factor of, say 1.6, and you have an effective focal length of 160mm. And a 50mm lens becomes an effective focal length of 85mm. Of course, the shorter the focal length, the closer you will be to your subject. That's why a wide angle lens of 28mm will not be your best bet for a portrait lens.

3. Aperture - The aperture is really important. The wider the aperture, the better your chances for getting the nice blurry background that is desirable in this type of photography. You want a minimum of f/4.0 for longer length lenses, such as a 180mm lens, and at least an f/2.8 for the shorter lenses, such as 50mm. The larger the aperture, the better your background will be. But you also need a good sharp focus on the eyes because there is a very shallow depth of field with the wider apertures.

Generally, single focal length lenses are preferred for portraits, but that is not a hard and fast rule. Some photographers use their Canon 70-200 mm lens for this and are very happy with it.

OK, so there is a wide range of possibilities here. Going back to the first suggestion, look into your camera bag and see which, if any, of your current lenses fit the qualifications. If you still need to purchase a Canon portrait lens, proceed with patience. Getting a lens that can do two or three types of images is also a viable option.

One last thing. Third party lenses, like Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina are also great ways to save a few bucks. There are some excellent lenses made by these manufacturers, but make sure you check what the experts and others who have used them say in forums and online comment areas.

Canon Portrait Lens On a Budget - How To Choose A Portrait Lens