As a portrait photographer I’m not going to lie, I am in love with my 85mm lens and here’s why…

When I bought this lens two years ago I was upgrading my “nifty fifty” and crop censor Canon T7 to my full frame Canon EOS RP (buy it here) https://amzn.to/46YtGoB and I was like “okay…what lens am I pairing with this?? I can’t afford something too expensive but I NEED GOOD RESULTS!! I looked into the 85mm 2.0 (buy it here) https://amzn.to/4h3Pbcd after watching some of my favorite photographers swear how beautiful the bokeh and compression were. So I am upgrading my 50mm 1.8 that I shot with for a LONG while (too long btw) that I was really comfortable with and I thought well, isn’t the 80mm focal length going to be similar?? Well long story short I bought the lens and now the look I get with it… it’s just my signature style now. And I do not even feel the need to use something else for most of my work.

((BTW Besides being a photographer I am an AMAZON ASSOCIATE and I do use affiliate links and earn commision from these links))

So I specialize in Seniors, Maternity, and then Family lifestyle photography. For my basic work I am only using my 85 because that’s all I feel I needed. I was feeling down because when my maternity clients wanted to have me do their newborn photos and in those I feared that the 85mm lens was too compressed and I couldn’t get back far enough. So I would be forced to use my adapter and my nifty fifty. Last week I went to a newborn session and forgot my 50mm lens at home. I was panicked but I knew I had to do what I had to do and be professional, well in a little bitty studio I took out that 85mm lens confidently and I made that newborn session work! It was probably my favorite newborn session yet. I know it sounds crazy but afterwards I knew I had to make this post.

My top 3 reasons why I love the 85??

** That creamy, dreamy bokeh!! The glow in the maternity shot above? Absolutely dreamy!!

** The compression is amazing but not too much. Meaning the background looks closer than it appears.

** No distortion. Your subject is not going to look pulled out and it is very accurate and flattering for portraits.

BONUS POINTS…

THAT EPIC PULLED BACK SHOT

When I use my 85mm lens one of my favorite things to do at every session is to back pretty far away and capture everything in the scene. The 85 gives the bokeh and compression of dreams for these types of shots.

CLOSE UPS

Overall the 85mm lens just the perfect lens for me and my style of photography. If you are interested in it and have been reluctant to buy, here’s your sign.

Nikki Montoya is a lifestyle/portrait photography based in West Texas