35mm & 85mm Prime Lens Best Lens for Portrait photography
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In this video and the images shown are all edited with my lightroom presets shown above! I also also most exclusively shot on the Viltrox 35mm f1.2 and 85mm f1.4 | Which i just love the render of the skin tones and Bokeh coming from these lenses! They also have a nice flare, get a copy below 🙂
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00:00 INTRO
02:04 Common Issues
04:26 35mm
05:39 85mm
08:12 Where to Next?
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Comments
40 responses to “35mm & 85mm | A Misunderstood Portrait Combo”
Excellent video and explanation, thank you for this content. I want to ask you, I am a photographer and I am confused about which camera to buy from Sony in 2026. What do you suggest, Sony A7r4 or Sony A7iv? Thank you!
Good combo.
I always tend to go back to 50mm (preferebly with f1.2).
Im able to do both without the need to switch lenses.
The switching of perspective is goated. 😀
I use these focal lengths in the exact opposite way compared to what most photographers say. I use 35mm for bust portraits or slightly wider shots, but that’s it. And I use 135mm because I don’t use 85mm—I use it for full-body shots. Why? Because a full-body photo taken with 35mm has little to no bokeh, it almost looks like it was taken with a phone.
With a 135mm, on the other hand, you get that spectacular blur, and at that distance the bokeh is less dense, exactly as it should be. The compression creates a clean background with just enough bokeh to understand what’s behind the subject, whereas with a 35mm it looks plain and boring. That is, unless you have the pyramids or some other extraordinary background behind you.
Very much agree with your findings. For many years I always used both 35 and 85mm lenses. Last year all my gear was stolen, so I bought a new camera but this time I switched the 85 for a 135mm. The 35mm is irreplaceable, for me I don't want to be photographer if I can't have a 35mm it is the greatest, most under-rated, misunderstood lens. For full frame photography the 35mm is the GOAT. BTW, I'm very much liking the 135mm, maybe even better than the 85mm?
I’m confused. Just watched an older video of yours where you were touting the 20 mm and the 28 mm while stating the 35 constraints. Is the 35 new go to?
Cool shots! Great vid! Also, what a surprising job guys at Viltrox actually do!
Nikon D850 with a 24-70mm 2.8 that's it done. No switching.
35 mm is a people's lens. it just requires a more thoughtful framing and composition
Handsome ❤❤❤
I like the tip of getting a wide, standard and tight shot with each lens.
I shoot weddings, birthdays and corporate events. I use 85 and 24-70. Should I buy 35mm?
24mm f1.8, 50mm f1.8 and 70-200 f4 kit here.
with cropping to APSC mode i ad to the kit the equivalent of 38mm f2.8 and 80mm f2.8 without changing the lens
APPRECIATING YOUR VIDEO! I have a 24-70mm lens that I can use on DX camera with a crop factor and find myself using the 85mm perspective a lot! Thanks for your review HG from Chicago
dude i love doing this , I love using 85 as a wide and 35 as a tight
My only question, is the 35/85mm combo full frame? How bout 35mm equivalents: 23/55mm. I actually use the 23 and the 50mm on my ASPC camera.
As a beginner, I chose the 85mm GM 2 over the 50mm GM because I love the look of bokeh
85 is so boring. 35mm is where it’s at. 24-70 for fashion is the goat.
35mm : you can abuse and shoot like 70%~90% of photos. plus having F1.4 aperture can blur and melt the background.
85mm : is like for special moment and good filler; 5%~20%.
I'm a type of photographer that dont want to waste good surrounding and environment and i always want them in my photos.
if one place too much photos shot in 85mm will likely lost its wow factor unless its indoor portrait shoot.
when you shoot with these lens, do you shoot with the biggest F stop avialable or do you use like F2.8 or 5.6? like in good lighting when u can shoot with the F stop you want
I love shooting 85 and 100 like they're a 50; not detail shots, semi-environmental ones. Yeah, I have to go stupidly far back to get things in frame, but the compression looks better to me than the same composition with a 50. Which is why I think zoom lenses tend to make people lazy. Focal lengths aren't just about the zoom.
35mm & 135mm on my Nikon and 85mm on my Sony 😊
I’ve been using a 20/65mm combo instead of the 35/85mm. I like the slightly wide perspective and the ability to reframe a bit with a crop if needed
8:07 OMG who is she
Love this combo. I add the 24 also, just because it's my layering lens.
35/85 has been my go to for years. shot many weddings and events using this combo. i hope fuji gives us a 23 1.2 soon.
I used to shoot with wide lenses but after I found a cheap 105mm at first I didn’t like it but I start to take a few steps more and oh boy, I like it for almost or full body pictures it looks so different to wide lenses, now I prefer 85mm and 135mm.
to me, 28mm + 40mm + 85mm is better trio than 35mm + 50mm + 85mm
“35 & 85 is a perfect combo 😅 Which one do you use most?”
My go to combo portrait work has been 50mm and 135mm with the 24mm in the bag. 🤌🏾
If I can only have one lens, it’s 35mm.
I shoot indoor weddings and other events with the 35mm / 85mm combo on two full frame cameras. The results are great. If I’m shooting outside, however, I’ll substitute a 70-200 zoom for added versatility.
Ich nutze nur das Zoom 35-150mm und konzentriere mich auf den Ausdruck der Models. Meinen Kunden ist am wichtigsten, dass sie gut aussehen und nicht, wie stark der Hintergrund unscharf ist. Daher die wichtigste Regel: Sei schnell und verpasse nicht die Emotionen, während du das Objektiv wechselst.
The best way I learn to use my 85. Was just having that lens lol. I would run back to fit everyone or brenizer style to fit more or use the environment
This is why I use a 24-105 when shooting portraits. Much more convenient for me and I don't feel comfortable getting to close the the models when shooting.
I use a two cameras system with 35mm on ff and 55mm on aps-c for the sake of this comment, just assume it's 85mm. I don't quite the idea of switching camera to get a close-up shot without moving my feet. It feels like I'm using a normal zoom lens with f1.4 lens. I tend to use more 35mm and 85mm for wide shots. I do love this system and maybe add 9mm into my system would be nice and there's no lens compression.
I only own two lenses.
Sigma art 50 1.4 and 85mm 1.8G
I'm curious, can the 70-200mm give us the 85mm look when zoomed in to 85mm on the 70-200 lens? Or is it not precise enough?
Are you satisfied with the viltrox lenses used in your video?I am considering buy air series for my a6700?
Thank you, love your videos. I always use 35 1.2 and 85 1.2, love both, the 85 is probably my favourite.
A photojournalism book I read when starting my journey in 1970 as college suggested the 35mm and 85mm combo as ideal for ‘cinematic’ storytelling in a sequence of: 1) wide establishing shot; 2) med shots put subject in context with environment; 3) close-ups of hand and faces; 4) cut-aways showing what the subject is seeing. So I bought a pair of Nikon F bodies with 35mm f/2 and 85mm f/1.8 lens. It was good advice because two years later the photo I took with them got me a job assisting top pro Monte Zucker and four years later a job in the Nation Geographic Photo lab 😊
Working with Monte taught me how to use shooting distance to create a balanced look on faces which are not naturally symmetrical. When looking person full face the first thing to determine is whether or not the face is symmetrical. The ‘tell’ are the ears, eyes and the nose.
If the face is not symmetrical one of the two >o/o} {oo< oblique angles will usually be more flattering and varying shooting distance between 8-10 feet can made the near and far sides of the face look more symmetrical and slender and more flattering than full face. Once the most flattering shooting distance is determined the focal length of the lens simply dictated the in camera crop. 35mm and 85mm from 8-10 feet produce full length and H&S in camera crops with exactly the same facial rendering which is why that combination works so well together ❤.
When I upgraded to a N8008 in the early 90s I got a 24-70mm and 70-200mm zooms both the same focal lengths when switching to Canon DSLR in 2004 also adding the EF-S 10-22mm as a ‘holy trinity’ I was using APS-C 20D and 50D bodies so the FOV was the same as 16mm – 320mm on a full frame 35mm format body which can cover most needs.
Nowadays I’m shooting mostly wildlife with three R6mkII bodies with the RF 10-20mm, EF 24-70mm, RF 100-500mm most of the time as my ‘holy trinity’ 😊