What is a good portrait lens for a starter photographer?Im just found my love for photography. my first camera is a canon rebel xs. I have been taking portaits for family memebers and want to step it up. I have been using the lens that came with it. Uhhh.. 18-55 mm and I feel so limited. whats next? I have tried to check into this myself but everyone is talking about a $800-1000 lens. Maybe one day but Im not ready for something like that. oh I would really like to stick with something with IS. Please help Im over my 18-55mm!
There is far more to a good portrait lens than simply an appropriate focal length. For good portraits you need a lens that is sharp, and more important, is fast. The faster the lens (the lower the "F" number) the more versatile it is with regard to portrait work. Most professional portraits have a sharp subject and a blurred background - known as "bokeh".
With a fast lens you can narrow the depth of field, i.e., that area that is in sharp focus. With a crop camera, one like yours, it is even harder to get a reduced depth of field than it was on the old film cameras, and a fast lens is even more essential. A prime 50mm lens that is F1.2 to F1.8 will produce excellent portraits on a crop sensor camera like yours. I would suggest finding a good prime lens within that range, even a second-hand one, rather than attempting to use your rather basic kits lens. The kits lenses are never of more than average quality.
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