I've been a professional portrait photographer for over a decade – and learning about the "trinity primes" for portraiture changed how I used my camera.
If you've ever wondered why your people pictures don't quite look or feel right, there's a pretty good chance that you're using the wrong lens. Or perhaps, using the right lens in the wrong situation.
Even the best lenses for portraits are only effective if you use them appropriately. Shooting with a lens in a circumstance for which it wasn't designed can distort features, warp proportions and cause chaos for your composition – and that's before you get to things like subject separation and depth of field.
If you want to improve your portrait photography, this is the single best piece of advice I can give you – and I always carry these three focal lengths with me for portrait work.
You don't have to own all three, but understanding how to use each one will make a world of difference to your portraiture – and perhaps help you decide which one you need to add to your kit bag.
Knowing the right tool for the job is the surest start to getting the shot you want…
Full-length
When photographing a subject full-length, use a 35mm wide-angle lens. When shooting, your lens should be in line with the subject's navel.
(For medium format cameras, this will be around 44mm; for APS-C bodies, it's 23mm (unless you're on a Canon, in which case it's about 21mm); for Micro Four Thirds cameras, it's a 17mm lens.)
An equivalent 35mm focal length will flatter full-length figures, keeping the body in proportion. But it's important to shoot level with the midsection and in alignment with your subject; shooting up will lengthen the legs and squash the torso, shooting down will do the opposite.
Moving in closer than full-length with a 35mm will start to distort the subject; if you've ever taken a headshot with a wide-angle lens (or your standard phone camera), you'll know what I mean! This is not a lens designed for close-ups, unless you're doing so with intention – and your subject doesn't mind having elongated features.
Half-length
When photographing a subject half-length, use a 50mm lens. When shooting, your lens should be in line with the subject's chest.
(For medium format, this will be around 63mm; for APS-C bodies, it's 33mm (or 31mm for Canon); for Micro Four Thirds cameras, it's a 25mm lens.)
Again, a 50mm lens when shooting a half-length (or a three-quarter or torso shot) will naturally flatter the figure and features. Moving in closer with a 50mm to shoot a headshot will not distort your subject as severely as a wide-angle lens, but it will still introduce unnecessary optical effects.
Headshot
When photographing a subject's headshot, use an 85mm lens (or 90mm, if that's more common on your system). When shooting, your lens should be in line with the subject's nose.
(For medium format, this will be around 107mm; for APS-C bodies, it's 55mm (or 52mm for Canon); for Micro Four Thirds cameras, it's a 42mm lens.)
An 85mm lens is specifically designed to photograph a frame-filling headshot with minimal distortion. In crude terms, as I was taught while I was an apprentice, a long lens "makes noses shorter".
All things being equal, it can also inherently render shallower depth of field – which can create separation by blurring the background and making your subject stand out (provided there is sufficient distance between them and what's behind them).
Break the rules (after learning them!)
I can, of course, hear immediate umbrage and uproar. "You can use any lens you like! You can take a headshot with a fisheye lens if you really want to!"
Yes, I know. In fact, I shot the above half-length portrait on an 18mm fisheye. And the below full-length on a 300mm. And the environmental shot below that with a 40mm.
You can, indeed, use any lens you like – but only, as I said earlier, if you're doing so with intention. A 35mm lens is perfect for environmental portraits, but I've seen far too many photographers trying to take a headshot with one. And sometimes that's because they've been using a 35mm on a crop sensor camera, where it becomes a nifty fifty so you can get away with it.
So again: you need to know what your lens is designed for, how it behaves on the camera with which you're using it, and whether you're using it "right" or "wrong" you need to do so consciously to get the effect you need.
My "trinity primes" are ideal for use in a studio or commercial setup – which is where I started using this setup – because not only do they each flatter the subject for their respective shots, they can each be used interchangeable to retain the same perspective without having to move yourself, your subject or your lighting.
I can stand in the exact same position and take a full-length, half-length and headshot without moving my feet – just by changing the lens on my camera.
But the truth is, if space and moving things is no object, you should shoot everything on the longest lens possible. When I can, I love shooting full-length shots with my 150mm lens because it offers the most flattering, least distorted reproduction of what's in front of me with the greatest amount of (and usually greatest quality) bokeh.
However, its magnification also affects the background; so while it's great for carving out and isolating a subject, it obliterates or obfuscates your environment. Which is why shooting with a wider lens – like 40mm in the example below – is useful as it captures the scene while also flattering the subject.
But 90% of the time – especially with most of my client work being indoors, with limited working distance – sticking to the trinity prime portrait lenses will never let you down.
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Check out the best cameras for portraits along with the best portrait lenses. I would personally recommend the Olympus M.Zuiko 75mm f/1.8, the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM and the Zhongyi Optics Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95.
