An 85mm f/1.8 Lens
If I’m not shooting my 70–200mm, it’s only because I’m shooting my second go-to lens for portraits: the 85mm f/1.8, which lets you get the background behind your subject even softer and more luscious (there’s a word you don’t get to use every day) thanks to that f/1.8 f-stop. The general rule is: the lower the number, the more out of focus the background will be. Well, if that’s the case, you might be wondering why I’m not using an 85mm f/1.4 or even an f/1.2. It’s because at those super-wide-open f-stops, the depth of field is so shallow (the part that’s in focus is so thin) that it’s easy to take an out-of-focus portrait if ...
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