What is Canon 85mm good for?

Lots of folks think that 85mm lenses can only do one thing. But that’s wrong. It’s not as wide as a 50mm or a 35mm, but they can do a whole lot. However, most people buy 85mm lenses just for portrait photography. Indeed, it’s great for this. It flattens a person’s profile very well and makes them look flattering. The truth is, though, that the 85mm lens is very versatile. And you can do a whole lot with it. We’re going to break those down in our roundup.

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Street Photography

Photographing the streets is traditionally something done with shorter and normal focal lengths. The reason: they want people to feel like they’re right there in the photo. That’s awesome. But there is also a way to tell stories in the streets in a cinematic way. An 85mm lens can do that. If you’re nervous about taking candids of people in the streets, use an 85mm. And check your intentions when you photograph them.

Try This

Go shooting in the streets. Set your camera’s autofocus to continuous. Turn on face detection. Stand in one spot and just wait for something to happen. Shoot when you see a moment that you’re emotionally connecting to.

Landscapes

Photographing landscapes is also something thing you need a wide-angle lens for. But that’s not always the case. Telephoto lenses help you hone in on a particular part of the scene. They let you see the world as an aspect of the scene. This turns into an entertaining exercise.

Try This

Stop your lens down and slow your shutter speed. Create some intentional blur in your landscapes to make the scene look different. The idea is to also swing your camera and lens in a specific way. Start by focusing on the scene. Then point your camera upwards with the focus still locked. Slowly start swinging it back downward. When you get to a normalized plane, snap the photo. Continue to pull through on the swing. Take a look at the intentional blur and adjust accordingly.

Architecture

Photographing architecture is also thought of as something you need to shoot wide with. But that’s not the case. If you have the privilege of using a tilt-shift adapter, you’ll see how fun this can be. But by using an 85mm lens, you can see in a new way. Focus on certain parts of the scene as you’re looking up at the building. Look at the critical details. 

Try This

Lock your white balance. Shoot at 3200K or 5500K. Those are film white balances. Depending on the light, you’ll either get a Blade Runner look or a normalized look. It’s going to be very fun. We know that you can do this in post-production. But if you do that, you’re not going to approach it with the same level of enthusiasm as you would otherwise. Give yourself the give of a more enthusiastic shooting experience.

Obviously, Portraiture

Photographing clients, friends, family, and more can be done with an 85mm lens. Of course, this is the most common use of the focal length. Newer 85mm lenses are very capable. They can do tight portraits, wider portraits, etc. But the cool thing about them is that they can isolate the face or eyes to get the best from the scene. 

Try This

Shoot a portrait. Stop your lens down. Remember that you have the aperture setting for a reason. Do it both stopped down and wide open.

The 85mm prime lens is well known for capturing beautiful portraits. It's relatively light weight, fast speed and wide aperture also makes it a superb event lens.  However, the 85mm is often overlooked as an effective tool in the nature photography arsenal.

In the case of our west Texas cowboy crooner, the image illustrates the character and features we expect when using an 85mm prime lens. Camera and settings used: Nikon D600, 85mm ISO 250, f/10, 1/60 seconds, Nikon 910 Speedlight.

When photographers take it to the streets, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm prime lenses are out in full force. When venturing to the great outdoors for nature shoots, telephoto zooms, landscape and macro lenses become the norm. The 85mm prime lens is tucked safely and many times, sadly, away in the camera case.

3 Advantages to Using an 85mm Lens In Outdoor Nature Photography

1. As a prime lens, the 85mm encourages a deliberate, creative mindset in composing images for outdoor and nature photography.

2. A huge benefit of an 85mm prime lens (or any prime lens, for that matter) is that it forces behaviors that will improve our overall photography skills, including nature photography, regardless of lens type.

3. Slowing down, savoring the moment. When working with telephotos zoom lenses on wildlife, image composition happens at a rapid rate. Subjects dart, jump, fly, hop and run quickly from sunlight to shade in a matter of seconds. This requires fast movement, quick thinking and quick setting adjustments to effectively capture our subjects. Instead of nature taking the lead, the photographer is in charge.

3 Tips For Using An 85mm Lens Outdoor

1. Stop, Look, Listen And Breathe – What do you see from a bigger picture perspective? What is it about the image that captured your eye, your interest? The 85mm prime lens encourages us to look closely at the subject while still being aware of its surroundings.

2. Step In, Step Out – Working with the fixed focal length, the feet become the zooming action. While framing the subject, walk closer to capture the initial detail or details that initially caught your eye. Walk further back and take in the whole scene. Don't forget the foreground and background and how they frame your subject!

3. Move Higher Or Lower – When studying your subject, what angles are available? Is there a nearby hill to walk up, or down and view? Explore all the angles and surprise your viewer!

Best Outdoor Subjects For Your 85mm Lens

Anything is fair game when it comes to using your 85mm prime lens. While it's not going to be the lens of choice for birds and small animals, some of same approaches used with a ‘walk around lens' on the streets applies with nature photography.

Close-Up Photography

Even though the 85mm prime lens isn't a macro, it does allow a closeness to objects that create intimate, interesting perspectives of details. Focus in on an object that stands out from the rest, that's a different color, shape or size. It could be a flower that's a different color than the rest, ivy or bark that is scaling up a tree in an unusual pattern.

Landscape And Street Photography

The 85mm prime lens really shines with landscape and street scenes. While technically a portrait is defined as an depiction of a person, consider that there are other subject opportunities to capture a ‘portrait' of. Just look at this beautiful portrayal of an empty street in the late afternoon!

Just-Get-Out-There Photography

This is the nature version of walking around with the lens on the street. For the avid bird and nature photographers, it is very hard to leave the telephoto behind.

A recommendation would be to go out with the 85mm prime lens on the back end of the trip or later in the day. This would be after the wildlife images have been captured. Revisiting the paths traveled or a nearby area with your 85mm can re-invigorate photography skills and senses!

As a portrait lens, the 85mm prime lens captures a portrait of a face, an entire body without distortion. For outdoors and nature, this prime lens is a an effective tool in creatively capturing beauty and imagery with clarity.

What is the Canon 85mm lens good for?

Is an 85mm lens good for street photography?

Is an 85mm good for family photography?

Is 85mm only for portraits?