I've been shooting on my D7500 for like four years now and I thought I had my kit mostly figured out for what I do, but man, I am hitting a wall with this portrait stuff lately. My sister is graduating next month and she wants me to do some professional looking shots in the local park but everything I have is just... wrong? Like, I use the 35mm f/1.8G for basically everything and it's a great little lens but for actual headshots it just feels weirdly wide and I hate how much I have to crowd her space to get a tight frame. Plus the distortion is driving me crazy if I get too close.
I tried using my old 18-140mm zoom just to see if the compression helped but the aperture is so small that I'm getting zero background separation even at 85mm. It looks like a glorified cell phone pic. I know the 85mm f/1.8G is the gold standard but I just checked the prices and even used ones are pushing way past what I can afford right now after having to fix the transmission on my car last week. I literally have maybe $250, maybe $300 tops if I skip lunch for a week.
Heres what I've tried or looked at so far:
- The 35mm 1.8 which makes noses look huge up close
- The kit zoom which is just way too slow at f/5.6 for that blurry background look
- Borrowing a friends old manual 50mm which was a nightmare to focus on a moving person
I looked at some of those weird third-party lenses like the Yongnuo or the Samyang stuff but I'm worried the quality is gonna be garbage or the autofocus will hunt forever and I'll miss the shot. Is there anything else out there that actually works for DX sensors without costing a mortgage payment? I need that sweet spot where I can actually get some decent bokeh and not make her face look stretched out. What is the best budget portrait lens for Nikon DX cameras that wont break the bank right now?
Like someone mentioned, the 50mm is the safest play. Over the years, Ive found the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G much more reliable than those hit-or-miss third-party options tho.
Re: "Like someone mentioned, the 50mm is the safest..." - adding my two cents, but ngl that Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G is the only logical choice. On your DX sensor the 1.5x crop factor makes it a 75mm equivalent. Technically ideal for headshots. You avoid the barrel distortion of the 35mm while keeping that f/1.8 aperture for separation. Its sharpest around f/2.2. Grab it used for under $200. Easy choice.
I think you might want to consider a used 50mm f/1.8 prime lens. Not sure if the prices have spiked lately, but IIRC they usually sit well under your 300 dollar budget. Be careful with the older versions though, as you really want that snappy autofocus for a graduation shoot.
- 50mm on DX hits that 75mm sweet spot for portraits
- It handles background blur way better than any kit zoom
