Camera Gear for Portrait Photography
What’s a good camera I should BUY?
A question I get all the time. My response is usually get a full frame camera body you can afford. A full frame camera body is most likely a camera that will be compatible with an array of lenses and have the capability to shoot in many different situations. However, in this article I will be talking about only TWO pieces of camera gear for portrait photography I use for 99% of my portraits; the Nikon D750 and Nikon 85mm AFS F1.8 Lens.
The Body – camera Gear for portrait photography
Nikon D750
A superb, budget-friendly full-frame option camera from Nikon I completely stand behind is the Nikon D750. The D750 is a great camera thats been around since 2014 and I’ve been shooting with the D750 since it came out. I love this camera for a bunch or reasons. Even though it’s almost eight years old, it still holds up to everything I need to do to this day. I’ve used it to shoot weddings, NHL, skateboarding, portraits, commercial, products and events. As a matter of fact, I’m on my 4th D750 camera body. The D750 is affordable, rugged, feels good in you hand while shooting. Here are the main features I feel that make this camera a great choice for your portrait photography gear needs.
Size and Weight
What I love about it is the size and build quality of the camera.
- Weight -1 lb 13.7 oz,
- Dimension: 141 x 113 x 78 mm (5.55 x 4.45 x 3.07″)
With a 85mm 1.8 lens on the camera, the total weight in under 2 lbs. Perfect for long days of shooting, especially weddings or events. I’ve had bigger cameras in the past that surprisingly cause back problems while holding shooting long shoots. This camera hasn’t given me any back problems.
Focus
The D750 has the same focusing system in the pro D5 camera which incredibly fast. I use the single spot focus when shooting portraits. The single spot focus has the capability to be moved to 51 different points allowing you to focus on your subject where you want. The other type of focus settings I use is the single and constant focus. The single focus basically is used when the subject is stationary and the constant focus is used when tracking a moving subject.
ISO
- Native ISO Sensitivity: 100-12,800.
- Boost Low ISO Sensitivity: 50.
- Boost High ISO Sensitivity: 25,600-51,200.
Another thing I really like about the D750 is the ISO (sensitivity to light). My Previous two cameras were the D7000 and D610. Both were top the line when they came out and had exceptional ISO settings. However, the D750 exceed in the this feature. I’ve shot NHL games at 3200 ISO speed and see no real grain. Thats pretty impressive. For Portraits, try to stay around Low Boost to ISO 200. This way I can have the least minimal noise in my photos.
The Lens – camera Gear for portrait photography
85MM 1.8 – Portrait Lens
My ALL TIME favorite lens for portrait photography gear is the Nikon AFS 85MM f1.8. This lens is sharp as a tack. Plus it’s a pretty compact lens. I’ve had the f1.4 Nikon version before, while it was an amazing lens, it was WAY too heavy for me. Plus when shooting you’d have to use a faster shutter speed when using it because you would get camera shake if the shutter was too slow. If you’re looking to shoot portraits you can got wrong with having this lens. I highly suggest it.
SAMPLE PHOTOS
Here are some shots I’ve taken over the years with the Nikon D750 and Nikon 85mm AFS f1.8. If you have any questions about any photos, equipment, setting or any photography related stuff, please leave a comment or connect with me on social media.
