Best Portrait and Wedding Lenses for Nikon DSLRs

Here are the selection of the best portrait and wedding lenses for Nikon DSLR cameras.

Although it seems to be a simple list for professional users, we think it will be helpful for new users of portrait and wedding photography.

The Nikon 35mm f/1.8G lens at the top of the list takes our place as our recommendation. If you’re looking for an affordable, all-around lens, it has the quality of more expensive lenses and can really blur the background nicely.

If you’re using an entry-level or semi-pro DX model, then you also have to count in the 1.5x crop factor. This means that a 35mm lens is actually equivalent to a 50mm lens. For group shots you need a wide-angle lens. This means focal lengths under 35mm, while for portrait shootings this can vary between 35mm to 200mm.

Recommended portrait and wedding lenses for Nikon DSLRs

Now let’s take a look at the portrait and wedding lenses for Nikon DSLRs, as we will present it as a recommendation.

People usually go for f/4 and under wide aperture lenses. Obviously they are doing the right thing. The biggest advantage of this is that it allows you to shoot both indoor and outdoor without increasing the ISO value. Shooting with big apertures also blurs the background nicely, making your subject stand out.

These lenses are also great for weddings, traveling, low light, street photography, and for when you want to carry around no more than a single lens.

Prime and Zoom lenses we covered:

Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX | Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S | Nikon 85mm f/1.8G AF-S | Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM | Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED | Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S

Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX

The Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX is cheap, small and delivers high quality, sharp images. This lens is good for wedding, portrait, casual, low light, indoor photographers. The focal length is actually perfect for almost everything except for wildlife shootings.

It has a metal mount and the aperture f/1.8 aperture is brilliant for low light situations. Makes blur the background so your subject really stand out.

The lens has a price tag around $200. Click here to buy it on Amazon.

Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S

The Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S FX is designed to work perfectly on all Nikon’s DSLR cameras. This FX lens provides good image quality and sharpness. When used on a DX camera, it gives angles of view similar to what a 75mm lens gives when used on a full-frame camera. This makes its bokeh looks more pleasing and makes it more appropriate if you’re really into portraits or like having a shallow depth of field on your images.

The lens has a price tag a little bit more $200. Click here to buy it on Amazon.

Nikon 85mm f/1.8G AF-S

The Nikon 85mm f/1.8G AF-S provides superb image quality, beautiful colors and bokeh. This is one of the best lenses Nikon has ever made. The focal length makes it perfect for situations like concert or wedding shootings. 85mm is also an ideal fixed focal length which is great for photographing faces.

The lens has a price tag a little bit more $450. Click here to buy it on Amazon.

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM

Here you are the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM. We had to list this one because it is a dream come true for many photographers. Actually if you can afford the price this might be one of the best portrait and wedding lenses for Nikon DSLRs.

When mounted on an DX camera, its field of view is equivalent to a 50mm lens just like the budget-friendly version of Nikon’s 35mm. But it offers bright aperture that stands at f/1.4. It’s tack sharp even at this maximum aperture. This lens is perfect for almost any type of shootings, especially for portrait, wedding and extreme low light photography.

The lens has a price tag a little bit more $899. Click here to buy it on Amazon.

Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

The Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G is probably the best all-around zoom lens out there with  its image quality. With the ability to zoom from 24 to 70mm and still having f/2.8 bright aperture, you can able to shoot almost anything.

This is an everyday lens and offers good contrast and colors. It has very good optical quality as well as the AF performance, even on entry-level DSLRs.

The lens has a price tag a little bit more $1800. Click here to buy it on Amazon.

Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S

This Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S gives amazing image quality, large aperture f/2.8 and fast auto focus. Ideal for professional wedding photographers, it has a great build quality. If you’re a photographer who wants the best for the money than, you will love this lens. The 70-200mm range and f/2.8 aperture makes it perfect for concerts, weddings, sports and portrait shootings.

The lens has a price tag a little bit more $2000. Click here to buy it on Amazon.

It is not easy to take portraits or even deal professionally with wedding photography. Besides photographic knowledge and skill, it also brings with it the need for good camera gear and equipment.

In this article, we have tried to sort out the best portrait and wedding lenses for Nikon that we thought were the best for users at all levels. We hope that was a useful article for you. If you want to add, you can contribute by writing in your comments.

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