The extended reach of a telephoto isn’t the only advantage that the class of lens offers. Telephotos also give compression that is flattering for many subjects, whether shooting headshots or full-body shots.

Many telephotos also add macro capabilities for high-resolution representations of smaller subjects like wedding rings or flowers and bouquets.

The $699 Laowa 105mm f/2 Smooth Trans Focus (STF) is a good choice for portaiture as it uses an Apodization (APD) element that enhances background bokeh blur without affecting overall image sharpness.

Hitting shelves this last September, the $1,399 Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM Art lens is a full-frame portrait-length for Canon, Nikon, Sony and the new L-Mount from Leica, Panasonic and Sigma themselves.

With a bright aperture for shallow depth of field, the lens is also a good choice for low light photography.

Nikon’s $799 NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S lens was unveiled in July as a fast portrait-length for the Z Series of Z 6, Z 7 and Z 50 mirrorless cameras. It works with Nikon’s new Eye-Detection autofocus.

Released in May as the first lens with Blue Spectrum Refractive (BR) Optics, enabling such a large f/1.2 aperture, Canon refers to their $2,699 RF 85mm F1.2 L USM for the EOS R and EOS RP mirrorless cameras as their “go-to” portrait lens.

A new version in Ocober, the $2,999 RF 85mm F1.2 L USM DS, added a Defocus Smoothing (DS) optical coating for smoother bokeh.

On the higher end, the $4,990 Zeiss Otus 100mm f/1.4 lens for Canon EF and Nikon F DSLR mounts has premium optics but only manual focus operations.

The sleek, all-metal barrel design is matched to the wider $4,990 Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4, a wider alternate option for portraiture. Both are comparatively heavy at roughly three pounds apiece.

Sony’s $2,099 FE 135mm f/1.8 GM lens has a large 11-blade aperture for a natural circular bokeh and large degree of separation to background and out-of-focus elements.

Tokina’s $499 Fı́RIN 100mm F2.8 FE Macro for the Sony E-mount, a mirrorless camera system, is sistered by their latest, the $429 ATX-i 100mm F2.8 Macro for Canon EF and Nikon F DSLR cameras.

These twin lenses have minimum focusing distance of 11.8-inches from the front of the lens and a “true” 1:1 magnification.

A 1:1 magnification ratio means that the subject in a composition is represented at life-sized proportions, a feature sought after by photographers looking for sharp close-ups of flowers, insects, flora and fauna.

For wedding and event photographers, macro is useful for detail shots for things like wedding rings, table settings, flowers and bouquets.

Tamron’s $349 SP 90mm F/2.8 Macro VC USD is another macro with 1:1 magnification for Canon EF, Nikon F and Sony E-mount.

Macros can over-emphasize proportions, too.

The $449 Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2:1 Ultra-Macro APO has 2x magnification that exaggerates foreground subjects to twice their size. It’s available for Canon EF, Nikon F and Sony E-mount.

At half the size of full-frame sensors, the MFT camera mount used by Olympus, Panasonic and Blackmagic gives twice the equivalent lens reach, useful for covering events, weddings and sports from a distance.

The $899 Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-200mm f/3.5-6.3 has 16.6x magnification for 24-40mm coverage. They say this is the longest equivalent zooming range available in an interchangeable lens for mirrorless systems.

For APS-C portrait-length telephoto coverage, the $1,199 Fujinon XF80mm F2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro for X-mount APS-C mirrorless has a 1:1 ratio and a 122mm equivalence.

Compatible $449 Fujifilm XF 1.4x TC WR and XF 2x TC WR teleconverters can extend that effective focal length to an equivalent 171mm and 244mm.

Medium-format Telephoto Lenses for Portraiture

Conversely to APS-C and MFT, stepping up to medium-format gives inverse equivalence.

Equivalent to a full-frame focal range of 79-158mm, Fujifilm’s Fujinon GF100-200mm F5.6 R LM OIS WR is their first telephoto zoom for the GFX medium-format system.

Hasselblad’s $4,050 XCD 2,8/135 lens is available with a 1.7x converter at $4,845. The medium-format lens for their X Series of mirrorless mount cameras like X1D II 50C has roughly a 0.8 conversion giving the equivalent angle-of-view of a 105mm in full-frame.

The 1.7x converter creates an equivalent 178mm, or 229 in medium-format.The 1.7x converter creates an equivalent 178mm, or 229 in medium-format.

Related:
New DSLR Lenses for Canon EF and Nikon F Mounts

2019’s Newest Mirrorless Lenses and Optics for Events, Video and Portraiture