Portrait Photography

The versatility of the 70-200mm G2, specifically when it comes to its focal-length range, is exactly what I’m seeking for my portraiture—especially for the celebrity photos I take. The lens allows me to create either environmental portraits on the wide end, capture a full-length photo, or zoom in tight for a headshot. I also love the compression the lens offers at 200mm. This is all especially important for my celebrity portraiture, because those clients usually want a narrative they can use for a variety of purposes, whether it’s publicity shots for their website and social media pages or for other marketing and promotional collateral.

For me, as a portrait photographer, how my equipment renders colors and skin tones is critical. This lens is ideal in my book. The 70-200 G2 provides consistent, accurate color no matter which camera I’m using (and I use a few different ones). For instance, I don’t like that blue cast that sometimes occurs with certain lenses; the 70-200 G2 offers a warmer tone I prefer. I always do a customized white balance when I’m shooting, but it’s nice to know that the lens will come through for me either way and serve up the colors I want. I always know what I’m going to get.

The e-BAND coating has also come in particularly handy for me. I take a lot of outdoor environmental portraits, and I use the sun for backlighting, where I shoot from an angle so that my subject’s head blocks the sun. The anti-reflection properties in that coating ensure I don’t get ghosting or flare in my images. The 70-200mm G2 is a standout lens all around for me.