The Best Canon Portrait Lens for 2025
What is the ultimate Canon portrait lens?
- Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens
- Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Z Lens
- Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM DS Lens
- Canon RF 135mm F1.8 L IS USM Lens
- Canon RF 24-105mm F2.8 L IS USM Z Lens
- Canon RF 28-70mm F2.8 IS STM Lens
- Canon RF 50mm F1.2 L USM Lens
- Canon RF 70-200mm F4 L IS USM Lens
- Canon RF 85mm F2 Macro IS STM Lens
- Canon RF 100mm F2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens
As a generalization, the above list is sorted in preference, utility, performance, and price descending sequence.
Do you own a Canon DSLR camera? Our Best Canon DSLR Portrait Lens recommendations page has your recommendations.
About Canon Portrait Lenses
Nearly every lens be used as a portrait lens. Lenses with focal lengths ranging from 11mm through 800mm can be used to capture the world's most valuable (but not always the most cooperative) subject: people. Still, not all lenses are good choices for all portrait photography, while some lenses seem explicitly made for this purpose.
The first portrait photography concept that needs to be understood is perspective. If the camera is too close to the subject, the part of the body closest to the lens, usually the nose, is going to appear too large relative to the rest of the body. This effect is due to perspective distortion. If the nose is half as far away as the ear, the nose will appear 2x larger relative to the ear. Move in too close, and the subject may become uncomfortable with you in their personal space, creating a tension that does not photograph well.
Being too far away from a subject brings other problems. Facial features may become too compressed in appearance, and being too far away complicates communication. Longer focal length lenses require more working distance than their wider counterparts, and physical obstacles can inhibit the necessary line of sight.
The portrait lens focal length decision should be based on the perspective you want, the subject framing desired, and the working space available. A wide-angle lens is best used for environmental portraits where your subject is shown along with their surroundings. Conversely, a long telephoto lens should be used for tight headshots.
Conventional teaching is that the 85-135mm focal length range is ideal for portrait photography (after any field of view crop factor is accounted for). I generally agree with this teaching, though I will often use wider focal lengths such as 50mm for full body portraits or 24mm for environmental portraits, and I prefer a longer focal length such as 200mm for tightly-framed headshot images.
A blurred background will make your portrait subjects pop. Longer focal length lenses will make blurring away a distracting background easier, as will wide apertures. The wide apertures will provide a reduced depth of field, so the depth of field vs. background blur must be considered. I like the mouth and both eyes to minimally be in focus.
If shooting in a studio with a background such as rolled paper and lighting with studio strobes, narrow apertures such as f/8 or f/11 will likely be in use, and all lenses have these options available. The sample portrait included at the top of this page was captured with a 85mm focal length and an f/1.2 aperture. The background is melting away, while a pleasing head and shoulders perspective has been captured.
With that background, move on to some recommendations. Remember that the suggested lenses are simply a selection of favorites for portrait photography, and a huge list of additional lenses can be used for this purpose.
The Best Canon Portrait Lenses
1. Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Z Lens
Incredible Optical Quality, Outstanding Overall Performance, Wide Aperture, Ideal Focal Lengths, Image Stabilization, Professional Grade
This is the sharpest zoom lens we've ever tested. The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Z is an extremely useful, high-end, mid-sized, fixed-size lens that reliably delivers outstanding overall performance, including outstanding image quality, fast and quiet Dual Nano USM AF, and 5.5-stop IS (7.5 stops with Coordinated IBIS). This lens is a perfect choice for weddings, portraits, and photojournalism.
2. Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens
The Entire Package: Impressive image quality and Overall Performance, Wide Aperture, All of the Right Focal Lengths, Image Stabilization, Pro-Grade Build, Incredibly Compact
The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens is my go-to general-purpose telephoto zoom lens. This lens is the right choice for a very high percentage of general telephoto photography needs, with landscapes and portraits being ideally covered.
Few want to compromise image quality, and this L-series lens delivers greatness in that regard. Fast and accurate AF? That box is checked. Pro-grade, weather-sealed build quality? Ruggedness is built in. High-performing image stabilzation is there for you when the tripod is not, and the wide aperture enables stopping motion in low light.
3. Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM Lens
Incredibly-Wide Aperture, Impressively Sharp Wide-Open, Good General-Purpose Portrait Focal Length, Pro-Grade Lens
This lens is fat, heavy, and, especially for a prime lens, expensive. However, the sharp, background-blurred images this lens produces at f/1.2 will quickly have you overlooking any downsides of this lens. This lens rules low light events.
The RF 85 F1.2 L gets the full L-series pro-grade build quality and performance features.
4. Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM DS Lens
Just Like the Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM Lens With Better Wide Aperture Bokeh
The DS version of this lens gives up some light at wide apertures but produces better bokeh at the same. This lens is all about portraiture.
5. Canon RF 135mm F1.8 L IS USM Lens
Insanely Sharp, Ultra-Wide f/1.8 Aperture, Outstanding AF Performance, Impressive Image Stabilization System, Professional Grade
The RF 135mm F1.8 L IS is one of the highest performing lenses ever created.
If you like sharp, this lens has your name on it.
Additionally, the 135mm f/1.8 focal length and aperture combination is super useful, especially for photographing people, including people participating in events. Few lenses can blur the background more diffusely than this one, and making the subject pop from a blur of color is differentiatingly beautiful.
F/1.8 combined with a 5.5-stop image stabilization system (8 stops coordinated with IBIS) is ready to tackle extremely low light scenarios, and weather-sealed, professional-grade build quality is ready for high-volume daily use.
6. Canon RF 24-105mm F2.8 L IS USM Z Lens
Record Setting Focal Length Range and Wide Aperture Combination, Outstanding AF Performance, High Performing Image Stabilization System, Overall Professional Grade
Welcome to the world's first 24-105mm f/2.8 lens. For many photographers, this lens ends the 24-70mm f/2.8 vs. 24-105mm f/4 debate. With the formerly available professional-grade standard zoom lens choices, 70mm on the Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens was not always long enough, and f/4 on the Canon RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM Lens was not always wide enough. With the RF 24-105mm F2.8 L IS USM Z, you can have the extended focal length range and the wider aperture, and that difference is big.
What subject is that record setting focal length range and aperture combination ideal for? People are at the top of that list. This focal length range affords a wide enough range of perspectives and subject framing to be the single lens for a wedding, including the details, or portrait shoot. The wide aperture is ideal for blurring the background and for stopping motion in low light.
Image quality was not forsaken to obtain the desirable focal length range and aperture combination. Though the strong barrel distortion at the wide end requires correction, this lens produces outstanding image quality.
Quiet, high-performing image stabilization and AF systems further aid this lens's photographic advantages, and the red ring indicates that this full-featured lens is built for the rigors of professional use. The "Z" designation highlights compatibility with Canon's Power Zoom Adapter, indicative of this lens's high video utility.
This lens is expensive, heavy, and large, but professional people photographers will find the advantages far outweigh the downsides.
7. Canon RF 28-70mm F2.8 IS STM Lens
Most Used Focal Length Range, Wide Aperture, Step-Above Image Quality, Lightweight, Compact, Affordable
This provides a wide f/2.8 aperture over a solid general-purpose focal length range in a weather-sealed body. Excellent AF performance ensures that this lens's above-average image quality is fully utilized. The affordable price tag should capture your attention.
8. Canon RF 50mm F1.2 L USM Lens
Impressive Image Quality, Extremely Wide Aperture, Useful Portrait Focal Length, L-Series Professional Grade Build
The 50mm focal length is very popular for portraiture, and Canon made this lens a high priority when building out the RF lens series.
While some may find the price of this lens difficult to hurdle, the Canon RF 50mm F1.2 L USM Lens will be a constantly used model for many.
9. Canon RF 70-200mm F4 L IS USM Lens
Excellent Image Quality, All of the Right Focal Lengths, Relatively Light Weight, Modest Cost, Moderately Wide Aperture, Image Stabilization, Pro-Grade Build, Incredibly Compact
Reduce the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens's aperture opening by 1/2, and you get the Canon RF 70-200mm F4 L IS USM Lens. Advantages of the narrower aperture include reduced size, reduced weight, and reduced cost. When f/2.8 is not needed, this lens is the best option.
10. Canon RF 85mm F2 Macro IS STM Lens
Economical, Compact, Light, Good General-Purpose Portrait Focal Length, Image Stabilization, 0.5x Macro Capablities
Those on a tight budget have a great portrait option in the Canon RF 85mm F2 Macro IS STM Lens.
11. Canon RF 100mm F2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens
Light Weight, Impressive Image Quality, Fast/Accurate AF, Hybrid Image Stabilization, Professional-Grade Build
The RF 100 L Macro Lens is an extremely fun lens to use. Plentiful subjects, along with the great overall performance, will reward the RF 100 L IS owner for many years. Image stabilization not only improves handheld available light photography image quality significantly but also makes framing at high magnification considerably easier. While this lens has true 1:1 reproduction ratio capabilities, the 100mm focal length and outstanding image quality work excellently for portraits. The wide f/2.8 aperture is helpful for stopping action in low light, and that aperture and focal length combination is superb for blurring the background.
Visit the Best Canon Lenses page for more recommendations.
The best portrait lens needs the Best Portrait Camera behind it. Check out our recommendations to complete your kit.
