When you think of a 500mm lens, shooting portraits probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Still, Keydrin Franklin used it for this unordinary purpose. He tested out how Sigma 500mm f/4 performs in portrait photography, and in this video, you can see some examples and hear his impressions.
Keydrin shot with a Sony A9 and a Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM for Nikon. He used a Sigma MC-11 lens adapter so he can attach the lens to his Sony camera. When it comes to lighting, he used a Godox AD600Pro and a Flashpoint eVOLV 200 with softboxes. Here are a couple of shots:
This lens is generally used for sports and wildlife photography. But as you can see, it does a great job for portraits as well. The level of background separation is unreal and the subject really pops in the images.
On the minus side, with a lens like this, you need to stand pretty far away from the subject. This can be impractical for portraits because it can be difficult to direct the model when you’re far away. Manny Ortiz often mentions this problem, even though the portraits can really look good when taken with telephoto lenses.
Keep in mind that Sigma 500mm f/4 is kinda heavy and it’s expensive, so there’s probably no point in buying it if you’re not shooting wildlife or sports. But if you own it or want to rent it for some wildlife or sports photography, I suggest you also try shooting portraits with it.
[OMG… HE USED A SIGMA 500MM F/4 FOR PORTRAITS WITH THE SONY A9 |Keydrin Franklin]
