The 85mm focal length is desired the most by portrait and wedding photographers. Its narrow focal length, large maximum aperture and minimum focusing distance are all targeted at shooting portrait subjects.
Large Maximum Aperture
The maximum aperture on the 85mm lens is shallow. With an aperture of 1.4-1.8, there are two important benefits to this lens.
You have the ability to capture a very large aperture and hence shallow depth of field. This also allows for more light to fall onto the camera’s sensor assisting photographers shooting indoors in low light situations.
Although I tend not to shoot this shallow, and it’s really designed for those blurry background portrait shots, it’s definitely a nice feature.
The 85mm focal length is considered a narrow focal length. The opposite of a wide-angle focal length, you’ll find that using this lens captures a very tight crop.
And that tight crop aids minimalist composition. By cutting out the extra space in which to build composition, you’re left with little space (hence cutting out the noise).
When there is less space in the frame, we need less props to build our composition. For me, this lens aids the minimalist composition that I love. Even with just one or two props, we can make our shots look aesthetically pleasing and have organic movement.