Is the Sony 70-200mm GM OSS II Lens Good for Portraits?
I purchased the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens a few years ago because I wanted to have a lens that had a long focal length. Before then, the longest focal length I had for my Sony a7R III was my Sigma 85mm ART lens for the Sony E-Mount.
Although this has been a lens I have used mostly for travel photography, I was curious to know how this lens would perform when taking outdoor portraits during lifestyle photoshoot sessions with models.
In this blog post, I’ll be sharing my experience using the Sony 70-20mm telephoto lens and my opinion on whether or not it is a go-to lens for portraits. All photos in this blog were captured with the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G-Master OSS II lens and edited in Adobe Lightroom Classic.
Focal LengthS
As you might have guessed from my previous photoshoots, I enjoy using the 85mm focal length for a lot of my lifestyle photoshoots with models. The 70-20mm lens covers that focal length, but I usually use it to go further into 105mm and longer just so I can get a different style than an 85mm lens.
You can get a lot more compression with the longer focal lengths based on where you’re standing in relation to the model. I usually won’t go as far as 200mm just because I don’t like to have the background too compressed.
For me, one of the biggest drawbacks of using a lens that can go very wide is that you have to stand fairly far away from the model in order to reach the minimum focusing distance. Since I photograph outdoors, I usually have plenty of space if I’m shooting at the beach or in an open space in the city.
However, giving direction can be rough when you’re incredibly far away from the model so I usually just send up silently directing them by doing the movements myself and having them copy it.
Size and Weight of the Telephoto Lens
The Sony 70-20mm GM OSS II lens is the heaviest lens that I have in my camera bag (I usually don’t even take it with me as a backup lens unless I’m travelling and I know I will be using it). If the model is posing in one spot, then I’m usually okay with being able to hold it for a little while. But the weight of the lens can present a challenge if the model is moving around and you’re having to follow them.
Another potential drawback of the lens is just the actual size. If you’re working with a new model, having a giant lens like the Sony 70-200mm can be intimidating. The 85mm Sigma lens is much smaller and more compact. This might not be a factor to worry about if most of the talent you work with is already comfortable in front of the camera, but it’s something you might want to consider before bringing it to a portrait photoshoot.
Quality of the Lens
As expected, the Sony lens is able to deliver great quality images even paired with an older camera body like the Sony a7R III. Even though I usually chose prime lenses for my photography, this telephoto lens does a great job at capturing sharp photos that I look for in my images.
Specifically for lifestyle portraits, I always keep Eye-AF on in order to make sure that I’m getting the eyes in focus. The autofocus of this lens paired with the Sony camera body is able to stay on the eyes of the model for enough frames that I will have plenty of options to choose from in editing.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, I do think that the Sony 70-20mm lens is a good telephoto lens to use for portraits and has some benefits compared to using prime lenses or zoom lenses with wider focal lengths. If you like a fair amount of compression in your photo and don’t want as much distortion, then you have plenty of options to play around with this lens.
The two biggest obstacles you might face when shooting portraits with this lens is the weight and the minimum focusing distance required to get your subject in focus. The 70-200mm lens is the least-used lens in my camera bag just because of the additional weight in my camera bag.
Personally, I like to reserve this lens for landscape and architectural photography rather than portraits.
Let me know what you think of this lens and if it’s something you would consider using for your portrait photoshoots.
Thank you for reading and until next time.
Feel free to explore my website further with more photoshoots and reviews:
Outdoor Commercial Lifestyle Campaign Photography at Griffith Park
Creative Commercial Beach Campaign Photography in Santa Monica
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART Lens Review
Outdoor Editorial Lifestyle Venice Beach Photoshoot with Alex Cojocaru
