Best Cameras for Portraits

Fujifilm X-T2 body boasts advanced X-Processor Pro digital microprocessor that is reportedly 4 times faster, compared with the previous X-T1 model. Thus, it can shoot at 8 FPS rate that may come in handy if you want to capture a person in motion or your subject is not a professional model. At the maximum ISO setting, the sensor may produce a fine-grain black-and-white photography, especially in low-light conditions.

Among other characteristics and shooting modes, that make it one of the best cameras for portraits, we want to highlight the Fujifilm's special ACROS filter feature. If you ever worked with Fujifilm Neopan 100 ACROS negative film, you might know that it delivers deep black colors with rich gradation in BW photos. By turning this feature on, you will get similar 135 film-quality pictures in up to 6000x4000 pixels resolution with the modern, easy-to-use mirrorless camera.

If you are a fan of handheld photography, you might like such an additional accessory for this camera as Fujifilm VPB-XT2 Vertical Power Booster Grip (not included). At first, some might think that this a common battery life extender that is attached to the bottom of the body via a threaded hole for a tripod. However, it has several elements that will take the camera's performance to the next level. The grip has a slot for its own memory card that can be used for data mirroring from the camera's card. Or you can use it as an extra storage after the main card is full. Furthermore, the booster grip improves FPS rate from 8 to 11 in high-speed continuous shooting by decreasing the shutter lag time.

Concluding, Fujifilm X-T2 mirrorless camera body is an excellent choice for amateur and professional photographers who want to obtain a compact-like portable camera with the option to change lenses for adapting it to various shooting styles and conditions. With the right lens and in ACROS mode, you can ultimately get stunning black-and-white photos and also capture just the right facial expressions, owing to the high-speed shutter.

Compared to the previous model, the camera's got improved phase autofocus and more than twice the number of cross-type AF points. Thus, it can pinpoint the subject faster and simply better, which is especially noticeable in dim lighting. You can also try to set the focus by tapping the camera's touchscreen with your finger on the subject. It also has the anti-flicker feature for compensating the flickering light from electric lamps. The buffer can hold up to 100 jpeg and 25 RAW images in continuous shooting, allowing you to capture the smallest expression changes on your subject's face. To sum up, you can use the camera settings for indoor portraits in order to get crisp and sharp photos under any conditions.

Another characteristic, that may interest both beginners and pros, is NFC and Wi-Fi support. So, now you can share your photos or upload them to the mobile or PC without taking the memory card out. Additionally, you can install the official mobile app to control your camera remotely. The wireless interface also comes in handy as the camera doesn't have any cables for uploading photos to the computer. However, it has HDMI and USB Mini-B type out for hooking it up to PC or TV.

Although Canon EOS 80D body has a crop sensor it may still be the best DSLR for portraits from the entry-level category. Thus, we advise combining it with the 35mm lens and with EF or EF-S mount for obtaining the optimal focal length, equivalent to the 50mm on Full-Frame cameras. As for the settings, you can select one of the preset modes like 'portrait', that blurs the out-of-focus zones in the photo, or 'Candlelight portrait' for retaining the candlelight colors. There's also the preset for shooting night portraits with the aperture priority for delivering more naturally looking night scene.

Nikon D3300 kit comes in the set with Nikkor 18–55mm f/3.5–5.6G VR Lens. It's a zoom type with a variable focal length that will allow you to use it not only for portraits, but for scenery, nature, and other genres as well. The autofocus has 11-point autofocusing system for effective pinpointing the in-focus area, that is imperative for highlighting your subject in portrait photography. If you have at least some basic knowledge of photo editing, we totally recommend shooting in RAW format instead of JPEG. That way, you can retouch the photo more effectively and add more filters, layers to it, too.

In continuous shooting mode, the RAW format is limited by 5 FPS, and JPEG - 14 FPS rate. Keep in mind, that the photos are stored in the buffer first and require some time for the CPU to process them. In other words, you can obtain about 100 photos in JPG and around 35 in RAW format before the buffer is full and needs a pause.

As a side note, this camera body has no focusing mechanism. So, if you are going to buy new lenses for it, look for Nikon/Nikkor lenses with AF-S letters in the name - the indication of a lens-integrated focusing motor.

Nikon D3300 Digital SLR Camera has several filters and options, dedicated to the portraiture. In the common 'Portrait mode', the photo tends to have more natural skin color with the softened background details for emphasizing the attention on your subject. 'Night portrait' mode's name speaks for itself. The best one, in our opinion, is the 'Low key'. Use it in dull lighting or even in the darkness for taking bold, texturised, noir-themed waist-ups and face portraits.

Concluding, this is a fine Nikon portrait camera for beginners to get into the details and small nuances of the genre and to improve their skills when a compact or phone's camera just don't have the required quality for portrait snapshots in various lighting settings. 

The camera comes in the kit with the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II Lens. It features an optical stabilization system that compensates all vibrations from trembling hands. If you want to take a photo of a dynamically moving subject - a child on the playground or a racing car, there's the AI Servo AF mode that can keep the focus on a target by pressing the shutter halfway down. In continuous shooting, the shooting speed is not too impressive - around 2-3 FPS, while the buffer can hold up to 69 images in JPEG and up to 6 in RAW before the speed drops down significantly, giving the camera time to process the photos. However, where it lacks in speed and performance, it more than makes up for it with functionality.

The AF mechanism is fast and very smooth for crisp and sharp in-focus area and blurred background details. We also recommend taking a few steps away from your subject and use a zoom at around 31mm focal length. That way, you'll get the focal perspective, equal to the 50mm on a Full Frame sensor. 

In addition to the standard 'Portrait' and 'Night portrait' modes, the Auto mode is worth mentioning as well. It is very sensitive here - the camera chooses the right settings for the scenery in most cases, making it an easy job for beginners to take great photos right away.

With the Creative Auto Mode, you can effectively blur the background and even change the depth of the field manually. This is helpful for taking crisp portraits with blurred surroundings. Another way around, you can manually select the different tone filters for your images like warm, soft, cool, brighter, and many others to tune the colors in accordance with the lighting and your creative vision.

Ultimately, this is a great multi-purpose camera, that comes at a very cost-effective price.

Usability-wise, Sony Alpha a6000 controls are very ergonomic. We liked the option that enables AF automatically when you try looking through the viewfinder. The same sensor also auto-offs the larger LCD screen to save the battery, just like when you put a smartphone to your ear. Because of the mirrorless design, the camera doesn't have an optic viewfinder but features 0.39" electronic one. However, it boasts 100% coverage and 33° viewing angle, allowing you to see the high-contrast image with lots of details before you take a photo. What's more, 3" LCD screen can be tilted up and down at around 45°, but not to the left and to the right. The buttons, menu options, and configurations are straightforward and easy-to-understand. Even so, you can always use the in-camera guide by pressing FN and then C2 buttons on the menu entry to see the tips about what it does and how to use it.

 Although Sony Alpha a6000 Mirrorless Digital Camera doesn't exactly have a dedicated portrait mode, yet it has a Smile/Face detection that recognizes faces. Once it detects a smile, it automatically releases the shutter. Soft Skin Effect is excellent for smoothing skin features and instant beauty-retouching. The kit's Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens has a 7-blade diaphragm and produces smoothly rounded bokeh and softly blurred background, complimenting and highlighting the subject even further.

Another excellent feature is the Focus Magnifier. Basically, you can turn the option to enlarge the focus area to check out the small details or if the AF detected the right plane. The Auto Obj. Framing feature enables special face recognition tracking and, when you press the shutter, creates a cropped copy of the image with a supposedly better composition. It's not 100% successful all the time but can actually help you improve your skills by showing the alternative composition of the same scene.