Get Versatile with Velvet 85

With its 85mm focal length, our Velvet 85 lens lets you create some stunning portraits - but you can use it to add something special to so many other genres of photography than just portraiture. Out shooting landscapes and want to get a closer view from where you stand? Velvet 85, with that extra compression you get from the longer focal length and the beautiful round bokeh, can make things magical. Shoot wide open for uber-impressionistic landscapes or stop down and get tack sharp shots with just a little bit of edge fall-off. Want to get close-in on the details of a scene? Velvet 85 can do that too. Read on below to see why you might want to pack your Velvet 85 for treks out into nature or on urban explorations.

These are some of my favorite nature, landscape, macro and street shots I've taken with Velvet 85. I'm not a people shooter in general, and I still find tons of things to get excited about shooting with this lens.

Velvet 85, f/1.8

Velvet 85, f/5.6

Velvet 85, f/2

Velvet 85, f/2

Velvet 85, f/1.8

Velvet 85, f/1.8

Velvet 85, f/4

Velvet 85, f/1.8

These two shots of this sweet, classic car do well to illustrate the range of effect that's possible with Velvet 85.

Velvet 85, f/1.8

Velvet 85, f/4

To really illustrate the range of effect you can get with this lens, I took my Velvet 85 on a hike to my happy place - the Oregon Coast - this weekend. This is actually one of my favorite lenses for shooting landscapes and nature in general due to the reasons above. I got creative and used a bench at a lookout point for a tripod and shot this Cape Lookout State Park scene all the way from wide open, soft & impressionistic down to completely stopped down, tack sharp. Check out this selection to get an idea of the range of effect possible.

Velvet 85, f/1.8

Velvet 85, f/2.8

Velvet 85, f/5.6

Velvet 85, f/8

Velvet 85's versatility continues when you get close (minimum focusing distance is 9.5" from the front of the lens). I tested the range in enhancing the movement of the wind through the reeds - and then stopped down to freeze them in time.

Velvet 85, f/1.8

Velvet 85, f/4

Velvet 85, f/8

We'd love to see some of the non-portrait, out of the box photos you're shooting with your Velvet 85. Feel free to share them in the comments below, or email them to submissions@lensbaby.com