There is a focal length, above all others, that portrait photographers love. “There is a range between 70mm and 135mm, which is a sweet spot for keeping someone’s facial features accurate and free of distortion,” says photographer Hannah Couzens. “I like to be close to my subject, and a lot of my work is headshots, so the 85mm focal length is where I want to shoot. It creates the most accurate representation of a person.”

Like many other portrait photographers, Hannah shoots with the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 G Master lens, which she pairs with her Sony Alpha 7R IV. “I’ve never shot with a lens that’s as sharp as the 85mm G Master,” says Hannah. “I try to switch things up and shoot with different lenses, but I always return to the 85mm f/1.4 GM. It is on my camera 95% of the time.”

The combination of the Sony Alpha 7 IV with its incredible 61 megapixel resolution and the resolving power of the 85mm lens allows Hannah’s clients to make enormous prints for displays and exhibition venues, with no detail lost. “There is so much detail and sharpness. I have walked up to exhibition stands and seen my images printed as large as 5m and see every detail on an eyelash is still pin-sharp.”

But there is more to the power of a lens than just resolution. Each lens has a particular quality when it comes to colour and contrast. “There is also a special quality in the contrast in the images that the 85mm lens creates. I get incredible results straight out of the camera. It feels great to have images coming straight onto my camera screen or monitor and feel confident in the quality that I can show them straight to my clients.”

Most of Hannah’s portraits are lit using studio flash, meaning she doesn’t need to open the aperture to f/1.4 to take advantage of the extra light.

“The main reason I shoot with the aperture wide open at f/1.4 is when somebody wants a lifestyle-looking image, and I am in a situation where I need to isolate them from the background. This has happened quite a lot recently when clients want a shot in their office, but they don’t want the clutter of the background. I can shoot at f/1.4 and blur the background so that it adds context, but without ever distracting from the portrait. I have even shot in our studio and used our kitchen and reception area as a background. If you blur it enough, it makes it look like it could be an office area or at least somewhere other than in a studio. The large aperture just offers me that versatility when I need it.”

When shooting portraits, photographers value one thing above everything else; “No matter how technically brilliant you are, if you don’t have a good connection with the subject, then it’s really obvious in your photograph,” says Hannah. “The first step for me is always to build that connection.”

Working with the 85mm focal length means Hannah is a good working distance from her subject to communicate. “It’s a perfect distance for me to be able to talk to them, but without being right in their face,” says Hannah. It is through working with her subject that parts of their personality are revealed, and Hannah then works this on to the more technical aspects of the shoot, such as the posing, lighting, and exposure. “There’s no science to it,” she explains. “It is just a feeling. Suddenly, you find a combination that seems to sum up that person and get an accurate portrayal of them.”

With so much going on, Hannah relies on the autofocus of the Alpha 7R IV. “I haven’t manually focused for years,” she admits. “It feels a bit like cheating. But the Eye AF is so good that I never miss an image. I don’t want to become a lazy photographer, but I have enough to worry about. So if there is the option to make your life a little bit easier by using something like Eye AF, I can concentrate on the most important things: lighting, directing, and communicating with my client.”