What’s the go-to lens Meg Loeks uses for her everyday photography?

What’s not to love about the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art lens? I’m able to capture beautiful compression and bokeh with the longer lens length, but be at a safe distance from my children when I need to be. I get the dreaminess of a telephoto lens without having to quickly back up from my children to photograph them. That’s why the new Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art is an amazing everyday lens.

The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 lens is often on my Sony camera in and around my home. The image above was a planned image I had wanted to capture of my children shucking corn. Some of the most special moments for me growing up were the simple ones, like shucking corn on the porch with my dad. These nostalgic moments are the reason I pick up my camera, and the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art makes it easy to do that in a dreamy and magical way.

The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art lens is surprisingly portable.

When I first held the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art lens, I was immediately impressed with the compact size. It’s similar to the 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art in dimensions, but it’s much smaller and lighter than the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM for the Canon EF mount. Seeing as one of my favorite features of my Sony a7R IV camera is its smaller size, it would certainly be counterproductive to pair it with a large, heavy lens. This camera/lens combo is wonderfully portable.

The images below are a perfect example of its portability. As summer was quickly drawing to an end, we decided to take one last trip to the beach. I’m sure many parents can relate to the amount of bags we often need to pack, even if it’s just a short day trip. Because of this, I try to pack minimal gear. We had to hike into this beach, and it was so nice being able to carry lightweight, high quality gear.

It’s tack sharp.

Sigma is known for producing fast, sharp, high-quality lenses, and true to form, this lens is all that. With the new 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art, I’m able to easily grab focus on a fast-moving toddler wide open at f/1.4. For example, look at this image of my daughter feeding our chickens (below). It’s virtually impossible for me to pose her. I want my daughter to be able to move freely, while I depend on a telephoto lens that’s going to quickly and sharply capture moments of her.

I love the Sigma 85mm for children’s portraiture.

While I love to use Sigma’s 85mm lenses for lifestyle photography, they also make amazing portrait lenses. In the image below, I was able to easily grab focus shooting through a screen door at f/1.6. The combination of my Sony’s auto eye tracker and the 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art lens helped me quickly lock focus on her while giving this portrait so much depth and dimension.

It’s everything I need in a lens.

The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art combines all the things I want in a lens. It’s small and lightweight, tack sharp, fast and dreamy. I’m able to capture beautiful bokeh that long lenses are known for at a closer distance to my toddler. This is huge, especially because my daughter is at an age where I need to be near her.

Moments with little ones are fleeting, and I love that I’m able to easily photograph my children without missing a beat. Unlike a 135mm or 105mm lens, I don’t have to stand too far away from my children to capture a moment. Overall, the combination of versatility, portability and exceptional image quality makes this a go-to lens for my mirrorless camera.

Here’s why the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art is my go-to lens for everyday images.

Photos by Meg Loeks.

This is a sponsored post, but opinions are those of the author.

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