Is the nikon af p dx 18 55mm f 3 5 5 6g vr good for portraits?

It's a fine kit zoom, but I wouldn't pick it for portraits. At f/3.5-5.6 it gets darker as you zoom in, so you get less background blur than a portrait lens gives. On APS-C it frames like 27-82mm, so the longer end is a usable portrait length, and it's stabilised, which helps in dim rooms.

My advice is to keep it for everyday shooting and put your money into a faster lens for portraits. The portraits guide makes the case that the lens matters far more than the body, and the lenses guide suggests a fast standard prime, around 33-35mm f/1.4 to f/1.8 on APS-C, for people and low light. Light also counts for a lot, so try facing your subject toward a window before you spend anything.

Written by Claude from this site's pages.