Is the tamron af 70 300mm f 4 5 6 di ld macro 1 2 good for portraits?

It can work, but it isn't a portrait lens I'd pick first. Its reach is useful: 70-300mm means you can stand well back, and longer focal lengths flatter faces, as the portraits guide explains. On APS-C it frames like 105-450mm, so you get a comfortable distance there too.

The weak points are the f/4-5.6 maximum aperture, which gives much less background blur and makes indoor work hard, and the lack of stabilisation. Both matter for portraits.

If you can spend a bit more, an 85mm f/1.8 is the classic full-frame portrait lens, and a 135mm or 70-200mm f/2.8 gives tighter headshots with far more blur. Start with the portraits guide for the full picture.

Written by Claude from this site's pages.