Originally Posted by realityinabox
Don't get the 15-85mm, because:
Originally Posted by realityinabox
Once you get above 60mm on the 15-85mm lens, you have an f/5.6 lens. For portraits, the desirable out-of-focus blur you want will, for lack of a better word, suck at f/5.6. You'll need f/2.8 (or less, which is why I mentioned the 85mm f/1.8!) to effectively isolate your subject from your background at these focal lengths.