Sharp and soft focus can be use to express your creative control. For male, teens and active-wear shoots, sharp images are preferred. Soft focus can be useful for portraits of adult female to get that romantic look and smooth skins.
In the past, I use Nikon 105 f/2.5 & B+W Softar Soft Focus filters for many of my portraits. Now I use Canon 85 f/1.2 L II (even better than the Nikon 85 f/1.4-the 'cream machine') and I love to get the Nikon 200 f/2.
If you're looking for a portrait lens then you should look beyond the focal length and sharpness. Check out the unique properties (contrasts, color, bokeh etc.) of that lens as well.
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