Tip for DSLR Beginners: Get a 50mm Lens

"I'm upgrading to a digital SLR. What camera model and lens should I get?" We get asked this often, and our reply is always the same. It matters little what DSLR you have, so long as you've got great lenses. And when you're starting out, there's really no need to shell out thousands of dollars on lens (unless you have money that you simply must get rid of). We always, always recommend the 50mm. Some of the world's best photographers have made careers for themselves with the 50mm.


A BIT OF HISTORY

If you bought a 35mm camera during the 70s or 80s then chances are, it came with a 50mm lens. Even Leica rangefinders were bundled with 50mm lenses. The reason for this is that the 50mm perspective approximates that of the human eye, which is also the reason it is called a "normal" lens. Below is a photo of our Canon AE-1 with its 50mm FD f/1.4 lens (taken with our $20 light box and macro studio).

As time went by, the 50mm was replaced with consumer model zoom lenses like the 18-55mm as the starter optic for 35mm cameras and eventually the DSLR. This shift was a marketing strategy employed by camera manufacturers to entice more people into buying their camera. Their selling point was that zoom lenses made taking photos easier since you can change your focal length without moving from your spot. Little did beginners know that image quality was the real price they were paying for the convenience of not walking a few steps to recompose their shot.


THE 50mm TODAY

There is renewed interest in the 50mm lens mainly due to the its price and its speed. With the price of around $80.00, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II is one of the cheapest lens available in the market today followed by Nikon's 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor for about $100.00. You can see that f/1.8 is the maximum aperture of these entry level lenses. It only gets better from here, you can get variants of these lenses at f/1.4 and f/1.2. Canon even makes a 50mm lens at f/1.0 which is the fastest interchangeable lens today. Most pros also say that the 50mm is the sharpest lens ever made because it has been around so long that lens manufacturers have already perfected the process of producing them.

One important note to remember, if you are using a DSLR with a cropped sensor then the 50mm lens' focal length will change. For those using a 40D, Digital Rebel series, D40 or a D80 which uses an APS-C sensor with a crop factor of 1.6x then a 50mm lens will effectively become an 80mm lens. If you want to have the same perspective as those using a full frame sensor then you can purchase a 28mm or 35mm lens which is close enough to a full frame 50mm.


A DEFINITE GO-TO LENS

We have other lenses, but we find that our 50mm 1.8 is still our go-to lens. It's plastic and it doesn't look like much, but it's fantastic for portraits (it doesn't enlarge subjects' noses the way wide angle lenses do), but it's still wide enough to be handy when we're out walking. The 1.8 offers a gorgeous bokeh, and faster shutter speeds. The images are clean and sharp. And the best thing about it is that it's cheap, and works splendidly with available light.


Related Reading:
Lens 101
Tips on How to Take Better Portraits
How to Create Bokeh in Your Photos

In other news, there's a new poll up on the sidebar. As always, we'd love it if you could participate. We'll share all the poll results with you guys next week. Have a great weekend!

Tips on How to Take Better Portraits

Although portraiture is probably the most popular field in photography, it is still one of the trickiest to do well. The difficulty lies in that a lot of factors have to come together to make a great portrait such as lighting, location and the how well you can capture the personality of the subject. This post will not instantly turn you to a great portrait photographer but instead, it will focus on the basic principles to help you on your way.

What is the best lens to use for portraits?
Pros often use lenses that have a focal length between 85mm to 100mm. There are two main reasons why 85mm to 100mm are often called portrait lenses.

1. Using a short telephoto lens lets you stand around 10 feet away from your subject and still be able to fill the frame with their face. If you use a wider angle lens, you’ll end up having to stand very near your subject and no one feels comfortable with a camera lenses inches away from their face. On the other hand, using a focal length longer than 100mm will take you to far away from your subject that you’ll have a hard time interacting with them.



2. Using a wide angle lens will distort your subject’s facial features. If you take a close-up shot with a wide angle lens, your subject’s nose will look larger and their ears will look smaller. This is what we call the clown effect.

Are prime lenses better than zoom lenses for portraits?
There are both pros and cons for using either of the two types of lenses so it will be up to you to decide. Prime lenses will always be sharper than zoom lenses which is especially important in portraiture but you will need to move around a lot if you want to frame your shot differently and you can end up missing some great shots.

(Lisa's note: I'd recommend a 50mm lens. It's prime, cheap, and a must-have if you can't spring for an 85mm or 100mm lens.)

What aperture is best suited for portraits?
If you are shooting against a plain background then the rule of thumb is to use f/11 which will give you great sharpness and depth of field. You can use your lowest aperture setting such as f/2.8 to throw everything but your subject out of focus.

What should you focus on?
Unless you are trying to emphasis a specific feature on your subject, always focus on their eyes. Even if the rest of the photo is slightly blurry, as long as the eyes are tack sharp, the photo will still look great.

What is the best light to use?
Some people will disagree but we prefer working with available light when taking portraits. It just looks better. Position your subject beside a window that is not exposed to direct sunlight to get soft and diffused light. If the light is too strong then you can try using sheer window curtains to act as a diffuser.

If you’re outside and light is too harsh then you can move your subject under a shade to avoid getting unpleasant shadows on their face. You can tell if the light is just right when your subject doesn’t have to squint to look at you or in your general direction.

Aside from the basics that we’ve discussed, the most important thing in portraiture is your connection with the subject. Your subject has to be comfortable enough with you so that the expressions you get are natural and not posed. You need to be able to talk to people, and connect. You have to be observant enough to notice their little quirks that make them unique and find a way to include it in your photo. These are some of the things that separate a portrait from a regular snapshot.

That, and shooting from a higher vantage point every now and then. Shooting from above is flattering for most people. It makes subjects look thinner, and hey, who doesn't love that.

Related Posts:
Child Photography 101
Portraits: The Other Use of Macro Lenses

Child Photography 101

Things you should know about child photography:

+ Children make for better portrait subjects than adults. Why? Not only are they completely adorable, they don't pose. I've met enough adults that just won't relax and stop posing.

+ Children can smell insincerity. They can smell fear. I used to teach kindergarten, so believe me, that's true. I would say a prerequisite to taking good photos of children is actually liking them.

+ Choose your fastest lens, if possible. These little people hardly ever sit still. I prefer using my 50mm 1.8. I'm still saving up for an 85mm. My 40D burned a hole right through my pocket.

+ A good way to break the ice is to play with them first. Smile. Talk to them; ask them their name and how old they are. Make them guess how old you are. Laugh. You could show them your camera and tell them what you're going to do with it, but make sure their hands are clean and your lens cap is on. I hope you never know how it feels to watch a little boy's chocolate-covered paws heading straight for your lens.

+ Once you've established a rapport and gained their trust, the rest should be easy, really. I prefer leaving them alone, and quietly taking pictures of them as they do whatever it is they do.

+ Children will either look at you curiously or ignore you completely. Either works, so work it. Unless they're throwing tantrums. Don't flinch and run away when they do though. Take pictures of them crying. Those rock, too.

+ Laugh. Seriously. They respond to laughter. Although I have to say it does help that I'm a girl. Sorry, guys. It's seldom as easy for you, unless you're shooting your own children.

+ Fill the frame! I've seen too many shots that could have been so much better, if only the photographer had zoomed in or walked just a few steps forward. If all else fails, experiment with tighter cropping on Photoshop.

+ Get on your knee and shoot at eye level.

+ BUT know when to shoot wide and/or shoot down. When the context is just as important or more important than the child herself, shoot wide. When you're trying to tell the story from an adult's perspective, or want to emphasize how small they are, shoot down.

+ Have them tie their shoelaces. It makes for an excellent photograph. Let them try on an adult's sunglasses, play the piano (you can focus on the hands), have a little girl put her bare feet on dad's shoes and have them dance around, have the child hug mom or dad's pant leg... you'll never run out of picture-perfect moments if you just look.

Feel free to add anything I may have missed.

Related Posts:
Portraits: The Other Use of Macro Lenses
Portraits: The December Challenge

Portraits: The Other Use of Macro Lenses

We all know that macro lenses are used for close-up work with small subjects. What some do not know is that true macro lenses (those capable of a magnification of 1:1) are also great to use for portraits.

Lens Quality
Macro lenses are designed to be extremely sharp since it is designed to capture the smallest details in your subject. This gives you good tonal gradation which is extremely important if you want to capture high quality portraits.

Wide Apertures
Macro lenses are designed to be very fast. On the average, the widest aperture setting for macro lenses is around f/2.8. This makes it great for throwing the background out of focus and is fast enough to capture crisp images with only natural lighting.

Telephoto Capabilities
The most common focal length you will find for high quality macro lenses are at 100m. This focal length gives you the ability to fill the frame with your subject without crowding them. It also eliminates barrel distortion associated with wide angle lenses.

The only downside with using macro lenses for portraitures is that they are prime lenses. This means that the focal length of the lens is fixed and you have to physically move around if you want to change your composition.

Lisa will be blogging about portraits later on.

~Written by Jeff