I often get asked for advice on what camera to buy my first questions is “What camera do you have?” It’s usually a pretty good camera and the desire to improve one’s photography will rarely be with a new camera. Almost any camera bought in the last five years is going to take high quality photos. However most people still have the kit lens that came with the camera attached and therein lies the problem.
Stop right there! Don’t scroll to the next article! I’m not going to persuade you to invest your children’s college fund in gear acquisition. It turns out for portraits and general photography one of the best lenses you can buy is also the cheapest - the ubiquitous 50mm f/1.8 lens. Every brand produces one.
Why 50mm?
Historically it was the standard lens on film cameras so 50mm lenses have been produced for so long they are very high quality and inexpensive. 50mm is the closest to how the human eye sees (it’s precisely 42mm if you love acuracy) and this gives photos a very real and natural feeling. There is no wide angel distortion or telephoto compression for effect, very useful for portraits.
Why is f/1.8 Useful?
For portraits the person in the frame is always your main subject. F/1.8 gives you a blurred background allowing you to isolate your subject from any busy environment while still allowing the atmosphere to form part of the image. It’s useful when shooting in modern busy locations that we often find ourselves and our families in. F/4.5 or even f/5.6 which is typical of kit or cheap zoom lenses will give you a very sharp and distracting background that will take attention away from your subject.
The wide aperture is also very useful for shooting in dark environments such as indoors or at night. Again a frequent feature for family snaps and day trips. This will allow for cleaner and sharper photos with less noise that will kill skin tones.
It’s A Great Carry Around Lens.
50mm lenses are small and light which makes them great to carry around all day long on holidays or weekends. They turn a cumbersome DSLR and heavy zoom into something that you don’t dread taking with you or even have to think twice about. It can fit in a small bag and not strain you shoulder garter a full day of carrying about. I almost always have this in my bag unless I’m planning something special.
Are there any drawbacks?
Well of course while it’s a great lens it doesn’t do everything. You won’t be able to shoot wide vistas with it or zoom in to far away to catch details. And where portraits are concerned the distance you need to focus from the subject may prevent you from getting a tight head shot. But you can always crop the subject later. Although some lenses offer macro features allowing you to get very close. But it still remains the most versatile lens for photographing people. ANd what’s more important is that you will carry it with you far more often and therefore shoot more. And that what matters most.
Technical Stuff.
Every camera brand offers a cheap 50mm f/1.8 (or equivalent) lens for their system. They will also offer f/1.4 or even f/1.2 versions but they are far more expensive and heavier. It’s impractical to build a full database here of all the lenses currently available so here are a few tips on which lens to buy. And if you’re not sure then just leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you with suggestions.
If you own a full frame camera then you could buy a 50mm f/1.8. If you own an APS-C camera then you should look for in and around a 35mm focal length to get the same view. And if you have a Micro 4/3 camera such as an Olympus or Panasonic then you should buy around a 25mm lens.It’s