When you want to expand your photography toolbelt, you’ve got to ask yourself if you’re a portrait photographer, if you’re a landscape photographer, or if you want to do a little bit of both. If you’re anything like me, landscapes don’t tell that much of a story, so we stick to portrait photography. Next week, we’ll be talking about my personal favorite lens, the 24mm lens. However, the second most popular lens is the 35mm. The lens is a fixed lens that allows for the photographer to get closer to the model and get more of the background in the photo. With the 1,4f the background will be blurry but add a lot more depth to the photo and a more interesting story. The lens works best from five to ten feet away.

Pros: Can get closer to subject, can get more in the photo than a 50mm or 85mm lens, beautiful bokeh, and good in low light.

Cons: Fixed lens, has to stay close to the model to make sure the model is the subject of the photo, expensive, is not the best for beginners.

Overall, this lens is not the best for beginners but is good for taking the next steps into learning more about the craft. A solid 6/10.

For this week’s post, we’re going to be looking at the 18mm-55mm Lens also known as the “starter lens”. This is called the starter lens or a “kit” lens because it comes with the purchase of most Canon cameras. This lens has a wide variety of uses as it has a large focal length. The 18mm aspect of the lens is perfect for landscapes or full body portraits while the 55mm lens is amazing for portrait or close up photography. Since it’s a zoom lens, it allows for the photographer to stand still but get a wide variety of shots from one location.

Pros of the camera: Cheap (usually free), zoom lens, great auto-focus, wide range of shots that can be taken.

Cons of the camera: Almost zero bokeh effect, low quality build, bad in low lighting.

Overall, this is a great starter lens for any photographer because it allows you to find what focal length works best for you and it comes with most cameras. I would rank this an 6/10 for lenses and an absolute must have for anyone new to photography.

This week I am going to be covering the “Nifty Fifty”. The nifty fifty is a 50mm 1.8f lens that is often regarded as the most important lens any beginner should have in their bag. A 50mm lens will be the closest thing to what the human eye sees, so it feels the most accurate to our current vision with little distortion making it one of the best lenses for portrait photography. When dealing with any wide angle lens, there will always be a bit of distortion in the corners of the lens especially when the lens is tilted at all which causes for limited types of photos unless you’re looking for a unique art style. The lens also tops out at a relatively cheap price of $100. This lens is fantastic for beginners because it’s cheap, it’s compact and lightweight, and it works in most situations. To use this lens well, the subject should be around ten to fifteen feet away and it gives a beautiful bokeh effect. I have absolutely no complaints about the lens. This is a fixed lens however, so there is no zoom.

Pros: Cheap, lightweight, good bokeh, functional, gives the best picture that is closest to reality.

Cons: Fixed lens and overused.

This is a 10/10 lens. I absolutely recommend it for any beginner, intermediate, or expert. This isn’t my favorite lens, and I personally don’t use it often but I respect its versatility and the quality of the lens.