Street Photography: Choosing your Focal Length (85mm, 50mm, 35mm, 28mm)
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- Опубликовано: 19 ноя 2022
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In this video I share some thoughts around choosing your focal length in street photography. My focal length journey took me from 85mm, to 50mm, to 35mm, to 28mm, and each had something to teach me as I worked to take better images on the street. Hopefully some of the advice I offer here will help you find your own focal length of choice.
Share it on if you found it helpful.
#streetphotography #focallength #photography 
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I shot with a 50mm for over 15 years. As a way of self improvement I set myself a "1 year only 35mm + f8" challenge. As you, I learned a lot about composition / framing. Now I shoot mainly with a 40mm lens, which has been my ideal focal length for the last 5+ years.
For my street photography, which is all I do now, I’ve whittled my kit down to the Canon R5 and Ricoh GR II, the 35mm and 100mm (macro).
I use a 70-200 zoom. I prefer a longer lens for all my photography.
Hello, what setup you use for street? thanks
@@bogdan.g6403 Canon R5 with Canon EF 35mm f1.4L USM II lens for most of my work. Also carry a 100mm macro for tighter shots. Also use a Ricoh GR III (Street Edition).
what's the reason behind F8 only?
If you're not sure which focal length you choose, first look to your lightroom catalogue. You may be surprised what you use the most. As ever a great video, Sean.
For the last few years I have been around the 24mm area. I love the flexibility that it provides in street shots allowing a bit of openness and give things a sense of scale as well as the ability to move closer to subjects in order to get something more intimate.
This was the most helpful video for figuring out what lens I want. The way you described the focus on a subject vs the context made so much more sense than any other video or review of focal lengths I have seen or read. Thank you.
This is such a balanced approach to discussing focal length. I shoot 75% at 50mm and the rest at 35mm but I keep a 28-80mm zoom handy just in case. If I had to have just one lens it would be 50mm, it’s just so versatile for portraits, documentary, street, family and even landscape with some stitching in lightroom.
This is great, really confirmed why I like the 35mm focal length. I went through the work by these and many others and then looked to see what focal length they used and it was the 35mm almost every time that caught my eye, not too impersonal, and not too personal yet gives the sense of being involved with the subject just enough. It also includes enough of the surrounding environment to complete the story without the subject being lost in it.
This is by far the best video on this topic for me. Very simply explained, it can only be done by someone with great experience and talent. Perfect guidelines and it made it a lot easier for me personally to find my way around, helping any of us who have not yet clearly established our photographic techniques and preferences. A big thank you
This is really the best how-to-choose-a-focal-length video I've seen. Your approach to making a choice is very helpful. I thought the phrase "I went from looking for subjects to looking for scenes" was very well put when comparing something like an 85mm with a 35mm.
I've recently started using a 11 to 16 for street photography in crowded streets in small town India during my travels.. hugely rewarding in capturing the large canvas .. some distortion does add charm.. depending on the composition. Loved your talk and sharing.. more power to you brother 🙏🏽
My most used for well over a year now are 50mm and 40mm. I have 40mm fixed on a rangefinder film camera that I feel I appreciate more because of it being that slight bit wider than 50 without completely altering my perspective. I plan to get 40 on my mirrorless and stick with that. I also love how compact 40 is. I'm more likely to use it instead of my phone, which I appreciate
This is by far, without a doubt the best video I have seen that illustrates the different focal lengths for full-frame and crop-sensors cameras.
I just purchased my Sony FX30 (APS-C) and plan to do a ton of street videography with it. I've yet to purchase a lens because there are so many out there that it has become slightly overwhelming. Watching this video has allowed me to narrow my options down to a 35mm lens and a 50mm lens after days of deliberation.
I've been stuck in a state of analysis paralysis, neglecting to explore my videography style. Your video allowed me to recognize the importance of experimenting for myself and purchase a damn lens already.
Interesting topic, Sean! The 85mm was also my starting point in photography but I moved very soon to wider lenses. My most used focal (about 75% of my photos) is the 50mm (equivalent), and that’s because is the normal. In my eyes, 50mm is the only area that renders totally uncompressed and without exaggeration. Going to 35mm things starts to look smaller than life (it includes some of our peripheral vision in the field of view), while anything narrower than 60mm includes compression and things are looking bigger. As for the lenses, I was a prime lens person during my early days in photography but today I am using only one lens: Sony E PZ 18-105 f4 G OSS. it has the flexibility I want for any shooting situation, it’s a quality lens and it’s first party (no AF issues at all). In the end, what matters is the ability to take the photo the way you want, not to adjust yourself to a single focal length for a bit more sharpness or a wider aperture.
Out walking, I use a 30mm macro lens on a Micro Four Thirds camera (60mm equivalent). I like how it both constrains the view a bit and also brings in more context than I initially expected. It's my go-to for urban landscapes. Since it's a macro lens, I can get very close when that's what has my attention. ... Sean's journey with the different lenses and cameras is a good reminder of how I've learned what works for me through the circumstances of particular cameras, their default lenses, and purposeful experimentation. I enjoy the combination of personal, philosophical and practical in the videos. Thanks!
Thank you Sean. A real pleasure to hear you tell your story.
I like 85 mm. To show the small things that no one sees, but tell a story is what I love most at all the moment.
For me i prefer 100 macro
I find it hard to believe how a photo taken with a 85mm lens can tell a story, for context one would need a 28-35mm focal-length.
@@PSYCHIC_PSYCHO 85 can. But more personal. Try it.
@PSYCHIC_PSYCHO 28-35 is completely wrong for me, 85mm can have all the context if you have the imagination
I have three focal-length sweet spots: 135, 70, and 35mm. Today, I am learning my way around 45mm. It is stretching me. But, my composition skills have been steadily improving along the way.
Sean, your videos and approach to photography are such a breath of fresh air! Thank you!
Sean, your content is so rich and meaningful. Been following your channel for years.
Oh, and I'm a 24mm weirdo. I've always been a 24 to 35 sort of guy. I like the environmental context, I like the distortion, I like getting in close and interacting with my subject.
I believe Alan Schaller is also a 24mm guy! His work is really interesting.
It definitely depends on the architecture of your place and what you want to show. Sadly I feel bored shooting with one focal lenght all the time which makes the hobby really costly... haha
I love 24mm too. I can't get along with 35 or 50 unless I'm doing street portraits but I'm always on 24mm.
@@jaredgotcher I just bought a 16mm (24mm eq) after shooting a lot on 18mm (28mm eq). Thanks for the insight
One of the most well articulated and well explained videos I have seen on photography.
I use a 16-35 zoom on a full frame camera. I probably use it around 24mm the most. I like taking photos of buildings, and I like photos where I have small things in the foreground. Like a flower up close, with a mountain in the background.
"wrangle all the elements together" - what a great way to describe the almost frenzied effort of keeping everything under control in a 28mm composition.
I went from a Leica Q2 to a Ricoh GRIIIx because I felt 28mm was too wide. 40mm is really comfortable now.
Really enjoy your videos Sean. So eloquent, clear and meaningful.
Great video, as always it's truly enriching to hear about your experience and your point of view Sean.
For me my favorite lengths are the 85mm and the 35mm, as for the 50mm it's a bit of a love hate relationship. For the 85mm, I love how it allows me to isolate a subject, to make it stand out, to bring it closer to the "eye", to only focus on details and to be more creative with the depth of field. For instance, the video you've done featuring Maarten Rots inspired me to try to keep an eye out for any smaller details or "narrower" abstract compositions in the urban landscapes.
Then the 35mm, is my sweet spot for when I want to focus in larger scenes, to get more of the context in my picture, to capture crowd movements... Anything wider than that feels awkward and only works for me on a case to case basis. While the bigger frame is great to use in some instances, it feel more often like I'm facing a discrepancy between the frame that I have and the picture I want to frame. But that may also be originate from the fact that I'm more drawn to telephoto lengths than wide ones, as I love how those lengths can the things that are far closer to the eye and make them keep their immensity.
Finally, the 50mm, is a lenght I keep on trying to get more comfortable with. While some of my own favorite shots were taken with it, more than often I feel like I'm stuck in an awkward position, somewhere halfway between having a field of view that's to wide for me to isolate or get as close as I'd like, but at the same time too narrow to capture the scene.
Anyone struggling with gear acquisition syndrome (new lens addiction) needs to watch this video. Such good points about the gut feeling of how you see the world and considering if you always back up vs have to crop images
Your photos combine with your choice of music gives me goosebump. You are special.
I normally use 2.8 zooms for my work and always been a telephoto guy. But on my recent trip to Rome, I could not bring my big full frame kit, so I challenged myself with a 28 mm equivalent compact. I struggled in the start but found comfort in Sean’s old gr videos where I learned to look for scenes with interesting lighting instead of only subjects.
This is a fantastic video! You have really explained the differences very clearly. I especially like the comparison to other photographers and their own work.
I absolutely love that you talk about what lens choice does for one’s visual communication as opposed to meaningless specs like sharpness and speed. Poor photos shot with an ultra sharp lens are still poor photos. Thanks for talking about what matters.
Sean, seriously what an incredibly good video. You have explained this so well... love the scenery and your storytelling style ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks for sharing your journey, I'm in love with the 35 mm APSC right now. Once I realize how close it is as "real vision" I found myself composing pictures even without my camera. As always, and inspiring joy watching your video.
Loving the content and thoughtfulness.
My personal journey, 75mm to 50mm to 35mm to 28mm... now I'm going back up to 85mm. I spent a lot of time at 28mm with the GRs, I do have to crop but it has taught me a lot about the scene like you said. Now I'm experimenting with abstraction and feeling my new 85mm.
Perfect timing for this subject, im going through a debate in my head about my focal lengths of choice. Thank you so much for another fantastic video. Really love all your videos!
always a great day when another sean tucker video comes up.
oh, and I'm a nifty fifty kinda guy - I find it always works for me in numerous situations and it's been my go-to for years now.
My absolute favourite lens on my crop-sensor Sony is a Voigtlander 15mm (equivalent to 24mm) That focal length makes it easy to compose scenes with a strong geometric feel. It also allows me to get super close to my subjects. 85mm is my favourite for posed street portraits of strangers. And for night street work I use a Voigtlander 35mm or 50mm Zeus's. Great video. Thanks
The way you are explaining this is phenomenal. I love the story telling also. Thank you so much!
This might be the smoothest and clear video I've seen on focal lengths. I've been shooting in a zoom lens on digital and started shooting film with my moms old pentax camera that I found on my grandpa's house. I found a 50mm and a 28mm that both were in good shape still and decided to start with the 50mm. That was my first experience with a prime lens, making each shot worth it. When I switched to the 28mm I realized it felt really good for me. This made me start shooting even more in this focal length and practicing it by keeping my zoom lens wide open at 18mm (27mm eq.). I really enjoy shooting wide open because composition is what attracts me to photography. I had been doing this for a while now, exploring the wide view and getting better at balancing, composing and getting the feeling of the 28 images. Recently I bought the Sigma 16mm 1.4 (24mm eq, slightly wider than what I got used to) in a effort of getting sharper images and more light. I'm excited and grateful for this way of approaching focal lengths that you just described here: how do you actually see the world and which focal lengths represents that more accurately for you. I'll have that more present in mind whenever switching lenses. Thank you, Sean.
PS. This is the first video I have seen from you. New subscriber here
For close to 35 years I reported news throughout Africa with 17-35mm f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8. I am no longer working as a news photographer but as caregiver in Seattle. I am struggling to "unlearn" photojournalism and to learn to shoot "for myself". I am using Nikon D610 with 28mm f2.8 and 35mm f2.8. For years, the focus had to be sharp, exposure correct with details clear in all the photo. I worked to show faces and emotions, I worked hard for action photos, tight without wasting frame space...now I have to purge that off my photography. its an exciting journey and glad Seattle is the take off point. Does anyone here any know how I can go about this? or anyone who has done this in the past?
I loved my Nikkor 35mm when I used to shoot Nikon. It is still my most favourite lens in my memory. I don’t know how to unlearn photojournalism but maybe you can join a camera club and I’ll explain why. My husband I joined a camera club last year. Apart from the social activities, workshops and presentations to grow our techniques and skills, there’s the monthly competition with set subjects. One year ago I was just happily photographing my garden and roses. That was the limit of my skills 😂. Being in the club challenged me to try other genre, develop new skills and crank up my creativity. The most challenging for me was the subject “Stairs/Staircase/Escalator” how do I go from shooting pretty roses to ugly industrial looking stairwells? It was a huge leap for me if you know what I mean. In the end I was lucky enough to find a pretty set of stairs in a public place that I could shoot with some creative flair 😜 So in my humble opinion, joining a club which sets you monthly challenge will in a way force you to move out of your comfort zone, seek genre outside of photojournalism and provide you with a platform to showcase your work. Good luck! 😊 P.S. We have recently signed up with a second club as social members, meaning we go in for the gatherings to learn, socialise and shoot together but we just don’t compete there. I explain to everyone that asked “Why two clubs?” that we have fun in one club while we compete in the other club, the best of both worlds. 😂
As an ex press photographer I can totally relate to your comment.
I decided to start posting to Instagram as my scrapbook. This may puzzle some viewers as my images don't necessarily follow any theme or style. It's just a collection of ideas and moods of how I feel on a given day or time. The rules are no rules.
Have fun.
50mm here, for almost everything. It's just the perfect fit for me. I'm kind of a shy guy, I realized recently that it unconsciously forces me to stay halfway from my subject, without getting too far away neither, at least for the kind of compositions I like... Thanks for the great content, as usual ;)
I wish I had a teacher like you during my school days. The way you explain things explains so much and so nicely. Thanks. I like 105mm, it's let me concentrate on lesser details and focus more on singular objects.
Hi Sean, I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate your videos on RUclips. Your philosophical approach to gear has really helped me understand photography better. I've been using a 100mm macro lens to shoot insects for the past four years, but while the pictures have been decent, they lacked emotion. So I decided to try something new and picked up a secondhand X100 V (35mm equivalent) for street photography. It's quite scary and a constant struggle for me, but I'm really enjoying it. Thanks for all the great content!
Maaan the way you tell the story is incredible ❤
120-300mm equivalent was a revelation! Living in Japan, I was quite conscious about respecting people's privacy here, it allows me to be further away without disturbing the scene.
I also love being able to pick out details of the daily life that people might not have seen. You don't need to travel to a famous IG spot to find beauty :)
Yes, I shoot video and I find that at times, a bigger focal lens allows me to shoot people without them getting uptight [as we all do when the cameras come out]
35 mm was at one time a standard…when people differentiated from a point and shoot 50 years ago they would say “I shot that on a 35mm”- just some history from an old guy
@@jsaproductions5That's funny. In my era when people said, "I shot that on a 35mm" they were actually referring to the 35mm film they were shooting with not the focal length.
@@JiminSC yeah. It was both actually. Strange
@@JiminSC strangely: In motion pictures that record on film, 35 mm is the most commonly used gauge. The name of the gauge is not a direct measurement, and refers to the nominal width of the 35 mm format photographic film, which consists of strips 1.377 ± 0.001 inches (34.976 ± 0.025 mm) wide.
I shoot with all focal lengths from 16 to 200 on different cameras and lenses from canon and Nikons and today I only shoot 28 with Leica Q2. I think it’s not the focal length, but what you choose to use, that teaches you the most. Coming further or closer will solve most of the problems with how you see it, but sticking with one lens whatever it is will teach you to just keep focusing on what’s matter, the images that you’ll be able to produce.
Great worrier will fight equally well with sword, arrows, fist and bad one will aways be afraid to fight.
Great tips of how you tell if you like the distance, thank you Sean🙏🏻
Such a great video Sean. There are many thought provoking points for me in these 15 mins. As a relative beginner, it really has me thinking about "subject vs scene". I have also realized that I crop more than I probably should, and as a result I completely agree with your points around initially being more comfortable with one specific element of a photo, and being worried that the composition is not right. So, many thanks for the video, I think it will really help me to set out a bit of a roadmap for my photography journey
A friend turned me on to your channel and I have to say it's wonderful. I'm a semi-pro/serious amateur photog (meaning I shoot anything interesting -- except weddings -- and periodically exhibit and sell prints) but don't shoot a lot of street despite its being my favorite genre to look at. My focal length is 24mm, colored by my primary genres of architecture, cityscapes, and travel. That said my 24s aren't great so primewise I shoot 28 more, with 50 and 24 next. Even with people I gravitate to wides, influenced heavily by cinema. I really enjoy space and context, but even when I push in I like the 3-d feel that wides bring. Tricky on close-up portraits, but wonderful when you nail it. Happy shooting!
After my camera was stolen, I took on the challenge to use my phone as my main camera. It was quite frustrating at the begging, I was so used to my 35mm lens on my Fuji X T1. And after 5 years I was able to see the photos in my head, I got used to my phone’s limitations and found a way around them. I loved the 2X zoom it offered as I also love street photography.
Now I have a new phone and I’ve lost that 2X zoom, I’m faced with the endeavour to work with a wide and super wide angle lens. Looking forward to the photos!
Thank you for your videos, I always come back to your channel when I’m losing inspiration! 😊
Thank you for your time and effort making this for us. I appreciate it very much.
It’s take me 2/3 years to find the focal length that works for me. I like your comments about find one or two and stick with them. My focal lengths are now my loved 35 and 85mm. Covers all the areas I want. Love the video look forward always for the next one.
I’m in love with the focal length 85mm f/1.4 ❤
It gives me the possibility to take ownership over what I want to draw attention to, and just that. I’m moving a lot around if I want more in the frame though, and that’s just fine! If it’s in the frame, it’s there because I put it there.
Hi. I’ve just invested in an 85mm lens being a 35mm guy. I’d love to see how you use it for things other than portraits. Are you on instagram?
Same!!!! I want to be deliberate and specific with what I’m conveying to the audience and using my composition and subject matter to bring the abstraction and uniqueness.
I use iPhone but I've watched tones of POV's and 85mm is my favorite all the way. It focus on the subject and pushes the life to it like a soul of it. What's the difference between F1.4 and F1.8 ? I noticed many details in F1.4 but photographers say it's not a rule for taking sharp pics. What's the truth?
85mm is an Instagram/RUclips disease. This is only my opinion.
Hey Sean i really appreciate your videos and the time you give to educate us Amateur photographers or to people just starting out. since i was blessed with RUclips pointing me in the direction of your channel i have learned so much by watching your video's. so massive thanks buddy
Thank you for the timely video Sean, as I'm sure there's never a bad time to check on how photographers are struggling with the balance between the focal length of choice, budgeting, and personal composition style development. It was quite eerie how my journey was similar to yours: I also started out with a Canon APS-C body (except I had a kit lens) and was lent a full-frame 50mm lens from a friend during my trip to Japan, which made it an effective 85mm lens. It was my first time playing with a semi-telephoto lens, and I loved that experience so much so that I upgraded to a used full-frame Sony A7 II body with the equally budget-friendly Sony 85mm F1.8 lens. It didn't take long before I started realizing this wasn't the right focal length for me even if I was in theory very comfortable with it; too comfortable, perhaps, which made me become increasingly aware of the potential room for development in my composition and how I view the world. After a lot of research and photo digging, I decided to go for 40mm - the in-between of 35mm and 50mm. I also made additional purchases afterward including a 21mm and a 100-400mm telephoto lens. Even if each of them were better at different things or just downright had better image quality and handling than my 40mm, I always gravitate back to the 40mm in a way that's less similar to falling back into the comfort zone but more akin to returning to my natural way of framing the world. Hearing about your experience made me want to experience 35mm and 50mm as well, which I intend to do through a combination of discipline and a 24-70mm GM ii lens that I plan to purchase by the end of the year, which will serve both my street photography needs and the more general personal/ family/ workplace related shots.
Great video Sean! I love the metaphor you used of starting out with a "narrower" field of vision to your now "widened" perspective on the world.
I typically shoot all over the focal length spectrum but quite enjoy a 35 to 50mm as you said (and coupled with an APS-C sensor)
Thank you for detailing your journey in such a crisp and succinct summary. I shoot with an aps-c camera Canon 200Dii. Lately I’ve been using the 50mm for children portraiture project at my place of work. When photographing children, I realised very quickly that it’s better if I were playing with them, and constantly chatting with them, esp toddlers. Using a longer lens is useless when they are sitting within arms length. So the nifty fifty became my lens of choice in this project. It is light enough for me to hold with one hand, and its focal length is just wide enough for me to get the details on the child’s face even when only an arms length away. It’s also my favourite street photography lens nowadays because of its lightweight. I can walk and shoot for 2-3 hrs with this lens. I’ve used the 24mm in nightscape and I love the simplicity it projects. The Nikkor 35mm remained my most loved lens of all time when I used to own a Nikon aps-c. It was so easy to “see” with that lens what I wanted to shoot and how I wanted to shoot even back in those days when I didn’t know anything about photography. I thought that lens was magic. 😂
Your compositions are as clear as your way to speak. Thanks a lot for the video ! I pick a 35mm first, regularly next to it is a 75mm.
Back in the film days I did street and race track photography. I carried a Nikon F2 with 105 and a Nikkormat F with a 28. Now I find myself swapping mostly between a Q2Monochrom (28) and an X-Pro2 with a 16-80, giving me essentially the same focal lengths. Must be the way I see the world. Thank you for your excellent content!
I needed to hear this, so thanks for the episode Sean. When I started in 1972 ( I know scary isn’t it), 50mm is what my Minolta SRT101 came with. It was a while before I could afford anything else. A new photo mag came out in about 1976 called “Photo Technique”. An early edition featured Henri CB and his 50mm theory. So, I was addicted, but saved up and bought a 28mm. Frightened the life out of me and ran back to my 50 ( can’t believe I’m revealing this). Anyway, I’m still there it’s 50 all the way, but it would seem, for neither artistic nor technical reasons.
33mm has been almost glued onto my X-T4 for over a year - that's how I see the world!
Just like you Sean, my favorite portrait/headshot lens is the 50 mm. For the last 5 years, I’ve been using the 24-70mm mostly for everything else. Traveling, lifestyle, street and even some commercial work.
I like to use three lenses for street and travel photography - 20mm, 40mm and 85mm. If I had to just choose one focal length it would be 35mm. Excellent video as usual Sean, thank you.
Thanks for the inspiration as always Sean! I really appreciate the content of this video. I have filmed short documentaries with a 50mm and a 24mm with an APSC camera and so far have never felt that I've missed out on any focal length. But to find what's my focal length and more deeply thereby, what's my way of viewing the world is definitely worth exploring. I am an admirer of Yasujiro Ozu's films and he stuck to one focal length. I would love to have that one focal length with which to view the world...
This is a perfect topic for me. I am working through this right now. I tend to be most comfortable with the 50mm perspective but have given myself a challenge to only use the 35mm lens for a while. I do feel I am learning for sure. Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge.
Hey Sean - always enjoy your content. This one is especially valuable and well said. You did such a great job articulating your focal length journey. I think we all have to cross this bridge when we need some peace when it comes to not carrying 100lbs of gear. I to have concluded I’m a 35mm~50mm person and to your point, it took a journey to get here and I learned so much along the way. But there’s no greater feeling than knowing when you go out to shoot, you know in your head how you’re going to see things, not what you’re going to see and that’s the exciting part. Keep up the great work.
That’s it, the last bit you wrote “how you’re going to see things, not what you’re going to see”. You’ve summed it up for me. Thanks, bro! 😅
40mm for me. It is wide enough for context and narrow enough for isolation. It's closest to a "normal" view for me. Your method for determining which focal length is a good and practical one. As always your content and images are first rate.
i've been waiting for your content man. thank you so much !
At 65, It's easy to seperate wheat from the chaff. I've retired all my gear. Now, it's the vintage Nikon 50mm 1.2 AIs that stays glued to my Nikon DSLR. This vintage lens with the nikon D600 renders colours that are easy to tweak in post to mimick grainy Kodkchrome colours. My old brain seems to connect with the lens. It has a reassuring heft of metal with a clickable aperture ring and it's all manual. The f1.2 helps with the out of focus, portraits and low light. Step back, it's a 35mm, crop and it's an 85 while still maintaining the 50mm depth of field which for me is the key to the 50. Sean, thank you. Choice!
Excellent video! I couldn't have explained it any better. You just found the right words to express not only the technical part but also the emotions behind your decision which focal length to choose. Greetings from Vienna, Enver
Bro... Your videos and work is simply next level. Thank you for sharing SOOO much info and detail fro your journey (for "free"). You're a legend mate!
I'd say I'm a 35 mm person, especially since getting the X100V. It quite often matches what I see, it offers great versatility for street, portraits and landscapes, and I don't usually need to crop. All that said, I can't say it would be my *only* focal length. I'm becoming quite happy with the fact that I have different preferences (or self-assigned projects) at different times and I'm always looking for different ways of seeing things.
Turning to the video, great job as always; intriguing -- and unlike you -- to invite people to jump to the comments section -- but so like you for the purpose it serves, to inspire others and try to get people to learn from one another.
Hope you'll be able to keep up the good work -- all the best!
Last year my mother died, at the respectable age of 92, and she left me some money. I wanted to buy something that would last and would be special to me. She liked my photography and bought me my first full frame camera years ago. I decided to buy a Zeiss lens, they last a lifetime and feel so nice when used. I was struggling a bit to decide on the focal length, 85 or 35 , in the end I decided on 35 and I’m very happy I did. It is such a nice focal length and so versatile. When I go on my daily walk I always take the 35. If I had to live with just one lens, that Zeiss 35 would be it.
Which zeiss is it?
@@bijosnThe one made by Carl.....Carl Zeiss 😉
@@bijosna Distagon 35mm f2 might be the lens this person loves, or a Biogon 35mm f2. Both renders beautiful pictures. When an artist photographer loves a lens its mainly due to the rendering, color, contrast this lens gives, regardles of MTF charts sharpness etc.
An outstanding video, delivered so eloquently. Thank you. I started in the 1980s with my father’s SLR and a 50mm. It’s all we had. Looking back at those shots, I was clearly drawn to shooting portraits, as they seem to make up most of my early portfolio. Later adding a 35mm my portfolio started to move towards landscapes and urban scenes. Now, like yourself I’m in the 35-50 range and my pocket cameras in both film 35mm film and digital tend to be 38mm and 40mm.
Excellent breakdown on your journey with focal lengths. I'm honestly a 50mm guy; I just click with that field of view. Yet I found over the years that is was something...Stale about it. Clean. Straightforward. Easy to get images that I liked. But I noticed the photos that I LOVED were when I'd experiment with something wider. 35, 28, even 24mm would offer something dynamic when everything came together.
So after much deliberation I got a Fuji X100V and shot with just that body for 8 months. Absolutely hated it the first month. But after that, I started loving the extra bit of context and messiness that needed to be navigated. I started doing crowd photos and came out with bangers that would have been impossible to get with how tight a 50mm is. The intimacy of wider lenses is really appealing. I love the work of others who use 28/24 but that feels a bit "much" for now. 35 is like a wide 50. Gets you the context without having to stand far - or overly distorting the subject by being close.
Still working on 35mm portraiture as I keep reaching for that 50mm, haha. But I think everyone should consider how to be intentional with focal lengths in this way. Committing to 35mm for those months was one of the best things I ever did for my work.
It’s great to watch this video again Sean. I recently acquired the Viltrox 27mm 1.2. That Lens feels so perfect for my eyes. 40mm is a beautiful frame. Great video 👍🏽
Awesome video. I started with a 28-75 on apsc. Switched to 35mm prime and now it’s taken some getting used to but a lot of fun composing as you said. All of your points were spot on. Good job. Looking forward to checking out more or your content now
I haven't long come across your vids and enjoying them mate, thanks. I recently traded in a 75-300mm for a 50mm on a Canon APS-C sensor, so have nothing above 80mm, and finding I'm enjoying 50-80mm more. I think this is down to the fact that I tend me quite aware of everything around me generally when in public, do narrowing down my own field of view this much really helps me focus on a subject more than anything wider.
I’m so glad I found this channel just now. Excellent content. I look forward for more videos. Cheers
Lots to think about here. I am on the same journey to finding my comfort zone. I suspect that I ,too, am a 35 to 55ish photographer. I have noticed that when using zooms I am using them more like a prime and not really zooming in and out. A fun ( but expensive) voyage of discovery!
Great video, Sean. I find most of my compositions between 35mm and 90mm. My least used lens is 16-35; hopefully I'll be able to travel more and get into some landscape shots. My most-used lenses are 24mm-70mm and 35mm-150mm.
Thanks!
I think a point you glossed over, which can be very relevant (maybe more so in landscape photography as compared to street), is the phenomena of compression.
A wider lens might take in more if you don't move and just change your lens, but often you can take a few steps back and still get the same view of the subject in the camera. However, you cannot compensate for the effect of compression with a lens change.
If you'd frame the same subject, such that it is the same size in your frame, with different lenses, you would need to stand further away with longer lenses. The effect of this is that you will include less foreground, and that the background will look comparatively larger. This can have a huge effect on your composition and what is possible. You might for example have a famous building in the background of a portrait, which could look too small with a wide angle, or too large and indistinguishable with a telephoto.
Although more important for the 'slower' types of photography and not so much for capturing short moments as is most street photography, I feel that being able to accurately guess the relationship between foreground, background and subject and choose a lens accordingly to the compression that is desired, is a super important skill for all photographers.
At the very least being aware of this relationship is important.
For myself, it really depends on the subject matter what kind of lens I prefer. For busy chaotic scenes such as forests, I tend to prefer longer lenses to get a sense of calm, order and isolation otherwise not possible. I also tend to be able to get little isolated scenes that really tell a story by themselves.
For indoor and tight street photography I tend to go for 35 or even 24mm. Any wider and you will really need a clear foreground subject and be very close to it, otherwise all pictures will seem empty or 'missing something'.
For most general purpose, I tend to agree with you, 50mm is probably the most versatile lens. Some days I feel like 40mm might be better, sometimes 60mm. Still I often just fall back to 50.
I was a 50mm shooter on film, I didn’t get value from 35mm and struggled with 28mm. I rarely used my longer lenses. Now with digital I find that lenses equivalent to the 35 to 50mm range are usually best for me. Wider is a novelty just for fun, and occasionally a 75mm equivalent is used for my shots of a jam session at a local pub (although the vast majority are at 50mm).
Thank you for being a voice of artistic reason in a constantly gear obsessed stream.
Agreed with you totally the 35mm is the idea lens.I am an urban sketcher and most of my sketches are like the 35mm focal length. Thanks for sharing.
since i've been on an automotive journey with filming and photography as of late, I have almost exclusively shooting on the Zeiss Batis 40mm f/2.0 on full frame. And I absolutely love the 40mm focal length.
Great food for thought Sean and the stunning images at the end were like free dessert! So well done! Thanks for continually inspiring!
Of all the lenses that I use, 35mm focal length seems to be my go to. I also love 28mm, however it is very challenging at times where with 35mm, I always can figure out how to frame my shots.
Sean, your advise always inspire or ring my thoughts to be better photographer 🙏🏻
Like you, I went with Fujifilm back in the day. Still there. The 35f1.4 (50mm full frame) quickly became my favourite. I haven’t used it since early Covid, but as I took the kid to a museum today, I grabbed the proper camera (as opposed to the iPhone) and the 35mm. As I was shooting, I found myself taking a step forward or back to frame, before I put the camera to my eye. I just knew what would fit into the frame and where I needed to be to get the perfect composition. That’s what you get from using a single focal length for some time. You instinctively know what it looks like. Moral of the story (and that’s pretty munch what you’re saying) is, live with a single lens for a while and learn to understand the focal length.
This was a great perspective on focal lengths- thanks for sharing and keep posting!
Kind of late to the conversation, I guess, but I more and more I just use a 50mm equivalent for my camera format. It's limited, often not wide enough or long enough in any given situation. But it seems like when I get it right with that focal length, it really nails it. I do a lot of landscape photography and use other focal lengths too, but the flexibility of a the field of view you get with a 50-mil or its equivalent is worth the frustration of its limitations. Also, the size, weight simplicity of using a simpler kit is increasingly worth it to me. As I think about this, it strikes me that an informative exercise might be to find 25 or 50 of the most satisfying photographs I've made in the last five or ten years and see if they've been made with a consistent focal length. Anyway, really enjoy your videos.
Nice vid Sean. There’s something, as you said, about your proximity to the subject; a tangible intimacy if you do a head shot at 35-50mm. Portrait sessions with a 135 can be anodyne and unobtrusive. Which is fine with corporate stuff. But if you need to get inside your subject’s head or to at least be more present as an observer, you need to get into their ‘space’. I’m using the Sigma 35 1.2 on a Sony FF so I get the opportunity, if I shoot wide open, to isolate my subject or to close down and include the environment. It’s bloody heavy though!
I love the 50mm focal length, it is my comfort zone; however, I use the 28mm to spark creativity and to force my brain to see different. Then I go back to 50mm, re-inspired, re-purposed. Thanks @seantucker for sharing this video.
May I suggest, when and if you start doing merch, use the scribbled diagram at 6:30 on a t-shirt! 😊 My most used focal lengths, in descending order, are 35, 50, 24, and 85.
I find myself returning to the Fuji 55-200mm over and over. I had always shot on primes and I still use the Fuji 35mm for it's lovely softness. But, the 55-200mm just gives my what I need every time because I shoot various styles whenever I go out. The thing is, I bought one because it was a good deal rather than really wanting it.
Love this Sean - great content as always. I've battled with focal lengths but as you suggest, i know it's because I don't stick to a fixed length long enough to study and learn it and so I default back to zooms. But, I'm getting there. I know that I love 50-ish for portraits (55 is my go to lens on my Sony for that), and for street: I too know that 28 is too wide, but I don't quite like how much context I lose at 50mm. 35mm still didn't feel quite right so I've recently been using a 40mm on a fuji. I think this is right and find that I'm comfortable with this, and if I zoom with my feet, it's back or forwards in equal measure. Someone told me to try and stop zooming with my feet though and just try and learn the lens. I do find the freedom from zooming refreshing as you get to just take in the world and forget the camera more so shooting with a prime (or fixed length) is definitely a more immersive experience.
I have explored a variety of focal lengths also. I didn't realise until checking my Lightroom data that I mostly lean towards the 50mm. It is one lens I could do 75% of what I photograph with. Great video, Thank you.
You’re right. I will load an 85mm lens and keep it on for months, I’ll develop an intuition for the composition. I’ll then change it up and go for 28mm. It’s fun to experiment and realise just how much your eye and brain adapt. Good video. Thank you.
Thank you Sean for sharing your experience!
I bought an 85mm lens mainly because I was asked to photograph a friend’s wedding, after the wedding I realised quickly it was a lens I wasn’t going to use as it was so limiting, I think I’ve always seen life around me in scenes, I love 28mm, it seems you’re better able to tell a story.
Wonderful advice and so enjoyed your journey to understand the type of lens and the lens you see the world. I gravitate to 50mm with 40mm ideal but lens choice has kept me more at 50. I am experimenting with 21mm and surprisingly enjoying the process of how to think about visual impact with such an extreme view. Thanks again Sean for your videos and journey in photography.
I quite like an 18-55mm lens, I'm not on the streets everyday and don't like to be limited to a certain perspective or be messing around changing lenses so this works for me when the light is good and I dont need a fast prime.
I shoot mainly on a cropped body, so 23mm, and 56mm became favourites for me. I never really got on with 33mm, but think i'll give it another go. I love shooting street and portrait, and find these focal lengths just work. I had considered getting a 16-55mm lens for my X-T5, as this gives me options, when i'm out. Like having several primes all in one lens!
Brilliant video! Thanks for challenging and encouraging us to explore and discover which lens works best for us. I tend to use a zoom for my street photography, most often a 28-300 full frame equivalent on my M43 camera.
My favourite focal length is 35mm on APSC. My passion is woodland photography and that 35mm (50mm full frame equivalent) is somehow the way I see those woodland scenes in front of me. Now and then I use the 50mm (75mm full frame equivalent) when I do not have the possibilty to get close enough when composing the scene. Both focal length do give me the feel that I can create a image of a woodland scene that can give the viewer the sense to being in the scene.