Use Gear That Works for YOU

Hi, in this article I would like to give one of many examples of why I don’t always listen to what other people tell me I should be doing. In certain facets of life, it is considered wise to take suggestions from other people, but that isn’t always the case. Gear that works for another, may not be the gear for your style, and/or you may not have access to what works for others. You may be tempted to purchase a lens based on it’s positive reviews, but is that going to accomplish what you are trying to do?

There are endless ways to explain the point I’m trying to make, but today I would like to keep it as short and sweet as possible.

Let’s consider the main difference between the Canon 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 lens, and the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens. My first lens was the 10-18mm, and I like to shoot portraits. The 10-18mm is a wide angle lens that has a very broad reach. The 50mm I mentioned has a more narrow reach. In order to take a portrait with the wide angle lens, you have to get so close to your subject that it can be uncomfortable for the both of you. The wide angle lens is more suitable for landscapes, and cars.

The image below is an example of how close you have to get with a wide angle lens to have your subject fill the frame. You can tell by Sabrina’s left hand…

 

For the image below, I was a bit further away than with the image above. I used my wide angle for this shot as well. Luckily I knew the band, because not all bands are comfortable with photographers getting this close…

Simon, of Triggered Heart…

Note: The watermark represents one of two last names of mine, which I stopped using for readability purposes.

 

As you’ve probably noticed, the 10-18mm distorts angles, which in some cases, can be beneficial to an image.

Let’s move on…

In the image below, I was actually further away than with the above images, because I was using my 50mm lens which is complimentary to portraits. It shoots tight, which allows for more room between you and your subject.

 

In the image below, I also used the 50mm lens. If I was standing in the same spot, and using my wide angle lens, you would see a whole lot more of the environment, and everything would look smaller.

 

Now if I had done everything the same way in each photo, but swapped lenses, I wouldn’t have gotten the result I was looking for in these photos.

It is my hope that this article leaves you with a better understanding of why you should use gear that works for you, instead of dictating all of your decisions solely on what everyone else tells you to do. Yes, if someone’s advice will help you achieve your goals, then go with that advice. But if you want to shoot portraits and someone tells you to get a wide angle lens, consider the look you’re going for. Had I known early on that the 50mm f/1.8 lens was more suited for portraits than a wide angle lens, I’d have reconsidered that decision before purchasing.

Find out what you want to do, how you can do it, and then make your decision based off of your goals.

Feel free to drop a comment, email me, like, follow, share, and as always, you can ask me questions and if I know the answer, I’ll answer it. If not, I’ll do my best to find the answer.

 

 

 

 

Dale

 

I was running out of ideas for inspiration, and Colin Lack with Simply Stunning Photography suggested I bring my camera on a drive and see what happens. So I grabbed my camera and headed out. I didn’t get far when I spotted Dale.

As I was passing O’reilly Auto Parts on Spring’s Road in Vallejo, I spotted Dale and decided to turn around and have a quick chat. He agreed to let me take some photos in exchange for a few dollars. He said he likes to ride his p90 dirt bike back home and seemed to be a pretty laid back individual. He travels a lot and was in town visiting family. In the bottom image, he was using my phone to lock in his email so I could send him the pictures…

 

Auto Focus or Manual Focus?(Short post)

I use auto focus more often than not because it’s convenient, and in most situations I shoot in, it works. Your experience may vary. From my own experience, when it doesn’t work, it’s either due to uncontrollable movement or dark surroundings. When I use auto focus it is because I can get a razor sharp image much faster than I could by using manual focus(in most settings I find myself in). In the image below, I used manual focus, in addition to my LCD display. Had I used auto focus, the moving grass would have confused the camera. And who knows how long I would have sat there trying to get the desired shot. I used my LCD display so that I could magnify the intended subject in order to make sure I was getting the sharpest image possible, then I focused on the model’s face, dropped the magnification back to normal, all the while taking extra care to stay as still as I possibly could so as not to lose focus, then I took the shot…

Below is an example of auto focus with a busy foreground…

Now imagine if the first image focused on the grass, and not the model. Contrarily, imagine if the second image focused on the background, and not the kid hitting the piñata. In my opinion, I would have tossed both photos. But that’s just me.

Deciding when and how to use auto or manual focus can be a game changer for you. It was for me.

Feel free to drop a comment, like, follow, share, and as always, you can ask me questions and if I know the answer, I’ll answer it. If not, I’ll do my best to find the answer.

 

 

Why Everyone Should Own a 50mm f1.8 Lens

The “nifty fifty”, as this lens is often referred to as in the photography world, is a workhorse. It is a lens with a fixed focal length of 50mm, meaning you can’t zoom in or out, so you have to get closer to your subject than with a zoom lens for a good shot. With an aperture as wide as f1.8, it allows you to shoot in lower light situations without having to raise your ISO as much as with other lenses. Wide apertures are very complimentary to portraits. If you’ve ever heard the terms “bokeh”, or “shallow depth of field”, this has to do with wide apertures.

The 50mm f1.8 was designed to work similar to the human eye. It is good for photojournalism as it conveys reality, and captures your subject’s surroundings with a wider view than other lenses. There are wide angle lenses, but those are used for very large subjects like buildings and landscapes. If you’re shooting small subjects with a wide angle lens, you have to get so close that it can be uncomfortable for you and your subject. Shooting close with a wide angle lens, however, is actually ideal for shooting cars. The 50mm f1.8 doesn’t close in as tight on your subject as some other lenses, and on the other hand, definitely not as wide as a wide angle lens. So the width that this lens shoots is a normal width(Not to be confused with aperture width).

The photos I shoot that get the most compliments were taken with my 50mm f1.8. And this lens only costs $125 brand new. This lens is ideal for someone just getting into photography, great for portraits, and budget friendly. If you’ve got the money to spend, you can certainly spend more. But that isn’t an option for me.

Feel free to drop a comment, like, follow, share, and as always, you can ask me questions and if I know the answer, I’ll answer it. If not, I’ll do my best to find the answer.

Here are a few photos taken with the 50mm f1.8…