Photography Tips

Getting the Glass Right, Choose your Lens with Care

Gwangju News

What is the most common question I get asked as a photographer? It is easily this question: “Which lens are you carrying with you?” In truth it is a difficult question to answer, and it really depends a lot on the types of photos I am carrying that day. If I know I am taking pictures of portraits, the 50mm prime will go in the bag. If I know I am taking pictures of landscapes, I will pack the wide-angle. So what is best for you? Let’s take a look at some lens types you might want to consider.

Prime vs. Zoom

This is one of the ways of dividing lens into groups. Zoom lenses give you the ability to change the focal length, whereas prime lenses have a fixed focal length. There are some other key considerations to make though, so take a look at these pros and cons to consider.

Zoom lens

  • Pros — The ability to change focal length, with only a need to carry one lens with you. Great for event photography when quick changes to focal length are needed.
  • Cons — The weight can often be much heavier than a prime lens and also have a smaller aperture.

Prime lens

  • Pros — These lens are lighter, often having better optics, and they perform better for portrait photos.
  • Cons —You might need to carry more than one lens, and the inability to change focal length quickly might result in missing shots.

Lens types

Wide-angle — 40mm and less

This photo is a real storyteller, mainly because you are going to be including so much of the scene in the photo. It is ideal for portrait photos where you want more context or for landscape photography. As there is some distortion that comes with wide-angle photos, it can also be used for more abstract photos.

50mm prime lens

This lens is what many people regard as a street photographer’s lens of choice, as it is certainly great for a portrait photographer as well.  The focal length of 50mm happens to be what  you naturally see with your eyes, so this gives photos a more natural feel.

Tele-photo —100mm or more

This is the lens you use when you cannot physically get closer to your subject, as it is often used in sports and event photography and will usually be used as a zoom lens as well. Action photography is not its only application though, as it can sometimes be very handy for landscape photography when you want to compress a scene or when you want to remove elements from around the frame of an object that are in the distance. 

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