If you´re just starting out with photography, chances are you might be shooting with the kit lens that came with the camera you bought. A kit lens is a zoom lens that helps you zoom in and out on your subject. But these lenses are not always the best lenses for beginners wanting to do creative photography.
If you just want to take everyday photos, a kit lens is perfectly fine, but if you are a creative soul who wants to be playful, make magic and perhaps even grow a career in photography – you must diss the kit-lens.
And when I say magic, I´m thinking of the type of photos that have a creative vibe. You know when a part of the image is super sharp and some of it is all soft and blurry. When you blur out the background and focus attention on your main subject.
So for example when you take a portrait you can have the person in focus and blur out the background noise. This is very practical in many situations, and it´s always nice to have your subject stand out to make an impact.
And to help you create magic your best tool is a prime lens – and the one I recommend is the 50mm lens. I think it is the perfect lens for creatives because it helps you take amazing and very professional-looking photos even though you are a beginner.
A 50mm prime lens is not a zoom lens. You need to zoom with your feet, not your lens. So to zoom in you have to walk closer to your subject. But that´s something you will get used to super fast.
I believe the 50mm is a must-have piece of equipment for anyone starting out in photography. It’s versatile, affordable and great for shooting all types of photos. No matter if you want to photograph portraits, landscape, interior, flowers or food this lens is absolutely wonderful.
What I love the most about this lens is that it helps you when you shoot in low light conditions. So if you´re into the bright and airy photography style this lens is a winner.
In fact, a 50mm lens allows about five times the amount of light into the camera’s sensor than many zoom lenses. This allows you to take super sharp images even in conditions where you don´t have optimal daylight available.
Many of the leading camera manufacturers have different types of 50mm lenses, but the one I recommend is the basic 50mm F1.8 lens. This lens is properly one of the cheapest high-quality lenses available on the market. It cost about $125. The only negative thing to say about this particular lens is that it feels a bit like a toy lens.
If you want to step it up and get a lens built in better quality I would go for the big brother, which is the 50mm F1.4 lens. This is the one that I shoot with and it´s still a very affordable lens. It cost around $350.
You will not really notice any difference in image quality, so it is more a matter of the type of quality you want in your equipment and what your wallet allows you to invest in.
Another thing I love about the 50mm lens is that it is small, light and easy to carry. This makes it ideal for travel photography. And you can fit it into a medium sized lady bag and bring it with you when you are out and about with the kids. Also if you have a teenager that are into photography this is the best lens to give them – you can help them get creative without breaking the bank.
Okay, I feel like I´m starting to sound like a commercial add for this lens, but really I don´t get anything out of recommending it, I just like it a lot and I know from experience that it´s the best all around lens. If you have that lens, you really can do almost all types of photography without having to invest in more lenses. And that´s a great thing if you are on a budget.