Choosing Your Focal Length

Summary

The 50mm and 85mm prime lenses offer distinct advantages for photographers. The 50mm lens, approximating human vision, is ideal for environmental storytelling and travel photography, allowing for flexibility in framing by 'zooming with your feet.' The 85mm lens, often used for portraits, excels at subject isolation, background compression, and creating creamy bokeh, making it suitable for candid street photography and situations where distracting backgrounds need to be blurred.

Key points

• The 50mm lens offers a natural field of view, ideal for environmental storytelling and capturing subjects within their context.
• The 85mm lens is favored for portraits due to its flattering feature flattening, background compression, and subject isolation.
• The 50mm allows for compositional flexibility by 'zooming with your feet,' adapting to tight spaces or wider environmental shots.
• The 85mm lens is effective for candid street photography, enabling photographers to capture moments from a distance without intrusion.