Grab yourself a nifty fifty.
Every month Wildfoot Travel’s marketing expert Dave Cheetham offers some practical photography tips.
Aimed at beginners and the everyday photographer, these tips are carefully compiled to help you get better travel and wildlife shots.
By a ‘nifty fifty’, I mean a 50mm prime lens. My nifty fifty is the most used piece of gear in my camera bag. By a million miles! And that applies to both photography and video work. So even though it seems half photography tip and half review, my tip this month is that every photographer should pack a 50mm lens.
And here’s why.
- It is alleged to be the closest lens to the normal eye. Giving you very ‘real’ feeling images. Perhaps that’s why this is such a popular choice for street photographers.
- A 50mm lens is compact so easy to carry and pack
- It is very durable.
- The nifty fifty is highly versatile. They can take all sorts of shots, from amazing portraits to glorious landscapes.
- The wide aperture settings usually available (1.8, 1.4 without spending a fortune) allows really shallow depth of field for lovely portraits.
- The same wide aperture allows more light in, so you can shoot more effectively in low-light situations.
- Without the option to zoom, you often have to think a little harder to get the shot you want and often work a little harder to get it. This can lead to more interesting shots.
