Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-09-27)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 21 September 2019 19

One lens to

rule them all

The benefits oflimiting yourselftojustonelens and

getting toknowit intimatelyaremanifold. Weasked

threephotographerswhytheystilllove50mm

MAKING THE MOST OF 50MM Technique

W

hileit canbetemptingto

fill yourcamerabagwith

a wholehostofzoomand

primelenses,the50mm

is stilloneofthemostversatilepiecesof

glassyoucanown.Lightandcompact

it boastsa fastmaximumaperture,

makingit idealforlow-lightsituations.

Settingwideaperturesalsohelpstoplay

downdistractingbackgrounds,which

makesthislensidealforportraiture

and travel. What’s more, the 50mm is

greatforshootingintightspaces,which

earnsit fansintheweddingphotography

community.Naturally,limitingyourselfto

a 50mmprimehasitsdownsides:without

theabilitytozoominandoutyouhaveto

moveyourfeettoalterthecomposition,

plusthefieldofviewis fixedat50mm

(unlessyouattachthelenstoa camera

witha croppedsensor).However,these

limitationscansometimesleadtogreater

creativity.Withjustonelensinyourkit

bag you’re not overwhelmed by choice,

andyoucanconcentrateonfine-tuning

yourcompositioninstead.Overthenext

sixpageswespeaktothreeprofessional

photographerswhoregularlyshootwith

a 50mmprime.JuliaTrottifindsit ideal

forshootingportraitsinalllocationsand

lightingsituations,LeeFrosttakeshis

offtravelling– andallegesit hasgothim

outofsomeseriouslystickysituations

• andBrettHarknesslikestousehisto
  stayinthethickoftheaction,while
  engaging with his subjects.

The50mmis a versatile

lensthatdeserves

a place in any kit bag

© JULIA TROTTI

PhotographerJulia

Trottifindsa 50mm

primelensidealfor

outdoor portraits