Saturday, September 10, 2011

the new lens

Whether your're a professional photographer or not, if you use a digital SLR I highly recommend the 50mm 1.8 lens - it's one of the most inexpensive lenses out there, and with it you can make some amazing photographs. This lens lets in so much light, which enables you to make clear and crisp photos even in lower lighting, and it can give any scene that dreamy, airy look, like this:



These photos are straight off the camera and taken from the passenger's seat of a moving car. These scenes aren't extraordinary by any means, but I love how breezy they are - and look at those clouds! Don't you just wanna eat them? Mmmmmm....

This lens is also capable of focusing on a small detail, making that small detail extra clear and the rest of the photo extra blurred, like this:



This lens does take some getting used to because there is no auto-focus as there is with the other lenses I've been using. I have to manually focus on my subject, which can be difficult, especially when the subject is moving. And there's no zoom - so my angles are limited and if I want the subject to fill more or less of the frame I have to move myself accordingly rather than just being able to zoom in or out. But the clarity and brightness of this lens is worth it, and I think practicing with it will make me a better photographer. And when you do get it right, the results can be amazing, especially for portraits:


See how her eyes are the most focused part of the photo and then even her face begins to blur out a little? There's no way my other lens could achieve this effect, and it's all because of light. I love light. And this portrait needed very little editing - all I did was increase the exposure to make it a little brighter and then sharpen it a bit. So easy!

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