50 mm - One lens for all photography

welcome to this episode about photography today I would like to introduce you to my approach to just using one lens for all your [Music] work my name is Mortin Alek and I am a professional photographer and normally I like to shoot with just one fixed lens for most of my work I seldom or rarely change lenses in between and I like to use the same lens for a long period And I would like to explain you why the main lens I use is a 50 mm sumu 1.4 that is a a pretty fast lens with a really nice bouquet a beautiful rendering of the onsharp areas of the image not that is is not in Focus but everything in front or in back of the focus area in the image is rendered really beautiful with a soft bouquet that means that the outof focus area is nicely rendered without crisp and sharp Ed es so it looks soft and beautiful and that's the beauty about that lens it is not so much about the Sumo lens although I prefer that lens on my like M but it is about limiting yourself opening up for new ideas and creativity in your photography using a zoom lens for example makes a lot of photographers lazy it's so easy just to zoom in or out for wide angle shots and just be standing at the same point I have watched a lot of professional photographers especially at uh concert Arrangements where you put in just in front of the scene or you have to go all the way backstage and hi Here Comes Stacy jumping by and just zooming in or zooming out standing at the exact same spot during those three to four first that you are allowed to photograph at a concert for example the zoom lenses from the back will just make a closeup of the person singing Everything at the stage behind the singer is blurred out it could be anywhere in the world you have no idea where it is it doesn't make sense it doesn't tell a story standing just below the scene you can risk zooming in the same way way having that blurred out lights at the background and that's it a nice closeup but again where is the story in the picture where is the history limiting myself to just use a 50 mm it could be a 35 mm the point is that you only use one lens it demands you to move around it demands your brain to begin thinking images because the limitation using just that fixed lens have to force new ideas creativity and moving around zooming with your feet shifting where you are standing with your camera finding new angles moving to the left to right a little back a little front turning around seeing new images is forced by just using one lens it could be a 35 mm lens it could be a 50 mm lens what I would like to make you think about is how this can improve your photography and your creativity with your camera using just that one lens the reason I use the 50 mm lens is because I think for me and this is a personal approach it gives me the perfect distance between the subjects and me and because I only use that one lens I know exactly if I have to step back three or four feets or I have to just step a little bit forward I know my framing because I'm used to use just that lens if you zoom or you shift between different lenses you will have a difficult time to know if you are close enough or too far away because how was that lens actually framing the picture okay I shifted to 35 M now I have a 90 mm so I have to go another place and everything shifts if you choose choose to work for a long period and we talk months with just one lens then you get adjusted to that lens and you will know it perfectly you will get adapted to position yourself perfectly every time you shoot of course there will be situations where you miss something because you are too far away from the object but you will also miss shots with a zoom lens because you have zoomed in and you miss what is happening just aside that area where you have focused your lens at zooming in excluding the rest of the image so one lens for all jobs for a period will train your mind to seek the perfect positions and the right framings an argument you will also hear a lot of times it's just about your own mindset so of course you can use a zoom lens and fix it but that is not what happened it is the same thing that we have our habits with iPhone if it is just just in front of me is so difficult not to take it up and look at it so we are most of us not that clever or not that smart that we can train ourself to limit ourselves if we do not make our tools help limiting ourselves and limitations is not the same as you there's a lot of stuff you can't do actually it turns the other way around it opens your mind to seek new inspiration new ideas and ways to frame your images and positively also finding a great joy in framing new situations because you have limited yourself to this framing if you choose to use a 50 mm lens for most of your jobs you will know that lens and it doesn't matter if it is a aperture of 1.4 or it is a 2.8 the thing is that you are used to use that lens you know exactly what you will get of exposure but especially the framing the distance and then Zoom with your feet if you need to go closer up to your objects that you want to photograph it can be people on the street it can be portrait is actually a this lens so looks 50 mm 1.4 is actually a pretty decent uh lens for portraits because I think 35 mm uh have too much distortion but that's another talk normally we recommend 90 to 100 mm for portraits but I use the 50 mm all the time because it adds that beautiful render of the bouquet and the skin tones also stands out perfectly with this lens if you choose a different lens it doesn't matter it doesn't matter about the fabric it doesn't matter about the brand it is about you getting used to use that tool or all the time so I know exactly when I take this camera up and focus on you how much there will be in that area I know that because my habit is to use this lens for practically all my work I rarely shift to a 35 mm I never have 90 mm in my in my uh camera bag I use 50 mm for everything and then I just run forward or backward shift positions to to change the directions and I know what I get in my frame because I'm adapted to look through this lens whatever lens you prefer depends on how it renders colors how it renders uh the bouquet the autof focus area if it is crisp sharp or it is a little bit more soft I used a old Canon Vintage 50 mm years ago that had a really nice and very soft way of taking light into the sensor as soon as I got a little bit the Stray light in the lens it was blurring the image out but you can use that creatively this lens is coated so it doesn't take straight light in the lens uh so soft and blur it all out as much as older lenses so I prefer to work with this lens but of course we all have our preferences use the tool and the length that you trust that's the most important thing because when we know our tool when we know our lens when we know our camera so we can just handle it without thinking too much about technology and how to set the aperture how to set the shutter speed how to set the white balance if that is in our blood so we do it fast then we can put all our energy into seeking the perfect images the images that we like no matter if it is people walking in the streets portraits buildings whatever type of Photography you prefer therefore as a training set a time limit where you only work with one lens in the start it might be frustrating because you're used to make be using a different lens you may be used to use a zoom lens but in the end you will benefit a lot from this training so put into your calendar for the next two or three months you are only allowed to use that one lens if you do that I promise you after some frustrations of missing shots and thinking it's easier to zoom and you can stand further away from the objects and zoom in that's easier it's more comfortable because you not annoying people if you are doing street photography but after a while you will get used to it and you will overcome it and this is something I would like to teach on upcoming workshops how to use the limitations to actually open up a new world of possibilities instead of restrictions you restrict yourself first and then you conquer new land so it's all about learning to love that one lens and make that your favorite tool for your photography the reason I use the 50 mm lens is that it allows me a little little bit more distance than the 35 mm lens it also gives me a different look that I like that is less wide angled than 35 or 28 mm but usually we say 35 mm and 50 mm lenses are the tools for street photography you can use other lenses of course if you prefer that but those are the main tools for that type of work the 35 mm lens gives you an opportunity to grab grab more of the streets the 50 mm L Creeps in just a little and it's maybe more focused on the people not that I'm going up close all the time but it just gives me the advantage of standing a little bit further away and being able to capture people without them noticing me another thing you have to get used to if you prefer standing further away and zoom in with a zoom lens maybe 100 to 200 mm you will experience that the images you take are maybe less personal you can feel this distance you can feel that they are captured with a zoom lens from a distance as soon as you go up closer that's why many Street photographers use 35 or 50 mm lenses is that you can actually feel their presence in the image you know that the photographer able to stand very close to to the situation and that gives a quite different feeling of a photo that one that is just taken at a distance where the photographer was just not near by the scene where things happens and it doesn't matter what kind of emotions we are talking about if it is people laughing people in deep conversation or just people standing and looking at other people no matter what you will feel if the photographer have been at the scene and that brings the viewer into the scene that's why it's preferred to use 35 or 50 mm lenses for street photography the most famous street photographers have always used those kind of lenses with that distance so you can feel their presence in the situation you know they were there and that gives a quite different experience when you're looking at such a photo bringing just one lens with you make you adapt into the situations you want to capture you have to be nearby you have to accept that people will notice you because you're not at a distance with a suance so you have to learn to approach people discreet and kind I always seek acceptance of photos taken of people that actually noce me taking the photo so I nod at them I smile I keep my camera a little bit down and I can feel their acceptance if they say no no no I will never show you that picture anywhere if they do not react or just not recognize I'm there I can publish it as long as I am in a public Street where it's allowed to take pictures of other people the second thing if if you are doing any kind of assignment with people where you want to photograph them there is is and you take a portrait for example there is a really distance between you and the subject if you go further away to zoom in with your lens and you lose the contact with people the opposite if you have to go really close up I always appre approach people that now I'm coming closer to you so that intimate distance you have between people and that's different between different cultures how acceptable it is to stand just close up to people and Shake Hands though there is like a handshake distance where we are still at a distance but we are in contact when we move closer up to like kissing distance it can be too much for people that do not know you so approach people kindly and with respect when you're approaching them to take a photograph and of course meet their acceptance so you do not annoy people with your camera so respect for for the people your photograph is really important especially when we are using lenses that demands we're coming closer to people if we want to make a closeup portrait the 50 mm lens here is great for street photography because it is pretty small it doesn't feel a lot there are a lot of other cameras with bigger lenses that are still 50 mm they look more annoying they will larm or F more in the street when you're walking with that it would be more visible that you're actually going around taking pictures of people and as a street photographer it is a really big benefit to have a small camera with a small lens it isn't so overwhelming for people when you approach them with a small camera and I use that at a daily basis taking portraits of people for my work for photojournalism and they know I'm a photographer because I'm approaching them as a photographer but the smaller camera kind of helps them relaxing and of course my attitude as well so go out in the world with a 50 mm or a 35 mm what you prefer and use just that one lens for a period and stick to it because the only way you learn to control your camera with that lens is to use it at a daily basis or whenever you go out shooting and do not fall in to the need to change lenses in that period because then all that training that will help your way to approach photography with just one lens will be wasted so keep on limit yourself and it will add a lot of new possibilities to your photography if you feel inspired by my photography then please subscribe below here so you get a notice every time I post a new video within the next year I will begin to arrange a few yearly workshops and some free walk with me and take photographs around the world it will be just a few places because this will be beside my normal professional work so there will be limited spaces and limited events but sign up for the newsletter at the website there's a link below the video and you will get informed wherever I arrang a workshop or a free photo walk so thank you for watching this video and stay tuned with just one [Music] L

Channel: Morten Albek Photography

Views: 50,992

Keywords: #photography #albek #streetphoto #workshops #photo #leica #leicam, camera gear, 50mm lens, 50mm lens photography, camera gear for beginners

Id: z_DZ4Jf3PEE

Length: 19min 3sec (1143 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 21 2023