fbpx
Education Field Instructional

How to Stop Being Bored with a Standard 50mm Lens

Chris Gampat
No Comments
09/26/2021
3 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Panasonic 50mm f1.8 Review product images 1.41-60s1600 5

The 50mm lens puts photographers into one of two camps. Some subscribe to it like they’re going to church. They listen to its every word and receive joy similar to being part of a passionate community. Other photographers think the 50mm lens is also like church, but they’re the folks who sleep during the sermon until someone lets them know they’re snoring. Those people will keep a 50mm lens around just because they might need one. But in the past few years, I’ve found ways to make the 50mm lens less boring.

Give It Cool Lens Filters

Lots of folks may scoff at putting a filter on a lens. It’s not the same as applying the Gingham filter on Instagram or the Mastin filters in Lightroom. Instead, you’re doing it in-camera. Why? Why the heck not? You’re bored. You’re trying something new and breaking out of the stale monotony of modern photography. Shooting with a 50mm lens shouldn’t be boring. If you want to be bored, you could call your phone provider, be placed on hold, and then ask them to place you back on hold. Photography should be fun, and passionate photographers end up creating the best work when they’re motivated and enjoying the process.

One of our favorite things to do is put filters like those from PrismFX on the lens. These aren’t just softening and hazing filters. They change the image pretty drastically. I’m personally really loving the Radiant filter. Put it on a lens, and you’ll appreciate the spark of new life your photos will have. 

Don’t Shoot at All Using the Viewfinder

Here’s a big one. Lots of photographers shoot with the viewfinder most of the time. Well, stop it. Shoot using the LCD screen instead. More importantly, work with different angles; don’t just shoot at eye level. Get lower. Lay down on the ground. Get up high. Shoot using the LCD screen from an angle where you can barely see the screen. 

Better yet, load up the app that’s supposed to be used with your smartphone and your camera. Shoot from a completely different perspective and use the phone as the remote.

Maybe It’s Time to Buy a Different 50mm Lens

Last but not least, it could just be the 50mm lens that you’ve got on your camera. It’s true. Some 50mm lenses are just better than others. Get something unique and different. If you’re going to get a new lens and then edit the photo in post-production for a while, then you’re not embracing the 50mm. You can do what you’re doing in post-production with any lens on the market. So it’s your job to get something completely different.

What does that mean?

  • Get a vintage lens
  • Buy a third party 50mm
  • Get a lens with a different maximum aperture
  • Try a 50mm lens with a macro setting
  • Rent another 50mm

I think that this was the case for me. I own a few different camera systems. But, the only 50mm lenses I personally like are the Sony Zeiss 55mm f1.8 (not a true 50mm), the Canon RF 50mm f1.2 L USM, and the Fujifilm 35mm f1.4 R. The latter has a very unique character and look that can’t be beaten. The Canon lens looks like medium format. And the Sony Zeiss is one of Sony’s sharpest lenses but also beautiful.

Shoot with a 50mm in a way that makes you happy.

50mm 50mm lens Bokeh boring canon filter fujifilm lens new prismfx sony
Shares
Written by

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
You might also like
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Canon RF 24-105mm f4 L IS USM review product images Canon EOS R
Features

Did Canon Miss the Memo That Says Mirrorless Lenses Are Meant to Be Smaller?

3 Mins read
12/26/2018

When Canon introduced their new Mirrorless cameras earlier on this year (The EOS R) one of the stand out features was that the lens mount was so huge. While other manufacturers like Sony have made all things Mirrorless smaller, the late comer to the Mirrorless party seems to have decided that bigger is better. In a recently released interview, Canon engineers seem to be having a sly dig at Sony by saying that lenses with smaller mounts are far less capable than those with larger mounts. Read on after the break to find out more about what the Canon engineers are wafting on about.

P1000_BK_front34r_lo_t
News

The New Nikon P1000 Has a 125x Optical Zoom with a Laughable 1/2.3 inch Sensor for $999.95

9 Mins read
07/10/2018

Today, for some odd reason, the Nikon P1000 point and shoot camera is being announced. Odd, you ask? The fact that it is a point and shoot isn’t such a big issue at all; but the fact that it’s a superzoom camera being marketed as one with a 125x optical zoom is what’s insane. Kudos to Nikon for being able to do something like this; but then you read the fine print (or in this case, print that’s not even in the press release) and see the bait and switch–this Nikkor lens is having its potential wasted by being placed in front of a 1/2.3 inch sensor.