Why I Love 50mm for Street Photography (and a look at Elliott Erwitts new book)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 มิ.ย. 2024
- Shane talks about his favourite focal length, does a few irish gags, and looks at Elliott Erwitt's wonderful new book: Found, Not Lost.
He also picks a few photos from our hashtag challenge.
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#50mm #streetphotography
I haven't taken any pictures for some time now, depression has had me beat for the last few years. After watching your video Shane, I feel reinvigorated, and want to get outdoors again with my camera. THANK YOU!👍
Same here ,getting out and taking pictures again has definitely helped me !
@Carl Ashcroft I hear you... I think introverts can find a safe spot behind the camera and still express themselves. I wish you all the best ✨
@@dadabiu7399 Thanks, God bless 🙏
@@carlashcroft6652 Same boat, COVID exacerbated it. Getting out there you may find out what your missing. My best!
@@sarfaraz.hosseini Thanks mate 👍
The 50 is my go to too. 35 is great for documenting and 85 for details but the 50 just hits the spot at least for street stuff. great vid as always lads
Right? I only run into problems with 50 if I want to take a landscape/cityscape and it can be a bit boring on 50. Much prefer 35 or 28 for that.
As long as it’s your “go too?” ffs. What other “go too” lens do you use then?
Hmm, what is meant by documenting? As in getting enough information into a shot?
@@frame-lines when shooting landscapes, I think the 50mm is a great focal length for taking multiple shots and stitching them together to form a panorama.
@@DessieTots you should probably read it again before trying to correct his spelling .. he said it’s his “go to too” … as in also .. “ffs”
RIP Elliott Erwitt -- passed away today :(
Thank you for so much Elliot, RIP.
The part discussing 'being loud' vs 'listening' to a scene is what I needed to hear. Ive been feeling so un-creative these days (as many of us are) but that's the exact mindset I need to focus on right now. Subbed, can't wait for more content from you. Cheers!
the sad, depressing, melancholic pictures are my favourite. they kick you where it hurts and make you feel so strongly it turns into poetry.
A decade ago I was still happily shooting with an 18-105 kit lens, when a stranger in a bookstore struck up a conversation and insisted that I needed to buy a 50mm. He said it would improve my photography and I wouldn't regret it. The next day I bought a $100 nifty fifty and was blown away. It was a look that I didn't even know I was looking for. Being able to use 1.8 to isolate a subject gave a whole new dimension to my shooting. I have shot at least 90% with just the 50mm ever since. I wish I could find that stranger and thank him!
i like 50mm as well but i find it very challenging because you have to be extremely far from the subject. i hope i could appreciate it more :(
@@robbykidman I suppose it depends on what you are shooting and what you mean by "Extremely Far". If you are trying to do macro photography, this is not your lens, although I have made some beautiful shots of flowers with it. But for just everyday, walking the streets waiting to see something to shoot, it is perfect. (For me) Whether across the street, or right in front of me, it just does what I want. Just my opinion and taste, of course. I think being aware of your own likes and dislikes is important, and maybe you are better off focusing on the lens you like? That's certainly worked for me! Take care.
Thanks for the reply. I guess indeed it depends on your purpose. I once shot a couple for a prenup using the 50 and i had to shout most of the time so they can hear my instructions cause with this lens, u have to be distant from them. 😅
@@robbykidman Oh, I understand what kind of shooting your doing now. I personally love the 50 for portraits, but if you want to get full body shots of multiple people, I guess you'd have to step back a bit. What is your favorite lens for that? 35? 24?
@@robbykidman lots of people use 85 for portraits, brings the backgrounds closer, looks better in my opinionnn but yeah have to be farther
My new favorite TH-cam channel, no pretentious rambling.
When I was shooting film, I used 35mm as my street lens, usually on a Leica M6.
For some reason now, I use a 35mm f/1.4 on my Fujifilm cameras, giving an equivalent of about 50mm. It just works for me now.
I also have the new Erwitt book (plus most of his other books).
I find it interesting how so many street photographers greatly prefer a particular focal length. Some even advocate absolutely sticking to single focal length permanently. Shane here is hooked on 50mm. Others can only really see what they want through 35mm. Then there are the 28mm users. I go through phases and find myself wanting to change things up. I've worked with all three that I mention, bringing only one lens on several forays in a row. And then I discovered 15mm - not a fisheye, but the Laowa 7.5mm for MFT. You can't get too close if you want to see that people have ears, so you stand back and take it all in. It's excellent for streetscapes, but still lets you make people the subject with a huge context surrounding them. It's like not being able to settle on a single pair of shoes you like best, or a hat, or choosing which familiar place you want to visit on a particular day or food you want. It's not that I'm conflicted; it's more like wanting to recall old feelings, of which there are a great many.
As an amateur street photographer who actually loves shooting in 50mm, I've been contemplating purchasing a 28mm or 35mm lens to achieve a different look to my photos. But like a sign from God, this video pops up and makes me reconsider the entire idea 🤔 I do agree that the 50mm is a more aesthetically pleasing focal length and it's nice to know that a few other photogs did not stray from the "nifty fifty."
I think there's still a ton you can learn from using other focal lengths. Even if you don't share work that you shoot with other lengths you might discover more clearly what 50mm can do by using other focal lengths.
I been doing street stuff with a 50 but recently bought an old 28 which has a very cool look but I'm taking longer to get the hang of than I thought. It's nice to not have ones back against the wall, literally and it's great for city architecture; one can more often get the whole thingy in frame, but other shots I ended up cropping and wished I'd used the 50 with that classic look. . I like to have a street portrait in context without excessive background blur with the 28 I must admit, but one doesn't have to use a 50 wide open all the time either :)
It took me years to try the 35mm & 28mm lenses. This was because I had an almost visceral reaction to distortion in pictures.
From a technical standpoint the most "natural" focal length on a camera is the diagonal of the film plane, sensor. This is around 43mm fl. on a 24x36mm sensor. When Leitz introduced the Leica small format (FF) they took the nearest fl out of the drawer they had a 5cm f/3.5. This became the standard focal for the 24x36mm format.
The current trend is using wider lenses. As most smart phones have a approx 26-28mm FF field of view most younger photographers are accustomed to this wider field of view.
When I bought my first film camera it came included with a 50mm lens. I learned to view at the world through a 50mm frame-line, viewfinder (I am in the late 50ies). It is still my most used fl. to date as I can anticipate what will or not be in the picture before framing. The next lens I bought was a 90mm followed by a 35mm. On reportage, street I take my photographs as a spectator of the scene. Wider lenses are when you are photographing in the scene.
It wasn't Leitz that introduced the 5 cm focal lenght, but Zeiss.
It's a relief to find a video were someone speaks about photograph and not about latest gear.
1st time around. Greetings from Chile!
Another top video lads! Particularly enjoying the book segments.
So glad I found this channel, big fan of Josh, look forward to your next video!
people always look at you strangely when you say that you do streetphotograhy with 50mm. I LOVE 50MM! Glad somehow that you also like this focal length! Your pictures are really amazing. 😀
I do street with 90mm cause I'm broke
@@Legoman1352 same lol, 50mm on an aps-c, 80mm equivalent
Heck I love to do street photography even with 300 mm. There is no rule to use what every one else uses. 50 mm is my favorite still.
This was such a banger, thank yee for the wee bit of fun
Great video keep them coming. I bought the book today and can't wait until it shows up in the mail.
As someone who has been using exclusively the xf35 1.4 for the last couple of years, I would like to point out that with 50mm I have encountered plenty of situations where there's simply not enough room for me to just step back and re-frame the photo. Eg, a narrow street in a small town, interior a small train station, a church in the city center etc... However I do like the intimacy of the 50mm very much.
the same !
50mm feels super compressed, i feel like we have two 50mm lenses that's what gives us our depth perception. But yeah it is a great starting point to grow from :)
are you using a crop sensor?
For me, the 50mm on a Leica M camera felt very natural. On an SLR, it felt often confined.
great video! intended to run this alongside some work that allows it, but stopped, rewinded and pushed play all the time, cause there is so much gold in it!
I recently switched to 50mm after noticing i was cropping a lot of my 40mm and 35mm shots. 50 and longer is just so nice to get a nice frame of the scene and not the surrounding environment. I liked your analysis!
Just found your channel, amazing video! Both of you are great photographers and it’s lovely hearing your process and thoughts on making great images! Cheers!
I share a lot of the same sentiment. I am a lot more experimental and creative with a 50mm than I am with my 28mm
I feel the same way, because I can get wide(ish) and tele(ish) style shots with a 50 so I tend to try a lot more angles.
I have so many dang 28mm lenses purposely bought. I love the focal length . And at the same time have struggled to like the 50 . I sold my Sigma Art 50mm and bought the Art 40 mil . I haven’t used it much for photography as I’d like to have . But a ton for video. After selling the 50 I felt like I missed it and struggled with the 40 . Odd but true .
Now I just bought a Sigma 65mm and it feels just right .
I have an old Nikkor S 55mm f/1.2 coming and plan on using it a lot until I get this 50 thing down .
Seems from the examples only Gilden does 28mm..
Glad to see your selection from the homework all met the brief of demonstrating the use of the primary colours. Followed the hashtag daily, and too many didn't (although most were good images in their own right). Excellent channel. Keep up the good work.
50mm is definitely my go-to. great video and thanks for introducing me to amazing work I wasn't aware of.
your work is stunning, i feel so inspired!
hoping to get your book for my birthday :)
I received Found Not Lost as my birthday present this year.... Enjoyed so so much. 50mm is my everyday lens on the street... I am very glad that you have shared so much insightful experience about using 50mm lens. Thank you !!!
The introduction made me chuckle. Who doesn’t like depressing, sad images!
Everyone loves a bit of ennui
@@frame-lines Do you come from a poor, working class family background when you were a child?
I just discovered your channel, a consequence of exploring TH-cam channels starting with a Reddit post about Dante Sisofo's channel.
I used to use a 50mm about 90% of the time when I was using a SLR but when I switched to my M6 9 years ago I felt that it wasn't the right focal for me anymore. Probably due to the fact that on a SLR the whole viewfinder is filled with your image. In a rangefinder viewfinder, you get so much more of what's going on around your frame, and the 50mm frame is so small. I needed something wider.
And nowadays, I still mostly use my 35mm on my M6 (with a little bit of 21mm) and when I (rarely) pick up my FM2, it's with a 50mm.
Always great to see a new Framelines video pop up! Even if it is nearly 3am and I should be in bed! I absolutely adore the Fuji 35mm f/2 also, it's a great focal length. Though I do find myself using the X100V most often I really must go out some day with just the 35mm f/2 and give it a good go. Have got some good stuff in the rain as the WR gives you a little more confidence that it'll survive a bit of rain. Great video as always, gonna pick up Erwitt's book as soon as I'm back to work!
Thanks for the heads up on Erwitt's book! And also thanks for the discussion about the 50mm. I've been more comfortable with such a lens than the wider say 35mm but could never quite put my finger on why. This helped a lot.
50mm is magical. i bought my lens without knowing much about it and their properties when i was just getting started. best decision i’ve made as far as camera gear. completely changed how i shoot. awesome video as always.
I've found a lot of images I passed by on my original edits after a shoot. I believe I grow as a photographer and as I do I find that my original intention when I took the photo was right now, but when I was editing I just didn't see it then. Now going back, I'm floored by images I missed. I have thousands of image, but nothing near what Erwitt has. Elliott Erwitt was one of the first photographers I bought from and I'm talking about the 1970's. I picked up a camera in 1974 and I went pro in the 80's and I still love shooting! Erwitt influenced me in a big way long ago and it's great to see more of his work on Framelines. Thank you for presenting his work here!!
Thanks for sharing... Enjoyed your video & comments regarding the 50mm lens....cheers
The 50mm is the perfect focal length for me. It gives a very natural compression that feels close to human eye. It's narrow enough to give focus on your subjects but wide enough to include sufficient amounts of background. It puts you close enough from the subjects to not feel like a creep/stalker but far enough to not disturb them or make them feel threatened.
Edit: wrote the comment before I watched the vid, glad to see that people have the same appreciations on the focal length.
Not true. Natural focal length is 43mm - the hypotenuse of the 36x24mm frame. So 50mm is as far from natural as 35mm.
Loved the video. Just subscribed!!! Great job!
Loving this one!
cheers barney - great to see you back!
Great video Shane. I recently purchased a TT Artisans 50mm for my M2 and can’t wait to try it out.
Brilliant review!
Thank you!
50mm has always been my natural go-to for all types of pics, sometimes even landscape when I need light and sharpness. It's so versatile in my view.
I absolutely love the 50mm. I go back and forth between the 50 and the 35. It feels so good to come back to the 50mm.
Great video! Thank you! More pleazze
Nice look at Elliot’s book! I will look for a copy. I love using the 50 but more recently have gravitated to the 35 more and more, especially since going to my new mirrorless kit. All the best for 2022!
Well thank you and thanks to TH-cam recommendations they brought me here. I was searching for some kind of street photography channel.
"If you find yourself too close... Just step back a little." Oof the wisdom behind that line in both photography and life. 👏🏻👏🏻
Around 50mm is my preferred too and learning to use it in the months to come. I like to shoot what I see without much distortion.
That's a great point relating focus length of lens to the amount of intrusive potential of the subject.
His work is fantastic.
Thanks, I needed this! Just ordered the M11 after wanting one for decades. Only getting one lens and tough decision between 35 and 50 and this helped me narrow it down. To help me see it in practice, I went out with a 24-120 the other day and shot at both focal lengths and the 50 won out most of the time. I know not exactly the same, but when I needed wider than the 50, I took about 7 steps back and got the same framing as the 35. In today's hyper paranoid world, not sure if walking 7 steps closer to a person is going to make them feel very good. And thanks for the suggestions on the photo books.
I grew up with 55mm as the kit lens and now use a 30mm on a MFT camera as I need a bit more compression than 25mm on MFT , which gives 50 mm equivalent.
I often wondered why I chose the length I did and discovered that since I wear specs that often slip down my nose , my perspective of normal was closer to something between 55 - 60.
Sure, I have wide and telephoto lens choices to fall upon , but using what I describe as my standard lens gives me what others at 50 can achieve .
The other often overlooked advantage of having a single prime lens glued to the camera will enable more to be captured , as well as an appreciation of what the image will look like as soon as the camera is raised .
As you demonstrated , standing a little back or moving in a little closer , you can achieve the wider and telephoto take on the image .
50 mm or its equivalent in my case , gives maximum flexibility and a good trained eye without playing with a zoom or switching lenses when there is no need to do so.
We often overthink what is needed and should learn to be more intuitive when on the lookout for images . For all other times the phone can double as your second body for a wider view when in a hurry to get the shot because you cannot more back to frame the shot .
Thank for sharing your thoughts with us and encouraging us all to consider a truly versatile and often overlooked prime lens.
Take a look at Jane Brown’s work . Here was another photographer who used the 50mm quite a bit for her pictures .
Nice video, keep em coming!
so glad to see a photography youtube channel that brings real photographer, that we can learn so much from, not a content creator
This is fantastic, my wife picked up the Found Not Lost for me as a gift and I love it. Thank you.
Thank you for your observations on the 50mm and the ability not to invade people's "personal space". You've changed my usual thoughts on my own street photography!
Love this channel! Thanks for the great content ❤️ Aloha
The first lens I ever used was a 50mm on a Miranda Autosensorex EE (highly underrated camera). Really love how creative you can be with that. Some of my favourite shots were taken on that before I got taken with the 35 mm focal length. Reminds me, I need to dig up my old film. Thanks for sharing!
The niffy-fifty is a super lens, inexpensive,fast and small. Love it.
made some of my most favorite street photos with 50mm. Love the rendering of things in space on the 50mm focal length! Nice video!
thanks so much. I agree about the space - it's one of the most important aspects of using different focal lenses (and formats)
Great video, I have only just discovered Framelines and I'm so glad I have. I haven't taken a real camera photo since August last year, and I only know that because I dug my camera out last night after watching your interview with Sage Sohier, which was another brilliant video. Thank you.😎
I am a first time viewer of your video and I'm glad I found you! I share a lot of your sentiments about 50 mm lenses. I use them along with 45 mm lenses on the fixed lens view- and rangefinder cameras that I love using. 50 (and 45) is very versatile - you get context if you want to, and you can frame a tight composition too if that's your choice.
I was just browsing and came across this. Nice one.
When I first started film photography I thought I'm about to use 35mm my whole life, then roll after roll , I started to love 50mm more.
Same here! 35mm is great but 50mm just suits me better
Great video, love my zeiss 55mm and my pile of other 50s on my old cameras 😊
Liked, subscribed, and here to tell you and Josh that you are great. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for subscribing lee - glad you like it :)
Loved your video.
Like many photographers, 50mm is the only lens that I have with my full frame. I have rented the 70-200 and my best weapon, the 200-500mm, but I'm never disappointed to go back to my 50 once those rentals are up. I'm lost in this video, Elliot is so talented and I think you're really far up there as well.
Great video, I have liked and subscribed as instructed.
I often return to 'throw-away' photos years later and see them differently and appreciate them. Never throw them away
Great video very informative
I used to like 50 mm a lot, but I preffer 40 mm now. It gives more volume to the picture and some round lines. 40 mm 2.8 pancake, I love it.
Interesting to see Erwitt's new book, totally different photos, chosen from different time, different perspective and "senior" vision. By the way, I alway look photos in silence, at least the one I admire.
Nice portfolio you have.
Nice channel as always, very deep 50m chat as its a tough lens to get right over 28 and 35. btw i did check out Café Royal books.
Great content as always. Quick gear-holic question if you don't mind. Have you tried the Ricoh GRIIIx? Quick take on it? Thank you for the content
Awesome video and thanks for pointing out this book!
What is your fav 50mm lens for the leica? Thinking of getting a summicron 50 v4…
Good video, I find if I stick to a focal length with any length I start to get comfortable with it and eventually start making images I enjoy. But I agree on the wide angles, I once was a festival in Key West with a 24mm (on a full frame) and had a few people say they felt uncomfortable about how close I got to them to make the photo. I always remembered that and pivoted to 35mm, with 50mm and 85mm in a small bag.
When Erwitt and even more so Cartier Bresson used the 50 it never looked too tight and the frame was filled with meaning and beauty or irony. When I see most modern day Street Shooters see a 50 I mostly think it looks too far away or too tight and little boring. It was different times and they were masters so the focal length simply did not matter so much.
I used to shoot a lot with 35/85 until I tried a 50. Now all I shoot is 50 on both my sony and fuji. I love 50! I feel like I can do anything I want in the street with a 50. It feels comfortable yet experimental, and like you said it’s easier to make it look good. Anyway great video and thoughts yet again ☺️
I'm exactly in the same place. Always shot with a 35 and 85 but always felt they were either too wide or too narrow but never thought of getting a 50 because many say it's so close to 35. Then I got a 50 on my Fuji and INSTANTLY fell in love with the perspective. It's perfect. Now to get one for my Sony too
great video my guy
Love this
cheers carlos!
Agree, agree, agree. The 50 (and the 80 in 2-1/4" format) still rock, as they did in 1959.
It's really interesting! I subscribed your channel now. Thanks for sharing!
Ba bhreá liom níos mó "Irish Nonsense" a bheith agam, go pearsanta! First video I've seen from ya but had to subscribe as soon as I heard the greeting :P I personally prefer 50mm for my street stuff as well. Enjoyed the video man!
This is a great video!
Glad you think so!
I love my Manual Nikon ais F2.8 55 mm macro lens, it`s been welded to my Nikon F3 HP for more than 3 years, simply brilliant, great vid.
Everyone is dressed so dapper in the photos.. Australia could never.
Started with a 50m 44yrs ago.. Now have four 50's in various systems, Just so reliable in every way.
That very Irish opening had me hit the subscribe button right away 😂 also, great videos!
Shane, great video! At 8:14 in the video, what type of Leica do you have in your hand? Also, is that Leica a film camera? Do you and Josh shoot mostly film or....?
My first time here😁😁😁nice video buddy🔥keep up that good work📸
Very good video, thanks. I use an aps-c sensor and keep switching back from zooms to a 35mm prime. Increasingly I find that one lens will do. Really enjoying Frame LInes.
Thanks Geoff. 35 is another great focal length. Ive been using a voigtlander 35 for years on various film cameras.
Me too 50mm, thanks for assuring that, it does take nice photos
I am a documentary photographer, so not the same field; but I use to scout with a Leica M9 with a 50mm summicron and a Q1 with the 28. I love the 28, but three quarters of what I end with are shot with the 50. On Erwitt’s book, I’ll look it up. I was fascinated by the beauty of some of the images.
I also love the 50mm lens.
I only have my 50mm lens on my Canon and it doesn't come off, the best street photos ever is the result - pure style and drama in a photograph.
Great new episode - always excited for them :)
One question: how do you focus with a 50mm on the M6? Rather manually for each frame or do you work with zone focusing? I personally find it quite difficult to find the right balance between a nice Bokeh and a workable depth of field...
I don’t zone focus as much with 50 on my m6. It’s a bit of a slower experience, which I lean into :)
thanks for this video.
you're welcome :)
Your idea of depressing is really quite beautiful! Nice work Shane, we should see more of it :)
ah thanks man. I was being a bit self deprecating - i dont really think it's that depressing :)
Oh man, you speak my language. The Takumar 50/1.4(8E) is my favourite lens, period... all for the reasons you mention. So much so I am working on my first book with nothing but images taken with that lens.
I thought Home Around The World (which I could read a million times and not get bored) would be his last, so happy to catch up, what a treasure trove he/it is!
was considering using a 50mm recently, so happy this vid came out :)
I’ll borrow that QP while you try 50 👀
I got a 7d mark ii to get myself back into the hobby and I didn’t know about the crop sensor conversion. It Came with a 50mm yet on the crop sensor it’s 80mm equivalent so I actually have a pretty decent portrait lens to start out with. I may go for a sigma 30mm 1.4 as a Xmas gift to my self.