Skills of using 50MM standard fixed-focus lens

The main reason why the 50mm fixed-focus lens is so popular is that the viewing angle is quite close to what the human eye can see, in addition to its good image quality and low price (F 1.8 step). Some people may think that the images shot with it have neither the shock of wide-angle lens nor the oppressive feeling of telephoto lens, but because of this, the physical characteristics of the lens itself are missing, which is more suitable for training their observation ability, thus cultivating unique photographic eyes. The following are my skills in using the 50MM standard fixed-focus lens. Please refer to them.

Conditional scenario 1:

The limitation of this unit is 50mm equivalent focal length. Because the digital age involves the angle conversion of APS film, the author who uses the APS film body will shoot with a focal length of 35 mm Although the converted equivalent focal length is slightly longer than 50mm, the angle difference is not big. Before shooting, we specially told the challenger that in order to keep the original perspective of the picture, although the image is not limited to post-production, it cannot be cut and modified, which means that more attention should be paid to the integrity of the composition when shooting.

Intuition photography

Generally speaking, when we talk about the 50mm of 135 film, we usually think it is the so-called standard lens, but I give it a new definition privately: intuitive lens. Shooting with a 50mm fixed-focus lens hardly needs to consider deformation or perspective. The only thing a photographer has to do is how to express the main axis and texture of image creation with the elements and scenery in the picture as much as possible within a limited framework.

Therefore, to present a self-centered visual angle, a 50mm lens is relatively simple and easy to master compared with a wide-angle and telescopic lens. In addition, the aperture value of the standard fixed-focus lens is generally large, which is very helpful for low light or indoor scenes and expands the possibility of image creation.

The picture above shows the back of Tianmu famous department store. There is a small community with a Little Square between two buildings. It feels like an old house in Hong Kong. Standing in the middle of Little Square, I looked up and looked out. Through two rows of old houses, I saw the uniform floors and stairs of the department store. The natural perspective of the standard lens coincides with the artistic conception I want to express. Black-and-white tone is the image expression I decided at the moment, which removes complex colors and color temperature of light source and makes lines and geometric figures more interesting.

Because the focal length and perspective of 50mm are similar to the visual effect of human eyes, the composition is quite intuitive and the deformation will not be exaggerated. If the aperture of 50mm f 1.4 is reduced to f2.8, a clear image can be presented, which gradually changes from clear to blurred foreground and background, and it is also quite smooth and natural.

It doesn't matter. This photo was taken at Freshwater Fisherman's Wharf. There are interesting lines and geometric figures on the eaves of the building, and the OK supermarket sign on the side is usually omitted, but I decided to use strength to present the focus of this photo.

Photography course

Judging from the basic composition, the sharp and directional edge of the eaves just becomes the visual guide line from left to right, and then points to the theme with color, because the color temperature of the sunset makes the building present a single color, thus strengthening the visual power of red signs and characters.

Experience sharing

The visual effect produced by the 50 mm standard lens is not particularly impressive, but it is very suitable and easy to use in recording life and shooting photography. It is suggested that readers who want to further cultivate their photographic vision can consider buying a standard fixed-focus lens to match it, and I believe they can also create more interesting photographic works. Another interesting thing is that the equivalent focal length of APS-C camera is 50mm, which is actually a .35mm lens with 135 films, while the close-up ability of 35 mm lens is much greater than that of 50mm lens, which has more advantages in the flexibility of shooting range.

Conditional scenario 2:

In the past, when using APS-C fuselage, apart from zoom lens, 35mm fixed-focus lens was the lens I used the most. Because the viewing angle is quite close to the equivalent of 50mm, what you see is what you get. Even in many cases, you can frame the picture you want to shoot with your eyes in advance without looking through the viewfinder. However, because the viewing angle is too close to what the human eye can see, you need to pay more attention to framing and composition in order to shoot amazing works.

Pull over and wait for someone. The ticking of rain seems to be playing a symphony. I put the camera in front of the windshield and focused on shooting. Jiao Wai's vague scattered scenes and colorful neon lights create a textured night scene in the rain.

LED Christmas tree is actually one of the most common decorations. I stopped in front of it that day to observe it carefully. Then I decided to take a close-up with a field of vision equivalent to 50 mm. What I captured was an extremely dreamy pink starry sky.

Sometimes you can reflect your current thoughts and feelings through photography. Sitting on the Mercedes-Benz in the snowy mountain tunnel, I was confused when I thought of my unhappy life at that time. Suddenly, I was inspired, so I picked up the camera and recorded the picture in front of me. The jitter in the road and the temporarily invisible front are the best portrayal of my mood at that time.

Experience sharing

Looking back, I fell in love with the focal length equivalent to 50mm from the beginning, because apart from having a good viewing angle, compared with using a 50mm fixed-focus lens directly on the Quan Huafu fuselage, using a 35mm fixed-focus lens on the APS-C fuselage also has the absolute advantage of focusing at close range. But interestingly, although Quan Huafu fuselage +50mm fixed-focus lens does not have the above advantages, it can also make invisible progress by observing and thinking about different starting points for a long time.

Skills of using manual fixed focus lens

1 First of all, the most important thing is the STF aperture. What is STF? STF is an optical element called apodization filter, which is installed near the aperture of the lens. It makes the central part of the lens pass more light, but as it moves to the periphery, the light will decrease.

2. Because of this, the contour is diluted in the out-of-focus imaging part, forming an ideal soft virtual image. Simply put, STF aperture is designed for the sharp inside and soft outside pursued by portraits.

3, portrait photography is often the most important thing is to shoot the eyes, with the background blur processing, most people will use a large aperture and shallow depth of field, and the focus of autofocus is often automatically in the eyelashes or nose tip. In this case, the eyes will become blurred and lose the overall vitality of the picture. So, if you master manual focusing, you can focus more accurately, so you can control the picture more effectively.

4. The importance of stability: If you carefully observe those photos that are considered out of focus, you will find that many photos are not sharp enough because of jitter. Out-of-focus and jitter are basically irrelevant, but both of them will affect the clarity of photos. Pay attention to portrait photography in particular.

5. In addition, pay attention to the subject jitter that may occur at the same time as hand jitter. As a reference of shutter speed without hand jitter, it is generally considered that 1/ focal length = safe shutter speed, but this statement does not take into account the influence of subject jitter. In portrait photography, it is necessary to consider that the subject is also moving, and then determine the appropriate shutter speed.

6, shooting speed control: choose the appropriate ISO sensitivity. Higher shutter speed is necessary to prevent hand jitter and subject jitter. When the aperture is fully open and the shutter speed is not enough, the ISO sensitivity should be improved to deal with it.