Using zoom lens like prime lens - any tips for the Finepix S1800?

Started Aug 14, 2010 | Discussions thread
Kim Letkeman
Kim Letkeman Forum Pro • Posts: 33,444
Re: Using zoom lens like prime lens - any tips for the Finepix S1800?

Billx08 wrote:

Despite what that article says, there's nothing "magical" about choosing to shoot at 50mm. For my first film SLR I used a 58mm lens almost exclusively for a couple of years, but that's because it was reasonably priced and was "approximately what our eyes see" (as the article states). Photographers that shoot with a single prime lens tend to use shorter lenses, 40mm and sometimes wider, so it's not at all necessary to be able to zoom to exactly the 50mm equivalent position.

I've seen it documented quite convincingly that shooting at the same perspective as your eyes see is the quickest way to end up with very static looking images. They look like what we see every day and there is no inherent excitement in that.

Much better to shoot slightly wide and get closer to subjects to create interesting perspectives ... or shoot long to isolate subjects and control backgrounds.

There is no magic, but shooting like our eyes see is almost anti-magic ...

Case in point: how many times do we see beginners stand above a flower, put it dead center in the frame, and shoot that perspective? The one you see every day of your life. And how exciting are those images?

 Kim Letkeman's gear list:Kim Letkeman's gear list
Nikon Coolpix 990 Fujifilm FinePix F770EXR Nikon D600 Nikon D7200 Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 +27 more
Keyboard shortcuts:
FForum PPrevious NNext WNext unread UUpvote SSubscribe RReply QQuote BBookmark MMy threads
Color scheme? Blue / Yellow