Too close for comfort: what I learned shooting with a 50mm lens for a year
A year ago I changed cameras, moving from the Ricoh GR II (which died unexplainably) to the Fuji XT-30. After shooting with a 28mm focal length for about three years I wanted a change in perspective. I was tired of the challenges of shooting wide all the time and was looking for a lens that would help me make better portraits while still being useful for street photography.I thought it would be nice to shoot with a bit more space between myself and the scene, unlike with the Ricoh GR, which requires being up close and personal most of the time.
I thought a 50mm would fit the bill so I bought Fuji’s 35mm f2 (roughly 50mm equivalent) and have had that screwed onto the front of my camera for the past year.
Despite having made some lovely images in the past 12 months, I’ve found the 50mm more frustrating than exciting. I’m not in love with shooting with it. I’ve tried to love it but I can’t. To be fair, I’ve had moments where I’ve enjoyed it — mostly when I’ve been doing shoots with people and have had time to work the scene. But overall I’ve found it far too tight, especially for street and documentary photography. For anyone thinking about venturing into 50mm territory, I’ve listed a few things I like and dislike about the 50mm focal length.
What I’ve enjoyed about shooting with a 50mm…
Composition
One thing I’ve noticed about my photography over the past year is that the 50mm has helped me focus on composition. I’ve definitely spent more time on carefully arranging elements within the frame. The feeling of things being ‘flatter’ was a welcome change after the way the 28mm can distort scenes. It feels like the 50mm has pushed me in a direction where I’ve been paying closer attention to lines and shadows. The way the lens flattens the scene compared to a 28mm makes it feel more painterly somehow. It’s brought a gentle structure to my images that was less apparent before.
First day of lockdown level 3. Muizenberg, June 1, 2020. Brendon Bosworth.
Nice for portraits
Portraits with the 50mm feel solid. Over the year, I’ve had the opportunity to shoot with a few people, mostly for my movement project. With the 50mm it feels like there’s a nice working space between me and whoever is in front of my lens. Not too close but close enough that we can still engage, and work together, in a way that creates a good connection between photographer and subject. However, I found myself missing the extra bit of scene that a wider lens like a 35mm pulls into the frame.
Laura. Portrait at the Costa Da Gama Community Kitchen. Brendon Bosworth. 2020.
Which brings me to the things I really don’t like about the 50mm…
Too close too much of the time
Even after a year, I still come away from shooting (especially with scenes involving more than one person) disheartened with my photos. They’re just too tight most of the time. I’ve been doing some documentary work during the Covid crisis, photographing the community kitchens we support with the Muizenberg-CAN. And when I’m trying to photograph people in action - cooking or serving food, or unloading vegetables from a truck - I just can’t quite get everything I want in the frame.
Often, when shooting (one person or more) I’ll chop off hands or feet. I think I’m too used to standing closer from the 28mm days. Things get worse when working indoors. In a room I often find I can’t back up enough and end up with these shots that are just too close and claustrophobic feeling.
Challenging street photography option
Related to the point above: the 50mm, for me, is way too tight for street photography. I’ve made some okay street photographs over the past year but most of these feature just one subject. The 50mm is actually kind of good for that. But I haven’t been able to master using it for busier shots at all. It’s just felt way too tight. Frustratingly so. So while it’s made me focus a lot on my composition, I haven’t really moved forward in composing multi-character street or documentary scenes.
Too vanilla
The way the 50mm renders images is rather bland. There’s something about the overall flatness and lack of dimensionality that made me miss the larger than life feel of shots with a wider focal length. As mentioned previously, on the plus side I have noticed a gentle painterly look to some shots. And at times I value the overall sense of calm that comes through in a well composed scene. And, of course, when making a portrait you don’t have to worry about the possibility of giving someone an overly large nose or forehead like you would if shooting with a 28mm. On the downside, I found my images lacking the sense of life that I see in photos made with wider angle lenses. I also missed the sometimes unexpected distortions of perspective I had in some of the photos I made with the Ricoh GR. I think this is why I’ve given up on the 50mm for street photography.
35mm to the rescue?
Over the year, I’ve grown a tad disillusioned with my photography and come back from too many shoots saying “I wish I had a wider lens.” I’ve got to the point where the downsides of working with the 50mm outweigh the benefits.
There’s no point in forcing something that’s not working so I finally forked out for a new lens: Fuji’s 23mm f2 (35mm equivalent). What a breath of fresh air! I took it shooting for the first time this weekend and got excited about making photos again. The wider angle feels right and there’s a versatility that’s sorely lacking with the 50mm. I even got excited about seeing a slightly enlarged and distorted arm in the one frame - it felt good to be able to make creative mistakes like that again.
Things felt much more comfortable the first day out shooting with the 35mm. It felt good to have a wider frame to work with. Muizenberg waterslides after the rains. Brendon Bosworth. 2020.
Anyway. Equipment isn’t really that fun to write about. And lens choice is a personal thing. Some of the best street photography in history was made by Henri Cartier-Bresson, who reportedly shot pretty much exclusively with a 50mm. (I now have even more respect for him after my foray into the 50mm world). But I wanted to get these thoughts down for anyone who’s considering venturing into 50mm territory.
Bottom line: it’s an average focal length that works for some things, and is nice for portraits, but has the potential to drive you nuts if you’re a street or documentary photographer who needs a bit of breathing room in the frame.
I’m not selling my 50mm yet. I’ll keep it around for portrait sessions. But after just a few days of shooting with a 35mm focal length I’m starting to feel like I’ve come home to the place where I belong. I’ll check back in a year to let you know how the journey goes.
