Focal length photography - the best tips

What used to be the absolute standard now only plays a role for a few amateur photographers: photography with a fixed focal length. The lenses without zoom offer many tangible advantages. We give an overview of the topic and show which tips will help you in the beginning.

Taking pictures without zoom - what are the advantages of a fixed focal length?

A prime lens is nothing more than a lens without an optical zoom function. This brings with it significant restrictions in flexibility, but it can rekindle the creativity and joy of photography. There are also numerous other advantages:

• Price: You can get lenses with a fixed focal length for very little money. Due to the lack of zoom, the lenses are much easier to produce.
• Sharpness: This is accompanied by good image quality. Since much fewer individual glasses have to be installed in the lens, a particularly sharp and detailed image is created in the end.
• Open aperture: The light intensity, or the largest possible aperture, is also a great advantage for fixed focal lengths: Focal numbers from F1.8 and lower are not uncommon here.
• Creativity: What may sound a bit subjective is confirmed by many amateur photographers: a prime lens serves your own creativity. Since you have to move a lot more without zoom and have to deal with the image structure, better pictures are often created in the end.

Which prime lens to buy?

You can get fixed focal lengths in practically every focal length range - from ultra wide angle to telephoto. A lens with 35 to 50 mm is recommended to get started.

• The focal length of 50 mm was previously a frequently used standard. It corresponds approximately to the natural viewing radius of humans and makes pictures look very natural.
• A real price-performance hit is the 50mm 1.8 lens, which is offered by Canon, Nikon and Sony for around 120 euros.
• For the comparatively low price, you get a lens with very good open aperture and sharpness. The prime lens can be a wonderful addition to the standard zoom.

Focal length photos: tips to get you started

Getting started with a fixed focal length is best accomplished through your own experimentation. If you take pictures with the lens, you will quickly notice for yourself the possibilities and limitations.

• It is best to take pictures with the aperture selector (Av mode) and test the effects of the different aperture steps with the same focal length and the same subject.
• Move with the camera and try out new perspectives. Images are often much more exciting if they were not shot from eye level in the first best position.
• Use a zoom lens for training and set it to a fixed focal length. Then you only take pictures at this focal length and have the chance to get a new look at the subject.

A large collection of helpful photography workshops can be found in the next article.