RIGHT TIME, WRONG LENS

Have you ever had an almost-perfect snapshot in front of you only to realise you were using the wrong lens? Or maybe since it’s more convenient, you just bring one lens with you? Or pushing yourself to the edge. We’ve all heard that the best lens for a portrait is 85mm, 50mm, that the best lens for a landscape is a wide angle between 14mm to 24mm and that the best lens for getting in close is a macro? So, what if we alter things up and use a lens that isn’t often associated with that type of photography and replace it with another? Will we set a goal for ourselves or do something unusual?

- SUJAY J SHATANANDA

Using the kit lens for portraits

As we all know one of the advantages of having a prime lens for portraiture is the flexibility to shoot as wide as f/1.4 or f/1.8 in nearly any setting to get that lovely bokeh effect. Most kit lenses only have apertures of f/3.5 (at 18mm) and f/5.6 (at 55mm), which means they won’t blur the background as much as beginning photographers would want. Unless they realize that the aperture isn’t the only thing that goes into making a good bokeh effect for pictures. The distance between the subject and the backdrop is also crucial in generating a hazy background. The backdrop will be blurrier in the image the further the subject is from the background. When using your kit lens, one of the simplest ways to get a blurry backdrop is to place your subject as far away from the background as possible. By using this method, you can utilize the wrong lens at the right time.

Landscape using zoom lens