Prime lenses are perfect for improving your street photography skills and simplifying both your gear and your workflow. They’re also the perfect choice if you often need wide apertures and shallow depth of field. However, London-based Roman Fox also reminds us that there are a bunch of mistakes that hinder our prime lens experience. In fact, his own recent blunder gave him the idea for the video above!
So, if you’re getting ready for another photowalk and you’re planning to take a prime lens with you, it’s worth a watch. His quick tips should help you make the most out of your time with it. These include altering habits you may have picked up from shooting with zoom lenses.
It may also be tempting to shoot wide open only with the notion that it’s what the lens is best for (and thus, what you paid for). However, as mentioned by Fox, not every photo needs a wide open aperture. Same goes for creamy bokeh in the out of focus areas of your images.
He also cautioned against bringing all your primes with you on a shoot. It can lead to very confusing and chaotic shooting experience, he warned, as what happened while he was out in Lisbon. Yes, you can use prime lenses for travel snaps, but proceed with caution. Either bring one prime lens with you, or a zoom lens when you feel you’ll need to switch focal lengths a lot.
Do you have a prime lens tip to add to Fox’s list? Drop it in the comments below, or chime in our group discussions if you’re already part of the Photofocus Community!
