I am starting a new blog series to teach all the beginners out there some fun photography tips - Check back each week for a new lesson!
Tip #1
to improve your photography:
BUY A NEW LENS
When you bought your camera, that kit lens that it came with probably looked pretty cool. I mean, look how big it is, right? I thought the same thing! In fact, that lens is really limiting you. If you want sharp pictures and a nice, blurry background, you are going to need something better. In fact, 99% of the time, the lens is more important than the camera! I would almost always recommend someone buy a new lens before buying a new camera. You will get a lot more for your money! And the best news of all?
A good lens doesn't have to cost a lot!!!
There are a lot of lens options out there, but the one I would recommend starting with is the 50mm 1.8.
What makes this lens so great?
The first amazing thing about this lens is THE PRICE! This lens costs less than $150! Of course there are more expensive versions of the 50mm lens, but for starting out, this lens is fantastic.
The second great thing about this lens is that little 1.8 number at the end. This number is called the aperture (also called f-stop). With your kit lens, that number is only 3.5 and it can never go any lower. Why is this number so important??? Because the lower this number is, the more light you will get in the picture, and the more blurry the background will be!
Here is an example. Both of these pictures were taken with a 50mm lens on my camera. I didn't change any settings except the aperture. The one on the left was taken at 3.5, and the one on the right was taken at 1.8.
Notice how much lighter and brighter the second picture is? And how much more blur it has in the background? Now, for big groups you will want to still use a higher aperture (at least 3.2), but for portraits, you want that number to be lower so that you can get that nice blur! And at night (like when these pictures were taken), you want that number to be lower so that you can get more light in the picture without having to use a flash.
Now go add this lens to your Christmas list! You won't regret it!
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Heather Ellis Photography - Heather is a Utah Wedding Photographer and
Utah Family Photographer. Like what you see here? Contact her at
heather@heatherellisphotography.com to book your own session today!
