We’re a little nervous writing this because I guess you could say this is our first ever “for photographers/educational” post! This post is for the beginners, the people who love taking pictures and maybe have a DSLR camera and want to learn more. The people who got really excited about the thought of taking pictures that they went out and bought a “fancy” camera, but they may be sitting there thinking… now what? The people that were just like us a few years ago! This one’s for you :)

We’ve gotten asked many time by different people wondering which lens they should purchase first. They’ve bought a camera body (which usually comes with a kit lens) but they want something more from their images. They want that nice creamy look, with a soft blur in the background and sharp focus, but they don’t know how to get it. Our answer to everyone who asks is always the same: start with a 50 mm lens! This lens is not only economical (the 50 mm, 1.8 is anyways), but it is the perfect lens to get your feet wet and practice your craft. Now this does’t mean that as soon as you place the lens on your camera, magic happens! You have to learn your gear, learn the light, and practice, practice, practice!

The 50 mm is a prime lens, which pretty much means it does not zoom in and out, and it’s a universal lens that almost every photographer uses. This lens is great for portraits, details, wide shots, almost everything and in our opinion it’s one of the most versatile lenses we own. As a matter of fact, it’s Vic’s favorite lens! But we won’t get too much into that because we are saving it for another blog post :) Once you buy your first DSLR camera our first piece of advice is, as soon as you save up a few hundred dollars, throw that kit lens out the window and invest into a 50 mm lens. We’ve had so many people we know come back and tell us how much they love the 50 and what a huge difference it makes in their images! Whether this is something you envision doing for the rest of your life, or something that is simply a hobby, the 50 mm lens is the perfect lens to start with!

All the images in this post were shot with a 50 mm lens and we hope this has helped someone! You can always feel free to shoot us an email if you’re just starting out and have any questions! We are more than happy to help :)