One of the most frequently asked questions I get as a photographer from people wanting to get more serious about their photography, whether for fun or business, is: “What lens should I start with?”. And the truth is, there are many answers to this question- but I am going to give my opinion today!  Just realize there are a lot of routes to take here, and this is just what worked for me!

When most people buy their first DSLR camera and realize that the lenses are separate, they buy a “kit lens”- a lens that gets sent in a kit with the body for a reduced price! I totally get why people do this- it is a better deal than buying lenses separately, and they always have good zooming capability, like 18-55 mm, etc, which is what people want!  And people want this because that is one of the great things about digital cameras- the ability to zoom. That ability is totally needed if you are photographing your kids on the basketball court, or at choir concerts, or dance recitals.  However, if you are wanting to get serious about your photography in a way that will really elevate your images and help you learn, the kit lenses are not the best.  This post isn’t going to be very technical, but for just a moment…in addition to just the general quality of the lens and the glass that is in it, these lenses usually only open up to an aperture of 4 or even 5.6 Now, I know I likely just spoke gibberish to a lot of you- but in non tech-speak, that basically means there is only so much ability to get the nice “blurry background” and creamy look (technically termed “bokeh”) that most people want when they buy a DSLR.  The type of images that really make your subject stand out from the background and give great color and light.  Those lenses just don’t have the capability to do that extremely well.

Here is an example of the aperture- I know you will be able to see the difference (and feel the holiday cheer! ;-)). You want to look at the definition of the tree, and even more so, lights, behind my pretty ornament in front!

This is at an aperture of 8.0- pretty much what your old digital camera gave you- almost everything is in focus, especially close to the camera:

This is at 5.6- a very common low point for kit lenses (and for automatic camera shooting)- so this is the prettiest your background can get. It IS much better- but wait until you see the next example!

And here is a lens at 1.6. Can you see the “bokeh” in the background, and how beautiful and creamy it is? It really makes the subject stand out from the background (if there was a real subject in this picture!) and is just beautiful.

So when people ask “what should I get next?”, my first suggestion is always a Prime Lens. Prime lenses do not zoom- you have to move with your body. But because of that, that “aperture” mentioned above can go much wider- to numbers in the 1s or 2s (like the lowest image above)- and even if you only use a bit of that, your camera has much more potential for helping you get beautiful images with that ability!  I shoot canon, but all of this can be translated to Nikon or other brands as well!

The tough part about photography in general is that it is an expensive hobby…but the good news here is that you can take your images to a COMPLETELY different level for right around $100 (I have never seen this lens that cheap)!  The lens I suggest is the 50mm 1.8 found here.  This lens is a wonderful starter lens for someone who wants to see a big change in their images fast in terms of quality, and I cannot believe that price!
So if you are an aspiring photographer, or a mom wanting her homecoming portraits of her kids to improve a bit, this is an AMAZING place to start!  Of course, your camera will only learn to ACCESS that lower aperture number, one of the huge benefits of this lens, if you learn to tell it to by shooting in “Aperture Priority” (A of AV) or Manual (M) mode, but you would notice the difference on automatic as well!  If you are wanting to dive deeper into your passion for photography with a lens like this but aren’t sure you would know how to use it, the biggest thing is to put it on your camera and PRACTICE!  I announced last week here that I am now doing mentoring for photographers, business owners, or parents who want to grow and learn, and getting this lens and then investing in education like that to learn how to use it would be a great step!!

Here are a few images to help you see the difference of the quality of glass, and the aperture number, that I mentioned above!

On the left I am shooting at 1.6 on the 50mm. On the right, at 4.0, where most kit lenses start.  There is SO much more definition in the chair and even branches outside on the right- taking away from the main subject because it makes the background clearer and more prominent.  The subject stands out so much more on the left, which is what we want!

This on the left is just a pretty image showing you how much can blur out at 1.6 on the 50 mm recommended, and a picture of the 50 1.4, what I started with!

*Quick disclaimer: It is important to remember that just like the oven does not make the food great (the chef does), the lens or camera does not make the pictures great- the photographer does.  So no amount of fancy new lens will suddenly make your photography amazing without practicing and learning the art behind it.  Even if you bought top of the line materials, you still have to know how much salt and sugar to add to make the cookies good (which is why I stay out of the kitchen!)– so remember this isn’t an immediate fix! But when I got my first 50 mm prime lens, I noticed the beginning of my style start to develop from the way that the images were coming out, and I got a glimpse of what I was hoping to produce- and then I learned how to really make it what I wanted!

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