Do you have a lens you shoot with often? or almost exclusively? Do you have a “Standard Zoom” lens attached to your camera body as your default? It’s not a surprise many choose a “Standard Zoom”, those in the 18mm to 135mm range. Those lenses that give you a reasonable wide angle and zoom range. Not extremely wide angle nor telephoto. This lens is typically one of the first lenses that people buy as it covers a nice range of zoom area. These lenses typically have a minimum aperture as high as f/2.8 to as low as f/4.
Admittedly most do, including myself. However I challenge you!
The Challenge
Take a stock of your lens inventory and choose “A lens of the month”. Perhaps this is time to buy a new lens. Grab a lens and do a majority of your shooting with that lens exclusively. Perhaps you have a 50mm f/1.2 with a wild shallow depth of field, or a 500mm f/4 zoom lens. What ever you have choose a lens and challenge yourself to use it exclusively or in situations you normally wouldn’t.
For example, shooting a 50mm f/1.2 will give you the opportunity to shoot in low light situations you might not normally be used to, or give you a shallow depth of field. Grab your 500mm f/4 lens for landscape photography and zoom into patterns you find in the landscape instead of the broad landscape.
Perhaps you’re in a public setting shooting people you don’t know and grab your long zoom lens, perhaps a 70-200mm lens so you can keep a distance . Instead grab your 16-35mm wide angle lens and get in close to the action.
Whatever you choose, push yourself creatively and learn what each lens can do for you. You’ll be surprised what you learn about your creative and technical potential.
