{"id":59780,"date":"2017-07-28T00:05:05","date_gmt":"2017-07-28T07:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=59780"},"modified":"2017-07-28T00:23:56","modified_gmt":"2017-07-28T07:23:56","slug":"street-photography-lenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/28\/street-photography-lenses\/","title":{"rendered":"Street Photography Lenses"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hanoi,
Hanoi, 2017. Shoot on Ricoh GR and 28mm lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What are the best lenses or focal lengths for street photography?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Is there a perfect lens for street photography?<\/h2>\n
\"Hands
Hands of a 92 year old woman. Hanoi, 2017. Shoot on RICOH GR II with 28mm lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Primo, there are no rules. You can use whatever lens you prefer in street photography.<\/p>\n

I generally find that (for me) I prefer a 28mm lens<\/a> on a point and shoot camera (or when using the LCD SCREEN) or a 35mm lens on a camera with a viewfinder.<\/p>\n

\"H\u00c3\u00a0
H\u00c3\u00a0 N\u00e1\u00bb\u2122i, 2017. Shoot on RICOH GR II 28mm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For example, the RICOH GR<\/a> has a 28mm integrated lens. I like it because I can get very close to my subjects (by extending my arm).<\/p>\n

\"Hanoi,
Hanoi, 2017. 28mm and Ricoh GR II.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Phone Street Photography?<\/h2>\n
\"Shot
Shot on phone. Mexico City, 2016. Processed with VSCO with a6 preset. Zoomed in.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you shoot on an iPhone or a phone<\/a>, the default lens is roughly a 28mm \u00e2\u20ac\u0153full frame equivalent\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

\"In
In and out, 2016 (shot on phone with zoom)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Street Photography with viewfinder cameras<\/h2>\n
\"Marseille,
Marseille, 2013. Kodak Portra 400, Leica MP, 35mm Summicron ASPH<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For shooting on my Leica, I prefer a 35mm Lens (I use the Leica 35mm Summicron ASPH lens) because it is wide enough, but not too close. Also, because I wear glasses, I cannot see the edges of the viewfinder on a 28mm lens.<\/p>\n

Learn more: LEICA MANUAL ><\/a><\/p>\n

DSLR STREET PHOTOGRAPHY LENSES<\/h2>\n
\"\"
Seoul, 2009. Shoot on Canon 5D and 35mm f2 lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I started serious street photography in 2009, with my Canon 5D (version I) and a Canon 35mm f2 lens. I shot everything black and white, RAW, and P (program mode), and center point autofocus. Like Henri Cartier-Bresson<\/a>, I would wait for an interesting background, and wait for my subjects to enter.<\/p>\n

For me on a DLSR, 35mm lens was ideal for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153full frame.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Santa Monica, 2011. Shot after work, on Canon 5D and 35mm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I like to shoot in P PROGRAM mode for street photography settings<\/a>. Why? I like to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Set it and forget it\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and focus on composition<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"Santa
Santa Monica, 2011. Shot on Canon 5D and 35mm lens, in program mode, center point autofocus.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Telephoto \/ Zoom Lenses for street photography?<\/h2>\n
\"1960
1960 BRAZIL. Sao Paulo. 1960.
BRAZIL. Sao Paulo. 1960. \u00c2\u00a9 Rene Burri \/ Magnum Photos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rene Burri<\/a> shot his famous rooftop photo in Brazil with a telephoto lens.<\/p>\n

Saul Leiter<\/a> shot a lot of his phenomenal color street photo shoot with a telephoto lens.<\/p>\n

\"Saul
Saul Leiter photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For myself, I prefer shooting with a wide angle (prime, non zoom lens) because I like to get physically closer to my subjects.<\/p>\n

To me, with physical proximity comes emotional proximity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But it depends what your personality is, and what your aims for street photography are.<\/p>\n

If you want to be more creative with your street photography, I think having \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative constraints<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d help more with creativity. Most street photographers I know excel using 28mm or 35mm Lenses.<\/p>\n

Of course, just experiment with zoom and telephoto lenses, and see if you like them for street photography.<\/p>\n

There are no \u00e2\u20ac\u0153rules\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in street photography, only tips and suggestions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

50mm in Street Photography?<\/h2>\n
\"leica
Why not a 50mm f.95 Noctilux lens?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Henri Cartier-Bresson<\/a> popularized the 50mm for street photography. Why? It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t distort the frame.<\/p>\n

\"Leica
Leica 50mm f2 APO LENS.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But to me 50mm is boring. Not dynamic in street photography.<\/p>\n

Try it out though. Most people tend to prefer 35mm lens.<\/p>\n

But doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the human eye see as a 50mm? Not quite.<\/p>\n

The human eye sees roughly a 40mm perspective.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But once again, experiment and see if you like it.<\/p>\n

I also recommend NOT to get a f1.4 lens in 50mm. Get the smallest, lightest, most compact 50mm possible. 50mm f2 is ideal.<\/p>\n

\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n
\"ERIC
ERIC KIM x HENRI NECK STRAP<\/a> x film LEICA MP and 35mm Summicron ASPH<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Experiment with different lenses and focal lengths in street photogrpahy until you find something that suits you. Then my recommendation,<\/p>\n

\n Stick with one camera, one lens<\/a> in street photography for at least 1 year. Then you will truly grow, develop, and master your camera and the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153decisive moment\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in Street Photography.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

BE STRONG,
\nERIC<\/p>\n

PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT ><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY 101 by ERIC KIM<\/a><\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What are the best lenses or focal lengths for street photography?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54241,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/ERIC-KIM-STREET-PHOTOGRAPHY5.jpeg?fit=4928%2C3264&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59780"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59790,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59780\/revisions\/59790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}