In My Bag | Lenses

Good morning, friends!!! I am happy to be back at it after a week hiatus from the blogging world. But have no fear! ;-)  I have a whole weeks worth of blog posts ready to roll for you. In the past few months I have received emails from new photographers with lots of questions about technical skills and business questions. I have some coaching/mentoring in the works to launch next year, but for right now I wanted to offer some helpful tips on the blog. I’m hoping that the “For Photographers” category in the drop down above gets more full with blog posts that will be helpful to aspiring professional photographers. So today we are starting off with what type of lenses I use for my shoots. I often get questions about how I get that creamy bokeh (bokeh is a fancy word for out of focus areas in a photo) on some of my photos. It really has so much to do with the lenses I use and how I use them. So here you go my friends! Enjoy :-)

My baby: 50 mm 1.2 L

I could probably keep this lens on my camera all day – every day! It’s my baby! It allows me to get creative close-up to my subject and pulled back and its bokeh is quite dreamy with wide open apertures. I often use this as wide open as 1.4 or 1.6 and I just adore it.

My portrait lens: 85mm 1.2 L

I looooove this lens, but I am still trying to figure it out a bit. It requires me to back up from my subject some and keeping me a little far away while giving direction has been a hard adjustment for me. I have a feeling that once I practice a little more with this, it might be a go-to lens! I could do most shoots with my 85 and 50 in my bag and that is it!

My lifestyle lens: 35 mm 1.4 L

I love this lens and am so glad I ended up buying it last year.  This lens works well in tight spaces, but also because it has a wider angle it makes for a great story telling lens. I often put this lens on when I am out with my kids so that I can help to create a story with them. This is also the lens I need the most practice with so I have been trying to use it more to see what I can create with it. And this is my go-to lens for newborn photography.

Macro lens: 100 mm 2.8

I originally bought this lens to shoot the ring shots for my very first wedding, but before I got my 85mm, I used this as a portrait lens just as much as a macro lens. I love the creamy and unique bokeh it gives to my photos.

XO!

Stacy