YOUR LENS RECOMMENDATION FOR STREET SHOTS

<p>I have read many postings and I have not come across, not that there is not any, any accurate recommendation for shooting street portraits and street photography. I normally shoot with an 18-200 Nikon AF lens. Some days I may use my 80-400 AF Nikon lens. I understand that a fixed AF lens produces higher quality shots, however, when I am on the move sometimes getting a real close unintruceive shot with a fixed lens may be difficult.</p>

<p>I shoot manual focus primes wide angle to standard. Yes, these lenses may make getting in close a bit of a challenge but it's not impossible and is part of the fun. Remember the old saying "The best zoom lens is your legs". OTOH, if you feel your best work is with zooms then use zooms. The nice thing about creativity is that everyone is allowed to continually work at and refine their approach.</p><div></div>

<p>>>> I have read many postings and I have not come across, not that there is not any, any accurate recommendation for shooting street portraits and street photography</p>

<p>Not sure what you mean by "accurate." It really boils down to how close you want to get. There is no one answer that trumps all others; ex, a particular focal length, zoom or prime, quality, etc. A lot of <a href="http://www.citysnaps.net/blog/">street stuff here...</a><br>

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<p>I like to use a manual focus 645 35mm wide angle; with adapter for 35mm or 28mm DSLR, if necessary. I like this lens because the focusing difference between 5 feet and infinity is a very short section of rotation of the focusing ring; with a modest aperture, it's easy for me to place a wide range of distance in focus. This shot was taken with such a lens, I was within three feet/1 meter of the subject.</p><div></div>

<p>I noticed with these photos that I had to take more care with the flash; I flubbed that on these, but in the end things came out okay. These photos were all taken with flash. Kudos for my tolerant subjects. Vivitar 285 was going off right in their face. They didn't miss a beat. </p>

<p>After making a few shots of the musicians individually and together, I stepped back maybe two steps and took this photo with that same lens. I mention this because if a pretty good wide angle is on the lens, and you are not used to looking at them, or through them, or for them, it might seem as though the photographer is father away than he is. One of the advantages, I feel, is that wide angle lenses, because of your closeness, can present a little bit better communication of texture, detail and tone.</p>

<p>I have almost no experience with street photography, but notice these same kinds of qualities with plants and rocks as subjects. Have you been over to the street photo forum? There are several photographers there who have a good amount of experience photographing people. J.</p><div></div>

<p>James, it all depends on your personal vision and comfort level. The toughest part for many budding street and candid photographers is gaining enough confidence to get close to your subjects. As you gain in confidence you will find yourself gravitating toward shorter focal lengths.</p>

<p>For now, I'd suggest sticking with your 18-200. Just take lots of photos in different situations. For example, with Spring coming there will be lots of opportunities for public access events such as street fairs in many locations, even in rural counties. People tend to be relaxed, there are lots of cameras around, so you'll find yourself feeling more comfortable about getting closer.</p>

<p>Then place yourself in a more challenging situation, an ordinary public access area. Just walk along the sidewalk during an ordinary weekday. You'll probably find yourself feeling a little tense, a little reluctant to raise the camera to eye level and photograph people within 20 yards or closer. Just go with what feels comfortable to you at that moment.</p>

<p>Later, compare the EXIF data for both situations - recreational type event such as a street fair, and the ordinary weekday scene in a town or city - and pay attention to the focal lengths you tended to use in each situation. That will reveal a lot about your comfort level and tendencies. Just go from there.</p>

<p>To me the smaller the lens the better. Large lenses intimidate people, so I try to use something like a Canon 50mm f1.8 , or even a 35mm f2. For Manual shots I use my Nikon 55mm macro lens or the 50mm f1.4. I also have a small Cabon zoom 28-105mm that does not take up allot of real estate infront of the camera. For Street photography I carry no more than 2 lenses and mostly wind up using just one lens. </p>

<p>Thank you for your input and comments. They are well taken. First... I did originally post this in the Street Forum; the moderator moved it here. I thought the best lens for shooting street would be best taken from people who shoot Street photos.</p>

<p>I have been shooting an 18-200 zoom and an 80 to 400 zoom. the fine detail is lost with the zooms. However, getting very close with a 50mm when shooting street is sometimes not likely if you want that instant shot.</p>

<p>I seemed somewhat inclined to a 100 mm fixed maybe.</p>

<p>I tend to like to use either my Sigma 24/2.8 or 28/1.8 or else my Zuiko 50/1.4. I very recently acquired a Zuiko 85/2 and I imagine it will get a fair amount of use for this sort of thing as well. The 24/28 tend to be used more for shooting from the hip and the 50/1.4 and probably the 85/2 will be used for more framed shots.</p>

<p>I am totaly "in love"with my "AF 85/1,4" for this, because: <br />-it gives me a dicrete distance to my subjects,<br />-there's almost always all the light I need ( i dont like using flashguns for casual shooting)<br />-it is a bit bulky , but not as bulky as a zoom<br />-if I want it to, it alows me to "isolate" the subject by a razor thin DOF combined with the best bokeh ever.</p>