wider angled lenses

[38Deardorff]

50 is easier for me. 35 is slight wider and it causes a slight "big nose" effect in near Portraits.
I don't like 35mm very much. Really wide is wider 🙂

Axel, that depends on how you frame. 35mm gives you some room to put the subject in context. Of course trying to fill the frame in a portrait as you do with a 50mm will give you the big nose. But I find the 35mm a useful lens.

 

[Bill Blackwell]

Shooting with a 35mm lens vs 50mm
Is it me or is it a lot harder to shoot with wider angled lenses?

It depends on what and where you're shooting. You might find if you stepped out the door with a 21mm prime mounted to your camera you might adjust your shooting style and pick different perspectives (and/or subjects).


Leica M11-P, CV 21mm f/1.8 Ultron


Leica M10-P, 50mm Asph Summilux

Had my lens choices been reversed, I'd have missed the first shot altogether - and maybe the second one too given the amount of cropping it would have required.

35 vs 50? - take about three steps forward or back.

 

[Richard G]

Axel, that depends on how you frame. 35mm gives you some room to put the subject in context. Of course trying to fill the frame in a portrait as you do with a 50mm will give you the big nose. But I find the 35mm a useful lens.

A 35 is great for environmental portraits. There’s quite a few of HCB’s I reckon must have been with a 35 - Francois Mauriac for instance. Wedding photographers who know their stuff reckon they could shoot the whole day with just a 35 1.4.

 

[38Deardorff]

A 35 is great for environmental portraits. There’s quite a few of HCB’s I reckon must have been with a 35 - Francois Mauriac for instance. Wedding photographers who know their stuff reckon they could shoot the whole day with just a 35 1.4.

Me too...

 

[markjwyatt]

Wider lenses require you to be closer to your subject. That might be problematic to someone who couldn't be or wouldn't want to be that close.

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Converseley, wide angle lenses allow you to capture what you want in situations where you cannot step back further, or doing so introduces a lot of intervening clutter (e.g., travel photography, urban situations). It also allows you to step into the frame (e.g., see below, both 21mm):


Men Working by Mark Wyatt, on Flickr


Wyandotte Cemetery by Mark Wyatt, on Flickr


Ring Fountain by Mark Wyatt, on Flickr

 

[Godfrey]

"There are no simple rules that aren't too simple to cover everything."

G

 

[Axel]

Axel, that depends on how you frame. 35mm gives you some room to put the subject in context. Of course trying to fill the frame in a portrait as you do with a 50mm will give you the big nose. But I find the 35mm a useful lens.

Funny to see our different photo strategies.
I don't think of focal length in respect of subject context.
Perhaps I should. I will try sometime.