Why I Love 50mm for Street Photography (and a look at Elliott Erwitts new book)

Shane talks about his favourite focal length, does a few irish gags, and looks at Elliott Erwitt's wonderful new book: Found, Not Lost.

He also picks a few photos from our hashtag challenge.

Order Framelines Magazine:

Buy Shane's book here:

Shane & Josh on Instagram

Shane & Josh's Websites:

Visit MPB.com

#50mm #streetphotography

[snapsbyfox]

The 50 is my go to too. 35 is great for documenting and 85 for details but the 50 just hits the spot at least for street stuff. great vid as always lads

[danrosenphotos]

The part discussing 'being loud' vs 'listening' to a scene is what I needed to hear. Ive been feeling so un-creative these days (as many of us are) but that's the exact mindset I need to focus on right now. Subbed, can't wait for more content from you. Cheers!

[carlashcroft]

I haven't taken any pictures for some time now, depression has had me beat for the last few years. After watching your video Shane, I feel reinvigorated, and want to get outdoors again with my camera. THANK YOU!👍

[jamiej.tilleyphotographyar]

A decade ago I was still happily shooting with an 18-105 kit lens, when a stranger in a bookstore struck up a conversation and insisted that I needed to buy a 50mm. He said it would improve my photography and I wouldn't regret it. The next day I bought a $100 nifty fifty and was blown away. It was a look that I didn't even know I was looking for. Being able to use 1.8 to isolate a subject gave a whole new dimension to my shooting. I have shot at least 90% with just the 50mm ever since. I wish I could find that stranger and thank him!

[timpenner]

I find it interesting how so many street photographers greatly prefer a particular focal length. Some even advocate absolutely sticking to single focal length permanently. Shane here is hooked on 50mm. Others can only really see what they want through 35mm. Then there are the 28mm users. I go through phases and find myself wanting to change things up. I've worked with all three that I mention, bringing only one lens on several forays in a row. And then I discovered 15mm - not a fisheye, but the Laowa 7.5mm for MFT. You can't get too close if you want to see that people have ears, so you stand back and take it all in. It's excellent for streetscapes, but still lets you make people the subject with a huge context surrounding them. It's like not being able to settle on a single pair of shoes you like best, or a hat, or choosing which familiar place you want to visit on a particular day or food you want. It's not that I'm conflicted; it's more like wanting to recall old feelings, of which there are a great many.

[ebreckpo]

From a technical standpoint the most "natural" focal length on a camera is the diagonal of the film plane, sensor. This is around 43mm fl. on a 24x36mm sensor. When Leitz introduced the Leica small format (FF) they took the nearest fl out of the drawer they had a 5cm f/3.5. This became the standard focal for the 24x36mm format.
The current trend is using wider lenses. As most smart phones have a approx 26-28mm FF field of view most younger photographers are accustomed to this wider field of view.
When I bought my first film camera it came included with a 50mm lens. I learned to view at the world through a 50mm frame-line, viewfinder (I am in the late 50ies). It is still my most used fl. to date as I can anticipate what will or not be in the picture before framing. The next lens I bought was a 90mm followed by a 35mm. On reportage, street I take my photographs as a spectator of the scene. Wider lenses are when you are photographing in the scene.

[ForeverBrooklynNYC]

RIP Elliott Erwitt -- passed away today :(

[jazzyx]

As someone who has been using exclusively the xf35 1.4 for the last couple of years, I would like to point out that with 50mm I have encountered plenty of situations where there's simply not enough room for me to just step back and re-frame the photo. Eg, a narrow street in a small town, interior a small train station, a church in the city center etc... However I do like the intimacy of the 50mm very much.

[albertsmith]

When I was shooting film, I used 35mm as my street lens, usually on a Leica M6.

For some reason now, I use a 35mm f/1.4 on my Fujifilm cameras, giving an equivalent of about 50mm. It just works for me now.

I also have the new Erwitt book (plus most of his other books).

[ShandytheAce]

As an amateur street photographer who actually loves shooting in 50mm, I've been contemplating purchasing a 28mm or 35mm lens to achieve a different look to my photos. But like a sign from God, this video pops up and makes me reconsider the entire idea 🤔 I do agree that the 50mm is a more aesthetically pleasing focal length and it's nice to know that a few other photogs did not stray from the "nifty fifty."

[tizcxvb]

My new favorite Youtube channel, no pretentious rambling.

[thomaslevine]

I've found a lot of images I passed by on my original edits after a shoot. I believe I grow as a photographer and as I do I find that my original intention when I took the photo was right now, but when I was editing I just didn't see it then. Now going back, I'm floored by images I missed. I have thousands of image, but nothing near what Erwitt has. Elliott Erwitt was one of the first photographers I bought from and I'm talking about the 1970's. I picked up a camera in 1974 and I went pro in the 80's and I still love shooting! Erwitt influenced me in a big way long ago and it's great to see more of his work on Framelines. Thank you for presenting his work here!!

[erwinc.]

The 50mm is the perfect focal length for me. It gives a very natural compression that feels close to human eye. It's narrow enough to give focus on your subjects but wide enough to include sufficient amounts of background. It puts you close enough from the subjects to not feel like a creep/stalker but far enough to not disturb them or make them feel threatened.

Edit: wrote the comment before I watched the vid, glad to see that people have the same appreciations on the focal length.

[julietetlours]

the sad, depressing, melancholic pictures are my favourite. they kick you where it hurts and make you feel so strongly it turns into poetry.

[kronkite]

The introduction made me chuckle. Who doesn’t like depressing, sad images!

[miguelortiz]

It's a relief to find a video were someone speaks about photograph and not about latest gear.
1st time around. Greetings from Chile!

[EnjoiRom]

I just discovered your channel, a consequence of exploring Youtube channels starting with a Reddit post about Dante Sisofo's channel.
I used to use a 50mm about 90% of the time when I was using a SLR but when I switched to my M6 9 years ago I felt that it wasn't the right focal for me anymore. Probably due to the fact that on a SLR the whole viewfinder is filled with your image. In a rangefinder viewfinder, you get so much more of what's going on around your frame, and the 50mm frame is so small. I needed something wider.
And nowadays, I still mostly use my 35mm on my M6 (with a little bit of 21mm) and when I (rarely) pick up my FM2, it's with a 50mm.

[TheBigNegative-PhotoChannel]

people always look at you strangely when you say that you do streetphotograhy with 50mm. I LOVE 50MM! Glad somehow that you also like this focal length! Your pictures are really amazing. 😀

[mynameistrd]

so glad to see a photography youtube channel that brings real photographer, that we can learn so much from, not a content creator

[PhilKnall]

I recently switched to 50mm after noticing i was cropping a lot of my 40mm and 35mm shots. 50 and longer is just so nice to get a nice frame of the scene and not the surrounding environment. I liked your analysis!