What lens to use for street photography?

[ed9119]

I prefer wide and a little distortion for drama so usually its 16-35 uwa zoom
favorite focal lengths are 20mm or 24mm to absorb in the environment

(all reference full frame equivalents)

 

[keithwee]

There's no best FL for street; play with your kit lens first and find your own style.

U said u prefer more 'closer' shots ; probably then 50mm might be more suitable than the more classic 35mm.

I have a friend who uses a 150mm (Oly 75/1.8 )for street; reason being he's really not comfortable going close to strangers but like to shoot 'close' ; to just show how extreme choices and style can be. I would never be able to pull this lens off and am more comfortable with a 35mm equivalent.

 

[macaroni]

I'll use anything up to 35mm as I'm more inclined towards wide angles.

 

[kei1309]

As for me, i use 24 - 35mm a lot

 

[zaren]

kit lens standard zoom

 

[kelccm]

No particular favourite focal length that I will always use for street photography. Each different focal length has its own style and perspective. If I am stuck with only a 50mm lens, I will create my photos based on that focal length only and see what I can come up with. Definitely there will be many other shots that you can't take without having other focal lengths, but really, you can't get them all.

Personally for my past few shoots on the street, I find myself using my 12-24mm lens and 84mm lens more. 12-24mm for times when I expect the location to be more congested or tight, and 85mm for times when I expect the location to afford more space or if I just want to go into more detail of the subject.

 

[limabravo13]

thank you so much guys for your insights! It was really an eye-opener to me. So far I've been using my 35mm lens and it did bring out the best in me. At first I was super timid about getting all close to the subject, however I got outta my shell and got bolder. Well, there are still times where I didnt have the guts to go upfront. It can only get better with practice. For now, ive been looking around and I am interested in wide angle shots, however I am unsure of how I should compose my pic with wide angles. Any thought?

 

[lewissac]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egLEYmogyoE&feature=share

Maybe you can practice like they do. Shoot with flash on.

 

[kei1309]

thank you so much guys for your insights! It was really an eye-opener to me. So far I've been using my 35mm lens and it did bring out the best in me. At first I was super timid about getting all close to the subject, however I got outta my shell and got bolder. Well, there are still times where I didnt have the guts to go upfront. It can only get better with practice. For now, ive been looking around and I am interested in wide angle shots, however I am unsure of how I should compose my pic with wide angles. Any thought?

Including your subject with the environment to bring about a deeper feel to how the subject relates to the location

 

[Hinata76]

i shoot using 14mm pancake +fisheye adapter by Sony.

and i get autofocus fisheyes..