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Do you want your photos to have a pretty blurry background like you see in photographs professionals take?
The photog term for that blur is “bokeh” (pronounced like Boca in Boca Raton.) Getting pretty bokeh behind your subject all boils down to aperture. If you don’t know what aperture is, it’s the size of the opening in your lens that lets the light in. The aperture limitation of the lenses most DSLR cameras come with can’t give you a very blurry background.
That’s why the number one lens I recommend to everyone starting out in photography is the 50mm 1.8, which is only around $100 and allows you to use a super wide aperture, giving you gorgeous bokeh all day long! It’s nicknamed the “thrifty fifty” or “nifty fifty” because you get so much bang for your buck.
The 50mm 1.8 was my very first lens purchase after buying my Canon Rebel back in 2009. I started my business with this lens, and I still use it sometimes with my own kids when I don’t want to bring heavy or valuable gear with me.
I posted the image below on my Instagram feed and asked people to try and figure out which lens I used. Guess what? Not a single person thought that I used the plastic 50mm 1.8 lens I bought ten years ago for $100 to take this shot of my three kiddos! Something you’ll hear me say often is that expensive gear doesn’t necessarily equal better images.
Where do I get this lens?
To make it easy for you to find, here are links to purchase this lens if you shoot Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens or Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras. This awesome lens changed the way I took photographs ten years ago and it will do the same thing for you.
I strongly advise every one of my DSLR Bootcamp students pick up this lens before doing my course if they can. My DSLR Bootcamp Workshop provides step by step instructions on how to get the most out of this lens and begin taking incredible images. It’s ideal for taking portraits, but can be used to take beautiful images of so many different subjects.
If you already have a 50mm lens and have questions about getting the most out of it, shoot me a message and let me know! I love hearing from you, and welcome all of your photography questions!
Did you know that I offer more tips in my Instagram stories and posts? Follow along HERE so you don’t miss any of them!
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Yes! I recommend this lens all the time as well! It’s the perfect first lens!
Thanks for saying! I still use it sometimes even though I have much fancier stuff! 🙂