The More You Learn, The More You Improve

Kit lenses are one of the most under-appreciated lenses in my opinion. The 18 - 55 mm f/3.5 - 5.6 lens is the kit lens that almost everyone has, but it's also the lens that a lot of people think is not good enough. Most photography hobbyists/enthusiasts will try to upgrade to a prime lens (fixed focal length) or a better zoom lens soon after they get their first camera. That's probably because they want a faster aperture like f/1.8 or a better zoom range, or just a lens that is specific to the type of photos that they want to take, be it portraiture, street photography or landscapes. Of course, some also feel that by getting a prime lens, their photography skills will improve (because, better bokeh!). I'm guilty of having that thought too, since I want to get a 50mm f/1.8G and I used to think that more bokeh equals better photos. 

But a lot of people jump straight in, buying a prime lens without really knowing the kind of photos they want to take, and their lenses are left on the shelf, hardly used. I think this is where the kit lens is really useful. From 18 mm to 55 mm, it covers from wide angle to slightly telephoto. You are able to try out the various focal lengths and understand what their purpose is for. Reading and watching reviews on focal lengths can help you understand them a bit, but taking actual photos and experimenting with the focal lengths are much more helpful. You get to know which focal length really suits your taste and shooting style. Not only that, you can try out various kinds of photography with a kit lens to see which one you like best. 18 - 24 mm for landscapes / cityscapes, 35 mm for more versatile shooting and 45 - 55 mm for portraiture.

I remember when I first got my camera a few months back, I only shot at 50 mm because I wanted to get used to the 50 mm frame lines (like I mentioned above, I wanted to get a 50 mm lens). I hardly ever used the other focal lengths unless the space was too tight. But recently, I decided to give 35 mm a try for street photography. It was a little too far for me at first, but I soon got used to it and my photos improved vastly. I learned how to incorporate more of the environment into my photos (since more things are in focus as compared to 50 mm), which adds more story to them. It was something I was trying to learn from Benjamain Heath's portraits. 

After having tried the 35 mm focal length for about a month, I became more open to the other focal lengths. I played around with the wide angle focal lengths, which was something I never imagined myself doing, because I'm not much of a landscape person. But I learned to use it with leading lines that can be found all around us on the streets, this created portraits that I'd never done before. Using wider focal lengths definitely made my photos better as I learned to use smaller apertures like f/7.1 to f/16. Whereas in the past while I was only using 50 mm, I always used the largest aperture (f/5.6) to get shallower depth of field (bokeh!). 

I guess the point is, before you look down on your own kit lens, how about trying to learn with it? Understand every focal length by taking photos and make full use of your kit lens. Instead of constantly buying new lenses, how about working with just one lens and honing your skills to create better photos. And the more you learn, the more you improve.

Playing with wide angle!