I had a new lens arrive in the mail yesterday, a Sony 50mm f1.2. The 50mm focal length is often referred to as a “nifty fifty” due to its prevalence in photography and was often considered the standard focal length on 35mm film cameras. Surprisingly, this is the first 50mm lens I’ve owned. Most of my photography has been focused on landscapes and nature, which tend to land either in the realm of super wide angle or super telephoto. A long time ago, when I was shooting with APS-C crop sensor cameras, I had a 35mm f1.8 which is equivalent to a 50mm lens on a full-frame camera. This lens is incredibly sharp and can let a lot of light into the camera, making it a great choice for shooting portraits in low-light situations. One challenge, though, is when shooting at f1.2, the depth of field is very shallow, especially if you are close to your subject. A shallow depth of field can be challenging when photographing dogs because their face has a lot of depth. In this photo, you can see Nico’s ears, and the tip of his nose is out of focus. If I were to get closer so that his face filled the frame, his little nose would be very blurry, and only his eyes would be in focus. On the other hand, the shallow depth of field allows for great subject isolation from the background. I look forward to pushing my creativity with this new lens.

Want to help with this lifelong photography project? Donate below. Or check out our favorite dog gear.