Why I Only Use 35mm Lens For Portraits 

Dang, someone that actually talks about composition vs just saying "this gear is sick af". Thanks man

35 if you want the environment to be as important as subject. 50 for more importance on the subject. 85 for all attention on subject

I just bought a Nikon 35mm f1.4 lens for taking portraits. Your explanation of the importance of the background in creating the image is very insightful. Now I’m more aware of the role that the background plays in constructing a good portrait photo. Thank you!

I was searching the internet for the past couple of days to decide which lens will be my first one after the kit lens that came with my new camera. I struggled between the 50mm and 35mm, but in this video you just nailed what I love about capturing in photos and therefore I will go for the 35mm. Thanks for helping me with my final choice!

I've just switched to 35mm full frame and your video helped me appreciate my choice even more :) I had my first spontaneous potrait session wit my GF and had the same experience: instead of isolating my subject from everything with a longer focal length and bokeh'ing the s*hit out of every distracting visual element, I had to be more aware of my sorroundings, the the different angles, colors and shapes, and the exciting challenge to create a good composition.

What you said resonated with me. I've only used 50mm 1.8 until now, and for most of the photos I use blur as the composition technique. After a while, it kind of felt like I'm doing the same thing again and again. Now, with 35mm, I can bring in that background into the picture and move on to other compositional techniques, which I feel is liberating. Thanks for the video!

I watched a ton of videos trying to decide what to buy. But this is the one that finally convinced me. Appreciate that

Great Video. I’ve only been shooting with my Fujifilm x100 for the past year, which has a fixed 35mm. I feel like exclusively using this focal length has improved my photography.

Once upon a time, during the film era a 35 mm lens was all that was deemed necessary to achieve outstanding results in 90% of the situations. Leica earned its reputation on the strength of outstanding performance of her 35mm Summicrons and Summilux line of 35mm and 50mm lenses. Great photography BTW.

Mate! What a great video! Congratulations for going with an unconventional lens for portrait photography and creating absolutely stunning pictures! Your work is truly breathtaking!

Great video and photos! I had a similar experience as well. Had been shooting with 5dIII with 85mm for 3 years before getting into 35mm. Now they are the only two focal length I shoot in.

Really enjoyed this, thank you! I have several lenses but have better days when I go out with just one, and that is always the 35mm. It takes away a lot of thinking/worrying, as you say. Loved your examples.

You deserve way more subscribers. Best wishes. Your production quality and the value you provide is wonderful. I loved that "a day in the life of a photographer video".

Great work! I shoot portraits with my Canon 85 mm, however recently I've purchased the Canon 35mm and I must say that I totally agree with you regarding the storytelling about this lens. Thank you for the video!

Awesome video Tommy, love how you explain compositions

Im thinking about getting this lens and you convinced me!! Thank you for this helpful vid.

Thank you, I subscribed. I have been exploring less popular focal length primes for portrait photography which has helped me improve my skills in composition.

I just bought one on line I can`t wait for it to arrived!

Really loved the portrait photos. As explained in the video, there's a lot to be said for just getting to know one focal length really well.

I really loved this video. I've shot with 50 & 35s almost exclusively for so many years. 35mm is definitely more difficult to use for me and I think the reason is you have to be much more conscious and deliberate about your background, angle, and composure compared to a 50mm prime. Your advice about dedicating to a single focal length is probably key advice to really grasp and grow your skills for that specific focal length. Switching focal length to often can be confusing, 😂

Learn ton shit of knowledge just from 8 minutes of your wisdom, more than dozens of hours spend fidgeting around, watching other videos. Absolute quality content, many thanks!!!!!

Your work is so stunning and inspirational. Can’t wait to get my camera!

really love this video! Informative/concise/honest! thank you

Honestly it's so cool that you're still shooting on the 5Diii, that thing may be 10 years old now but it's still PACKING. It's humbling to see someone of your talents still using such an "old" camera

So pleased as I just recently purchased this lens, mostly because I’ve been struggling with low light indoor portraits at events. Great lens

Wow dude I’m amazed your channel has so few subscribers. Your vibe is really good. Keep the channel going dude, it’ll blow up eventually.

Great video man! I do love that field of view, such a great lens

Wow! These portraits are breathtaking. I just bought a Fuji X100v (fixed 35mm equivalent) as a gateway into the Fuji system. Seeing your work made me in less of a hurry to expand. Now I need to see how far I can go with this one lens. Thank you for the inspiration. Subscribed!

Really enjoyed your video. It’s made me rethink how I shoot. Thank you.

Great video, you actually explain your compositions. Really helps someone new to photography like myself.

Awesome video, I use the Canon 35 f/2.0 IS and a 6D and agree with everything you discussed and your photographs are so well composed and tell a story which is what photography is all about!

Up until the last month I had always used a 70-300mm lens. I just now bought the 35mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.8 sigma art. Both are AWESOME compared to what I had. Now all I want to do is take photos again! Thanks for the nice video! You take very nice photos.

You've shown me the other side of wide angle lenses, the outcome is dope and tell the idea story. Thank you

Wonderful fresh perspective, thank you!

love this video tommy !! Came up on my recommendation page too 😍

Great explanation of the benefits of the 35mm focal length, plus some really great photography sprinkled in.

Dude this was actually an amazing video! Super helpful, thank you!

Nice video, good work. I'm enjoying your insta as well. 35mm is great for walking around with in crowded street and festival scenarios too.

Excellent analysis of this focal length. For the past 12 years my most used camera has a fixed 35mm f2 (Sony RX1), it has really evolved my ability to see and compose. Thanks for doing this video.

This was very helpful, thank you very much! Great shots for illustration of your comments. Cheers!

my FAVOURITE FAVOURITE thing about your photos is the fact that they arent OVER-EDITED yknow??? like those tiktok photographers that over clarify everything in their photos and vignette everything,,,, no sir YOUR photos are BEAUTIFUL

Your analysis of your work is great. Thoughtful.

Nice compositions, colour balancing and explanations mate. Subscribed as well!

I recently bought the Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art for my Nikon D750 and totally loving it! Great video!

Good stuff Tommy, keep it up!

Still loving the 40mm pancake on Canon ff. It sits nicely „in between“ and not getting an all blurry background with its 2.8f limit makes you think a lot about composition. Tack sharp as well.

nice explanations man, you got skillz 🤜🏽🤛🏽

This was dope.. had to sub.. I think I’ve got sucked into the bokehlicious 85mm lane more so lately.. I’m gonna play around with my 35 more

i have my 35mm 1.4 samyang for portraits as well. great perspective and shots as well

Yes !!! 35 mm is Definitely a Powerful "Must Have" for Portraits !!!

great video man! getting my 35mm nikkor f1.8 for christmas cant wait

I felt like you were deliberately going for that fog look. ❤️

I can agree quite a lot with you. I'm just like you, a person who place scene as part of composition and storytelling, but i am more a 135mm lens, doing just the same.... as long as there are enough room for me. Due to that limitations I found myself in the same conclusions as you with the 24mm STM as it works as 38mm, becoming my current favorite lens. It can achieve a nice bokeh, but still so far away an f1.4, but due to the field of view, close focus distance and it's cropped-down 24mm properties such as perspective and distortion, no where near to a FF 24mm but different to an FF 35mm it gets a quite nice and versatile combo. I wouldn´t say it's not too wide/tight, sure it's wide, but it's cropped normal-type frame with a wide background worked so so good for me that I'm falling in love with 35mm lenses too.

Great video, I recently bought my FIRST 35mm lens lol. After shooting for 12 years it's about time that I did, and I regret not buying one sooner haha. I had too many zooms because I shot weddings, so i'm really loving the 35mm man. So good.

Your photos are fantastic. I love my 35mm too but I'm no where near your level. Great job. I need to keep shooting

Good thinking on composition and attempting to create a unique style. Well done.

love the 35mm focal length

gooosh such a great portraits, another level. I have to pick up my old samyang 35mm 1.4 and take some pictures right now!

A place and a person I can learn from! Many thanks

I’ve been playing with the idea of a 35mm having been an avid user of a 50mm. When I compare my photography between now and a few years back, I used to use a zoom lens so frequently but now I just love prime lenses. Can’t wait to use my 35mm (collect this weekend) and use some of your hints and tips from this video!

Excellent information! Thanks for sharing it

Just subscribed! Your shots are really amazing and GREAT video

Really nice video! Here I was about to ditch my 35, but not anymore. Subbed

Your photos are so dope man!!

Hi, I just stumbled your video. I didn't think of using 35mm for portraits, now I need to explore and experiment more with it. Since i like the 35mm field of view, that means less lenses to bring!

Great video , straight to the point

This was a truly inspirational video. I have been shooting landscapes and want to do more portraits and street photography. Your advice and your reasoning was great. What is the typical f-stop you use? Thanks.

I use a Fuji X100 T with a fixed lens (35 mm equivalent), and you are correct, best focal length for me too, and like you say, you concentrate more on composition than you would with a zoom lens. Thanks for the video !!!!

Great video. I just bought the Sony 35mm G Master. I almost went with the Sony 85mm but I chose 35mm because its versatility

I had a sense before I watched the video that I would be critical of someone limiting their primary lens to just one focal length. I came away not feeling like I needed to not be critical but re-evaluating my choice in using which lenses for different situations. I use the Micro Four Thirds format and I have the 20mm f1.7 Panny/Leica lens. It is similar in use to Canon's 24mmx36mm sensor format cameras. I plan on using my 20mm a whole lot more after watching this educational presentation by Tommy.

your concept of framing the portrait is actually very unique and better than the normal 50mm or 85mm which is too close ... thanks for the tip

Excellent video! Keep up the good work

I really enjoyed this video and loved your images. I’m looking at adding the 35mm to my kit tho my 85mm 1.4 is my favorite lens I’m excited to expand my vision. I’ll be going with the 35mm S lens for my Nikon Z 6II so I can take advantage of a lens that’s made for my system. I was also debating over the Sigma 24-35 f2 art lens vs the Nikon 35 S but since I’m mostly wanting it for the 35 and I have a 24-70 2.8 I think I’ll stick with the 35 S and get my first Z lens as I’m hearing they are also quite good. Ps I subscribed :)

Wow dude your portraits are truly inspiring! Subbed and followed on IG

Really like his portraits! Composition!!

I'm a fan of the 35mm as well. Also you have a dope voice for this

such a good video man!

Really like the breakdown of your example shots, it really illustrates the main point of your video bro. Sorry if my comments get spammy, binging through your channel to catch up HAHA

I think the fog added a dreamy/classic 80s-90s film vibe into your video which kinda looks awesome (at least for me). :)

Wow Tommy! i checked out your web page and I'm blown away with your style of images!! i Love it! did you shoot most of the commercial ones with the 35mm sigma art?

Thank u for such an impressive content.

Good video, 35mm is great, wide enough for environmental portraits, but it’s not wide enough to cause distortion. Overall, it creates very pleasing images.

35mm as well. I’m a Nikon shooter with a f2.2 lens and its been so amazing so far.

Very very helpful, thanks

Love your portraits.

Love the intro man!!!

Yes, I completely agree with the only use one lens advantages. I'm sticking with the 85mm 1.4 for years now. I'm thinking of getting a second body with a 24-70 F2.8 for practicality, but I will always have the 2nd body with the 85mm ready in case. I've tried a photoshoot where I had (because of client request) to alternate with a zeiss 21mm, the photos were all great, but the photoshoot was exhausting, and I have the feeling I lost some opportunities. Also 21mm wich I chose using an app weeks before the fact ended up being too wide. I think 24mm to 85mm represent a limit for shooting one person (to avoid strange deformations and perspective issues on a human body). 35mm makes complete sense to me. And this also adds confidence in my choice of a 24-70 for my second body.

35 and 85! Great video, bro!

I love my 35 mm, 1.8 ... but definitely, I need some zoom one or another prime, maybe a 85 mm. Love your work. Regards from Chile.

Thanks Tommy, I've been primarily using an 85mm because I'm usually shooting in places where the background is too busy or there are too many people around and I don't want them in the shot. I'll try more with the 35mm though as I want to tell more of a story with my images instead of just a pretty photo.

For general subjects, the 35mm has been my personal favorite for decades. It is usually the first lens I buy for a camera system. A slight telephoto is usually my second lens. The 35mm f/2 and 85mm f/1.8 were the first two lenses for my Nikon SLRs. Later, I upgraded to 35 f/1.4 and 85 f/1.4. The 35mm f/1.4 Zeiss Distagon and 90mm f/2 Summicron were the first two lenses for my Leica rangefinders. The 35 does make very nice environmental portraits. However, for tight head shots, I prefer the slight telephoto.

Love your environments, poses, colors, models, but your blown-out highlights. I'm not a photographer today but I would like to know if there is a way to capture every beautiful thing you are getting plus details in the highlights? Thanks!

love this!!!

The sigma 35mm art 1.4 is by far one of my favorites next to the 85mm 1.4.

Cool. Thanks for sharing.

I’ve wanted to shoot with this Lens for a while. My current fav go to- is my 85 1.2 Nikon prime. (I’ll be trying out the 35mm this month)

Great video man! I love a 35mm

Really great photography !!!

I bought this one and 5d mark IV. my favourite photographer is using it. her reason was because it makes things warmer and it is more like you see it through your eye what I like. I love moments captured more realistic. my question is are there specific setting to get sharp pics? I didn't have issues before but with new cam and lens it seem like I can't get them sharp if there are more than one which is super weird. also lens doesn't seem to work great when it is darker never had this before. any recommendations on settings or what to do that I will get a whole family in focus when they are in different raws? thank you

Great work buddy