Imagine with me…the photography bug has bit, you’ve purchased a brand new camera and lens, and you’re super excited to get out and start shooting. In preparation, you research all there is to know about capturing beautiful photographs when you stumble upon some information that may be a bit disheartening…that your kit lens is not good, and that you can forget about capturing any sort of acceptable photo with it. Your heart sinks as you continue to find suggestions that the kit lens is useless, and that you should immediately purchase a more “professional” lens. This doesn’t sound like a fun scenario, does it? Well, I’m here to tell you that this is simply not true. You can absolutely get fantastic images from your kit lens. And here’s the proof!
Along with flower photography, I shoot landscapes, nature, and architecture and I find that some of my very favorite photos have been taken with my kit lens: the Canon 18-55mm IS f/3.5-5.6 lens. I’ve used this lens a lot since I started in photography and I’ve discovered some techniques along the way that made me fall in love with it!
Make the Most of your Kit Lens
One of the benefits of your kit lens is that it allows you to get fairly close to your subjects. The focusing distance is just a tad shorter than other lenses, and I love that feature. Being able to get closer to my subject allows me to throw more of the background out of focus.
With a kit lens, when you need to get closer to, or farther away from the subject, you don’t need to change lenses. In the two photos below, I was able to get a wide shot of the whole room at 18mm. Then, when I moved to one of the cells, I could zoom in a little to 28mm in order to capture the shot. Quick and easy, and they turned out great!
Landscape photography is perfect for wide angles and narrow apertures. And landscapes will usually sit still for you long enough to use the longer shutter speed needed when using a narrow aperture! I use my kit lens a lot when I shoot landscapes. It does a great job!
Shooting light sources can create some pretty cool effects. For instance, if you’re including a light source in the photo, using a wide aperture such as f/3.5 will create a glowing effect (see the photo below on the left). Alternatively, if you’re shooting a light source at a much smaller aperture such as f/16 or higher, the light source will have a starburst effect, as shown in the photo below on the right. To create the light trails, simply use a slow shutter speed, and a tripod!
If you have a kit lens, don’t be afraid to pull it out and use it. I want you to fall in love with it, as I did! You may just capture some of your favorite images. Who’s with me? Let me know in the comments below that you’re going to pull out your kit lens and love it, too!
What lens would be best used for Senior Photography
Hi Kristy! We don’t cover senior portrait photography, but I do know lenses and I would definitely recommend the 70-200mm 2.8 lens. It’s a bit spendy, but it’s definitely worth the investment, especially since you’re taking portraits professionally. Even the 50mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.8 are good choices for portraits, too. You may want to check out a website called Seniorologie, they have some awesome information on their website geared directly to senior photographers. Hope this helps!
Great article! I use my kit lens most of the time I love the different shots I can get with the zoom. I have several primes that I really like but sometimes it’s just nice to have a zoom lens on the camera.
I cannot thank you enough for this article! I am one of the people who was disheartened to read on forums again and again that you CANNOT get quality images with the kit lens. I love my kit lens and I’m not apologizing for it!
We love this, Vivian!
Thank you for this article! I too loved my kit lens that came with my Nikon 1 V1 camera – the 10-30mm. I loved how close it was able to focus for wildflowers! But my kit lens broke when it was right over a year old. 🙁 I then brought the 30-110 mm lens and and love it too, but it doesn’t focus as close.
By the way, lovely photos!
P.S. Do you happen to have any articles about choosing and using a tripod for outdoor photos? Thanks!
Thanks, Joni! Yes, we do have a couple of articles on tripods: this review is of a full-size tripod we like to use outdoors, and you might find this review of a very small and compact tripod helpful, too!
love this artical! i’m a newby and still learning my camera. i’ve been reading a lot of artical’s and was getting discouraged about my kit lens. looks like i found your site at the right time! i did just look on my computer at some photos that i took over the last few months and i used my kit lens and i was very happy with the out come. well, minus a few pictures. 🙂 love….”love that shot” and love the name too! cant wait to read and learn more!! thanks!
Thank you so much, Trisha! This is what we love to hear!