In this episode of FocusEd. the folks over at B&H have put together some helpful information for beginners (most likely) who haven't yet learned that those little numbers on the side of a lens are in fact a focal length value that can tell you a lot about what your image is going to look like. If that's you, here's a primer on focal length:

Okay, the video is a little bit -- goofy -- however, the information is still solid and important to know before you go off choosing lenses for your projects at random. Lenses are one of the most important creative tools you'll ever use in a film, because it carries so much of the aesthetic burden during capture.

Different focal lengths will render light and depth in various ways depending on aperture, the distance between your subject and your camera, light, and more. But one of the bigger contributions focal length gives to the final look of your image is depth-of-field; long lenses (usually above 120mm) will give you super shallow DoF, while short lenses (usually below 50mm) will keep a lot more in focus.

If you have more tips for beginners who may not know a lot about focal lengths, feel free to share them down in the comments!

Source: B&H

bhphotofocal lengthlenses
Cinematography & Cameras