Ever want to just *try* out a new lens?   Maybe you already own a fixed 35mm or 50mm lens and you want to try a wider angle like the 16-35 or the 24-70.  Oh, and those are specific Canon lenses.  If you are a Nikon lover, there is probably something similar.

Anyway,  instead of just going out and investing a ton of money in a lens … make sure you like it!  Sure, ask other photographers what they like … but then be sure to try it out before you decide you like it.

I got lucky with my 50mm.  I had never tried it.  I had never even put one on my camera before.  But — I knew it was kind of a ‘go-to’ lens for many many photographers so I put it on my list.  And, poof, my husband bought me one.  He is sweet like that.  I mean, really sweet.

A girlfriend and I really wanted to rent a macro lens so we drove to our local camera store this lovely Saturday morning to rent one and wouldntcha know it — they were all rented out.  So, lesson two in lens rentals:  Call ahead!

We went on our adventure to Zilker Park anyway and captured a lot of lovely images with our 50mm and 85mm.    And I love the image here … but I still wonder what this image could have looked like with a macro!

And for those of you who love to shoot newborns — do you love those detail images of the eyelashes, mouth, ears, toes, etc.?  A lot of photographers switch to the macro specifically for those shots!

{50 mm, f9.0}