How to get the most from this ‘difficult’ lens in street photography

Most street photographers prefer to use focal lengths towards the wider end of the scale, somewhere within the 24-70mm range at least. Longer lenses certainly have advantages, as you can be further away from your subject, be more discreet, and isolate and compress elements in the frame more easily. However, they also present more challenges.

In this video, travel photographer Roman Fox uses a Fujifilm 90mm (equivalent to 135mm full frame) in Hanoi, Vietnam. Hanoi is a huge, bustling city, and while it’s a great lens, it does present certain challenges. So, how can you get the most out of shooting city scenes with longer focal lengths? Let’s take a look!

Shooting in Tight Spaces

The 90mm focal length can be tricky in cramped urban environments, such as Hanoi’s bustling markets. It requires careful planning and patience, as the narrow field of view and longer focusing time can make capturing dynamic scenes challenging. Roman suggests capturing specific details and abstract compositions rather than wide, scene-setting shots.

Techniques for Success

1. Long Road Shots: Use the lens’s compression effect to capture expansive, layered street scenes where subjects at the end of a road appear larger than life.
2. Abstract Patterns: Seek out light, shapes, and colours to create visually striking, minimalistic compositions.
3. Details: Focus on small, unique elements, like hands, textures, or intricate objects, to add depth and variety to a photo set.

Patience and Precision

Roman emphasizes patience in waiting for the perfect composition, such as a traditional hat in the corner of the frame or a specific subject against a colourful background. He also says that these moments often involve trial and error, as distractions or missed timing can easily derail a shot.

Challenges with the Lens

• Focus Speed: The larger glass elements of the 90mm lens mean slower focusing, especially compared to wider lenses. Single-point focus is recommended for more precision.
• Depth of Field: Even at narrower apertures like f/8 or f/11, achieving sharpness across foreground and background can be difficult.
• Navigating the Scene: With a longer lens, it’s harder to incorporate broad scenes, so focusing on small, isolated details becomes essential.

Fishing versus Hunting

Roman describes using a “fishing” approach—waiting for moments to unfold within a frame—rather than actively chasing subjects. This method complements the lens’s limitations and maximizes its strengths in street photography. It’s an interesting distinction, and one which could be well worth remembering when out in the field.

This lens excels at creating clean, minimalistic compositions. Simple backgrounds and controlled colour palettes help highlight subjects, such as reflections in scooter mirrors or textured fabric details.

Longer focal lengths lenses such as the Fujifilm 90mm f/2 lens present challenges for travel and street photography, but can also give unique rewards. They can encourage a more thoughtful, detail-oriented approach, as I discovered in Iceland recently when I was forced to shoot with a 70-200mm lens after my wide angle met an accident! It’s important to be flexible, especially when travelling, and using different lenses can push you outside of your comfort zone, helping you to capture different images and points of view. You might even like it!