Rating Each Focal Lenght that I used as a Street Photographer

Let’s be honest: focal length defines how we see the world. It’s not just a technical choice; it’s an attitude.

Over the years, I’ve gone through many lenses, from wide angles to short telephotos, and each one taught me something about how I want to approach the street, and people.

Here’s my personal rating of the focal lengths I’ve used the most, with their virtues, flaws, and what kind of mood they invite. Please consider that is not about rules, it is about the personal feeling and the vision I have to stay connected with my personal street photography. I am not telling you which lenses you should use for your photography, but rather sharing my experience here, without any intention of dictating ways of photographing.

24mm: The Wild Card

Rating: 7/10

The 24mm is exciting, vibrant and dangerous. It pulls you into the scene, but it can easily become too much: too loud, too forced, too many informations inside the frame that often can lead you to chaotic and no clue compositions. You need to be close, sometimes uncomfortably close, to make it work. For some special architecture included or when I want to show the density and chaos of a place (say, a market or a crowded procession), it can give me great results.

I used that focal lenght initially with the Panasonic Lumix LX3. Then more recently on my Sony a6000 with the 16mm and the the 16-50: 16mm is equivalent in ff to the 24mm.

But composition-wise, it’s a tricky friend. Perspective distortion can make human subjects look odd if not handled carefully and even the background is often too distorted with this focal lenght.

Verdict: Good for immersive storytelling, but too risky in many cases.

28mm: The Street Classic

Rating: 9/10

28mm feels like walking into the rhythm of the street. It’s wide, but not exaggerated. Many greats, Garry Winogrand, Daidō Moriyama, built worlds around this focal length. It allows proximity without losing context, and in chaotic environments like Mexico City, it sings.

It’s probably the most cinematic of all the “wide” focal lengths. You can layer your frames, include gestures, and still maintain a sense of intimacy. Not a surprise is currently considered the favorite focal lenght by many street photographers. It is the easiest lens to use when you work with the zone focusing technique.

Verdict: If I had to choose one lens to live with, I can imagine that 28mm would be a strong candidate.

35mm: The Balanced Eye

Rating: 10/10

35mm is the voice of reason in street photography. It feels natural, intuitive, honest. You don’t fight the frame: you flow with it. It’s the focal length that most matches how we perceive the world: neither too close nor too detached.

It’s also where you can move between photojournalism and poetry. I think this focal lenght t remains timeless because it’s adaptable. With a 35mm, I can shoot a candid moment, a portrait, or a scene in motion without thinking too much. That is why I prefer it even more than the 28mm. 35mm in a certain sense is easier than the 28mm but at the same time also more difficult. In a certain sense it imposes a different reading and storytelling. I can see how this lens leads us to a more documentary approach respect to the 28mm. And that is maybe the real reason why I love it more.

Verdict: The gold standard. The lens that disappears, letting the story lead.

40mm: The Secret Sweet Spot

Rating: 10/10

40mm is a relatively recent discovery in our world. 40mm doesn’t get enough love, but it’s probably the most “human vision” of all. It has the intimacy of the 50mm and the natural flow of the 35mm: a quiet in-between that just feels right.

It gives you enough breathing space to build context, but it also isolates beautifully when you step a bit closer. On the street, it offers a kind of neutrality that’s rare: you can photograph gestures, faces, or entire moments without feeling too wide or too tight. It was a recent discovery to me that I am appreciating more and more. Because it fits exactly my approach and vision as a street photographer that is not just a street photographer because I am also a portrait photographer and journalist.

It’s also one of those focal lengths that seem invisible: it doesn’t scream “wide” or “telephoto.” It just tells stories. And that makes it perfect for the kind of photographer I am. I love the fact is a more respectful lens respect to the 28mm. I mean respectful for the rendering with people when getting more close to the subject. In a time where personal space is even more important than in the past, that is exactly where I can see how much i love this focal lenght and the dimension that gives to my photos.

Verdict: Subtle, versatile, and deeply personal. A focal length for those who value balance and flow.

50mm: The Isolator

Rating: 9/10

The 50mm is a beautiful paradox: it’s “normal,” but in the streets it can feel narrow. It compresses space just enough to isolate a subject, giving a sense of intimacy that wider lenses can’t. It can appear wide and telephoto in 2 seconds, the time to change subject.

It’s less spontaneous, or at lòeast I feel that aftwer several years by working with 28mm and 35mm, so you need to anticipate and step back more, but that distance sometimes gives you clarity. The bokeh and subject separation can add emotional weight when used with intention, for example I think it works great for my journalistic coverage. It is also a lens that gives me important results for portraits, so I love it for several reasons. Yes, if 35mm is difficult on the street, 50mm is even more challenging, but hey, that is the focal lenght used by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Josef Koudelka, Elliott Erwitt, Robert Frank.

Verdict: Perfect for storytelling with a clear focus. Less about chaos, more about essence.

70mm: The Observer

Rating: 6/10

I rarely went to 70mmbut I achieved interesting results in the period I did have that lens. It gives you space, which can be good: sometimes you don’t want to intrude. But that same space can make the images feel detached, voyeuristic, so you have to know how to manage it. It is not a lens for everyone, really the opposite in fact. But for photographs on the street including buildings you will achieve a more respectfully metropolitan aesthetic.

It’s a useful range for details, gestures, or quick portraits from across the street. But you lose the immediacy that makes street photography a so vibrant experience. I can see how this focal lenght can be great for those street photographers aiming to fine art compositions.It is a lens from the other sidewalk.

Verdict: Useful, but emotionally distant. Works when the story is about observation rather than involvement.

85mm: The Portraitist in the Streets

Rating: 7/10

85mm can be a surprising lens in the streets. It’s not what people usually reach for, but in some contexts can give to the photographer something that changes completely the way to relate with the entire experience on the street.

It turns the city into a soft background, letting faces and emotions dominate. I’ve used it in very few periods and I can see why all those cinematic street photographers out of here love it. Personally I think it would be a better perfomrer on the street by focusing the attention on the abstract and colors.

Verdict: A poetic but selective tool. It transforms street life into personal stories.

Final Thoughts

Focal lengths are not just technical tools; they shape our relationship with reality. For me, 35mm remains the center of gravity (that I even tattoed on my right arm) the language I think in. That is why the recent discovery of 40mm means a lot to me as a photographer. It was before the 38.6mm with my Canon Rebel (the 24mm) and then the 7Artisans 27mm on my Sony that is a 40.5mm.

But I love how each lens pushes me to see differently: 24mm makes me confront chaos and learning how to manage the composition, 28mm makes me dance with the crowd and it is so easy, at least to me, towrk with, 40mm teaches me balance and being present in a different way in the scene, 50mm isolates emotion and it is the only way to go with my rangefindr . Only the 70mm and the 85mm are a different speech and not anymore part of my equipment. Yes, I tested just one time, so far the Canon 50mm on my Rebel that becomes an 80mm, but it not really my thing when it comes to street photography.

In the end, the best focal length isn’t the one that flatters the subject: it’s the one that reflects who you are when you press the shutter.