The 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm System a Working Photojournalist Actually Uses

Choosing between a 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm prime comes down to more than personal preference; it's about knowing exactly why you're reaching for each one before you ever raise the camera. Most people skip that question entirely, and it shows in their work.

Coming to you from Justin Mott, this practical video walks through the three focal lengths Mott has relied on throughout his career as a photojournalist and commercial photographer: the 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm. He doesn't just tell you which lens does what ;he explains the thinking behind each choice, which is the part most gear discussions leave out entirely. The core idea is simple: every time you pick up a lens, you should be able to answer why you're using it for that specific shot. If you can't, you're reacting, not deciding. That distinction is what separates intentional work from images that just happen.

Mott starts with the 50mm, which he describes as his least-used of the three but still a consistent part of his kit, especially after picking up a Leica 50mm Summilux a couple of years ago. What he values about it isn't just the slightly tighter perspective; it's what that focal length lets him control emotionally and physically on any given shoot. Some days, he wants to be fully engaged, close to people, in conversations. Other days, he wants to observe more passively. The 50mm gives him that option without losing intimacy in the frame. He also points out that sometimes a subject simply doesn't want a camera in their face, no matter how much rapport you've built, and the 50mm lets him respect that boundary while still getting the shot.

The 85mm, by contrast, is what Mott calls his problem-solving lens. It's the one he reaches for when the environment isn't working but the client still needs a deliverable image. In commercial work especially, you rarely get to choose your location, and a wide aperture 85mm can compress a messy background into something clean and workable. He's direct about the fact that he doesn't love super-tight portrait shots as a style as they strip context from a subject, but he's equally direct that the 85mm has bailed him out more times than he'd like to count. He also mentions using the Sony 28-70mm f/2 zoom on faster-paced shoots where he's simultaneously directing video and shooting stills, which gives you a sense of how he thinks about gear pragmatically.

The 35mm section is where Mott gets into the most detail, including a blunt critique of how he sees this focal length misused in workshops and online classes, and that's worth watching in full to hear him work through. Check out the video above for the full breakdown from Mott.