The Three Lenses That Cover Most Education and Corporate Jobs | Catch Lyt
Industry Insight 5 min read
The Three Lenses That Cover Most Education and Corporate Jobs
The Three Lenses That Cover Most Education and Corporate Jobs | Catch Lyt
A heavier kit bag is not a better day. It is usually a slower one.
Lens collections expand for understandable reasons: a new look, a tempting prime, a job that might need 50mm. Then you are changing glass between every setup while a head of year waits in the corridor. In practice, three lenses cover most of the education and corporate work we do.
1. 24–70mm f/2.8 — the daily driver
Flexible enough for run-and-gun: talking heads, walk-and-talks, classrooms, details. When the schedule is tight, not changing lenses is a production decision.
2. 85mm or 135mm — interviews and portraits
Compression that flatters faces and separates a speaker from a busy campus. Useful when the room is ordinary and the person has to carry the frame.
3. 16–35mm — campuses, groups, space
Wides for buildings, assemblies, and “where we are.” Education films need a sense of place. This is how you get it without a second unit.
This is not an argument against primes or specialist glass. On a real day you are moving locations, working with non-actors, and losing light. Zooms still win more often than taste would prefer — because the goal is to leave with the footage the brief needs, not the footage you would have shot in ideal conditions.
Learning summary
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Pack for the day you will have.
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24–70 covers most of it.
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Long glass for faces.
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Wide glass for place.
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Fewer changes, more shots.
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Ideal conditions are not the brief.
Useful reading
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Sony Camera Channel / Cinema Line: youtube.com/@imagingbysony
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Film Riot — location and kit craft: youtube.com/@FilmRiot
