Deciding on a new lens is no easy feat - with options ranging from the very low end of the price spectrum to the very high - it’s difficult to know where to begin.

We recommend taking a second to think about what subject you are going to want to photograph. Different subjects will respond better to different lenses, you don’t want the same lens for shooting planes as you do ducks. But what lenses are actually out there?

Out of the Box

DSLR and mirrorless cameras are often available with a lens out of the box, great for everyday shooting and will usually act as a versatile piece. However, when you’re expanding your skillset and moving to particular subjects e.g. wildlife, it’s a good idea to expand your camera big with a couple of specialist lenses for better results.  

Prime Lens

A prime lens has a predetermined focal length, one that cannot be altered when shooting. If the prime lens has a focal length of 60mm, for example, then that’s all you’ve got - wanting to zoom in and you’ll have to move closer for a better shot.

Wide Angle Lens

Wide angle lenses are the go to lenses for sweeping landscape shots and awesome architectural photography - letting wide areas available in the shot. Wide angles are one of the most basic types of lens and are a great piece of kit for anyone looking to expand.

Telephoto Lens

Telephoto lenses are fantastic for shooting subjects far in the distance. With a huge zoom with massive detail at distance, these lenses are great for sport and wildlife with a look close to the action without being on the field.

Mid-Range Focal Lens

Mid-range focal lengths are great for portraits as well as street photography and general shooting. With a mid-range, it takes the best of both worlds and lets you blend them together, with a single lens. This is the better option for those looking for lenses on a budget.

Macro Lens

A macro lens is a lens used for close-up photography with exquisite details. The extreme close-ups allow for incredible detail as well as the ability to reproduce a life-sized image of the object shot.

Lens magnification ratio is the most important factor of a macro lens with a minimum ratio of 1:1 required for a true macro classification.

With most lenses recognised as prime lenses, with the idea of a longer focal length correlating to the further away from the subject you can be. However, with longer focal lengths comes an increase in price, weight and size.

Good artists copy and great artists steal. In the world of digital images where everything can be traced back to the original poster, that statement may no longer be true.

Looking for photography inspiration can prove to be difficult with accusations of copying other photographers styles and editing techniques. To help, we’ve narrowed down the whole of Instagram - that’s 800 million unique monthly users - to our five favorite posters to help you with image inspiration, without the copycat name badge.

Aaron Brimhall (@aaronbhall)

King of cool and all things alpha, Aaron Brimhall covers a large range of fast cars, motorcycles and adventure with his distinctive photography and editing choices. With 185k followers at the time of writing, it’s no secret that this Instagram marvel is making waves with the space by creating content that tells a story.

Ben Brown (@mrbenbrown)

Ben Brown rose to internet stardom with his YouTube channel of the same name of the Instagram handle (@mrbenbrown). His feed features mostly travel based photography with posts reflecting his adventurous lifestyle and new areas that users discover at the same time as he does. With 710k followers at the time of writing, his Instagram touches many and goes hand in hand with the YouTube channel ran by the director/photographer.

Mikkel Christiansen (@mio)

Music producer Mikkel Christiansen is another Instagram star boasting a respectable 86k followers using the social media platform to showcase both his lifestyle and photography skills. Another one for car lovers, Mio often features his insane collection vehicles, most recently featuring a custom Shelby AC Cobra.

BrandonWoelfel (@brandonwoelfel)

As if Brandon Woelfel actually requires an introduction, the largest featured Instagram account boasts a huge 2.2m followers at the time of writing. Adopting a neon pink and blue style, often with female models, the Instagram account is one that every photography interested user should be following. Blending Lightroom and Photoshop together with clever light play with prisms and reflection, Woelfel not only creates great visual pieces, but incredibly smart photography generating creative masterpieces.

Fraser Tiong (@lifewithfraser)

The smallest of our featured users, Fraser Tiong delivers posts to his 12.4k following featuring heavily landscape based images, often in blocks of the most recent place visited. The distinctive style shows a moody play with images, highlighting a raw look and gorgeous images of coastlines, cityscapes and rural countryside. Worth a follow, if nothing else, to watch the young photographer develop a large Instagram following in the near future.