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Aspect Ratios

Focal lengths and aspect ratios correlate. A 50mm needs a narrower 4:5 to emphasize relationships between foregrounds and back grounds, and on the other side, a 28mm focal length does better with a wider 3:2 because it emphasizes side-to-side relationships that share a focal distance. A 35mm equivalent lens screams 16:9 cinema.

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Taking or Making

In photographing landscapes, places, and found environments, perhaps the difference between making and taking lives in the focal length, where a 35mm takes, and a 50mm makes.

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Layered

A 50mm lens is more front-to-back than side-to-side and compresses things together, perfect for layering foregrounds over backgrounds — more deadpan than a 35.

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f/8 and be there

F/8 is typically the most optimal aperture for everyday lenses.

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35, 50

Wide and telephoto touch somewhere between 35 and 50, which means every lens over 50 is called a telephoto and every one below 35 is considered wide, making 35 the longest wide-angle and 50 the widest telephoto.

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35 is a lonesome focal length

A 35mm pushes backgrounds away and magnifies foregrounds.

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The Rule of Thirds

View something, then around and past it.

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Compression and Separation

Lens selection is a creative choice made before stepping outside. A 50mm is how a photographer sees; a 35mm is how one thinks, and a 135mm is how one sees and thinks while driving.