Comparing focal lengths on a crop sensor...

There has been a lot of talk recently (on a photography forum I'm a part of) about the effects that different focal lengths have on a picture. I've read up on this, as well as found awesome blog posts comparing, but I wanted to do my own little experiment.
The following were taken with my Tamron 28-75 f/2.8. Now remember, I'm using a crop sensor camera (the 50D, which is a 1.6X crop, not to be confused with Nikon, which is a 1.5X crop...they just have to be different, don't they?!) which means that a 50mm focal length is actually equivalent to an 80mm focal length...someone correct me if I'm wrong...anyway, for my purposes, this doesn't really matter, as I don't own a full frame camera. One day, right?
Anyway, back to the experiment at hand.
I chose Sarah as my subject, basically because she was facing our front door, there was gorgeous light spilling in and creating gorgeous catchlights in her eyes, and even though she was in her walker, she was remaining stationary...a must for this experiment to be "accurate".
Okay, so let the fun begin!
Here is Sarah (roughly three feet away from me...I didn't measure) at 28mm:
Notice how she appears "farther away". The background is "part of the image", as you can see Hannah dancing in the background, as well as all of the clutter...ahem, those are toys...my house was decluttered before children...

At 35mm:
The background is starting to disappear, but is still a part of the picture. This would make more sense had I been a little farther away from my subject. I'll have to save that for another post...oh, there will be another post!

At 50mm:
50mm is supposed to be exactly as our eyes would see...no distortion, no forced perspective...

At 60mm:
Not a huge difference from 50, but it creates a more "fill-the-frame" shot from where I was standing. Sarah is taking up almost the entire frame.

And finally, at the longest focal length that the Tamron offers, 75mm:

My 100L arrives today, so I may add it to the experiment later on.

So, can you see the difference? I was most surprised by how little of a difference I saw between 35 and 50mm, which is good to know since I was possibly considering the 35mm as an additional prime to add to my bag. It still may happen at some point down the road, but I think I can live with the 35mm on the Tamron for the time being.

If you look closely (or maybe not that close...), you'll notice there is distortion on the 28mm-35mm end. It is less with the 35. To me, Sarah
s head an the front of her walker are disproportionate in size. The wider angles give you that bit of distortion if you're not careful.
I do like the wider angles. They add a little fun to the picture. As many like to refer to them, they are the "story telling" lengths. You can fit much more in your picture if shooting with a 28mm than with the 75mm end of the Tamron. The 75mm adds compression to the image, making the background far less apparent. This focal length is great for portraits, as you want your subject to really stand out.
But what about the times when you want to really tell a story? When you want your background to be as much a part of your image as your subject? A wider lens will allow you to do that, as you'll fit more into the frame and there will be less compression.

It was a fun experiment for me! And I got some really cute shots of
Sarah, albeit they still do need some editing tweaks. ;)

Happy Wednesday!