167: Should I Use a Zoom or Prime Lens?

In the description , the choice between whether to use a zoom or a prime lens really does take into consideration a lot of different things , including how you like to shoot , your style preference , what is most important to you in terms of what you value for your photography , but we're going to dive into those things today .

I personally use a mix of zoom and prime lenses . For example , just off the top of my head in my gear bag for a wedding day , I have a 24 to 70 , a 70 to 200 , which are , of course , both fixed zoom 2.8 aperture lenses .

I also have a 50 , 1.2 , a couple of those actually one for me and one for my second , a backup 50 , 1.8 and a macro lens , and so those are probably our most used lenses . I don't have a 35 fixed , but I am on the hunt for a low aperture prime 35 .

I'm hoping that Nikkor comes out with a 1.2 , and if so , I will definitely be snatching that up , but I feel like , for me , a mix has been really helpful , and we're going to talk about why . So let's talk about the versatility of a zoom lens .

A zoom lens allows you to change focal length really quickly without having to dig in your bag or , you know , stop the moment to change lenses or hold another camera , which is also really nice . So when I'm photographing with a zoom lens , it allows me to get a variety of images super quick and be really flexible and versatile .

There are a few times of the day that I know I'm going to have a zoom lens on my camera , especially during the ceremony and during the reception .

During the reception , I can basically shoot the entire second half with only the camera and the zoom lens on my body , and it's just really nice to be able to shoot close up or wide , get on the dance floor or shoot big groups , and so I really like my 24 to 70 for that point .

And then during the ceremony too , I don't want to worry that oh , my goodness , you know they're too close to me all of a sudden and I can't get them in focus and miss that moment . That is one point of the day that you just cannot replicate . It's very important , and so I highly suggest a zoom lens during the ceremony .

Speaking of flexibility , if you're in a place where you could really only afford one lens right now , or maybe you're packing for a destination wedding and you can only fit one lens whatever the case may be , that lens for me would be the 24 to 70 f 2.8 Nycor lens . Most camera lines have a lens that is very similar or comparable to that .

I know Canon has an amazing new f 2 zoom lens very heavy , but it's incredible and it produces really great images . But that would be my one lens because of what I explained before .

It's like , although I love the fixed and prime lenses for many reasons , which we're going to talk about , I know that I could capture pretty much the entire day on the 24 to 70 . Well , the reason why I say pretty much is because my 70 to 200 really comes in handy for situations where I can't or don't want to get very close .

We recently photographed a wedding at a church that did not allow us to step inside of the sanctuary and in that situation we really needed something like a 70 to 200 or like a fixed 135 , even if we didn't want to use a zoom lens . But I used my 70 to 200 because it allowed me to get really close when I couldn't physically stand close .

And so for that wedding I was thankful that I did have that other zoom lens to use . I think the convenience factor of having a zoom lens is really nice .

There are sometimes of the day where you just want to carry one lens on you , you want to be a little discreet , maybe blend in a little bit , not have to have a big bag on you , and in those situations the convenience of having one lens the 24 to 70 , is really nice . That zoom lens .

It gives me comfort knowing that , say , for example , I'm shooting a daytime second line , I know that I can get tight on the couple , I can get wide to show the streetscape .

If you don't know what a second line is , it's New Orleans tradition where they parade through the streets , but anything of that nature where there's like a lot of movement and you want to show variety , where you show the whole space and then maybe a detail or something like that , so that convenience really can come in handy on a wedding day .

I think the framing aspect of a zoom is also really nice If you're utilizing it . If you're utilizing it to move your feet and zoom in and out , you can get such variety in like vertical and horizontal images . But , more importantly , with the zoom very quickly zoom in and out . I know , for example , if I'm shooting details out of a new .

Recently we photographed a beautiful wedding where they had this huge floral installation . It was probably like 20 feet by 15 feet on the ceiling . For something like that , I wanted that wide shot at like , say , 35 , but I also wanted to zoom in to about like 70 to get a tighter shot of the ceiling .

I remember in that moment I had my second photographer lined up to photograph the details , but I just popped in to shoot a few . I didn't have a ton of time .

In that situation I wanted to know that I could photograph the details really quickly without hesitation and still get to the bus on time , and so in that moment the zoom really came in handy for me . Speed is really big on a wedding day and also not interrupting or stopping a moment .

When I used to shoot exclusively with prime lenses , I felt like I was always stopping or interrupting to reach into my shoulder bag , get my prime lens and switch them With the zoom lens . That speed element is really nice , because I never have to stop anything from happening and I also don't have to worry about missing a moment .

The first time I photographed with a zoom lens because I started my business with prime I remember thinking that I felt like a speed demon , you know , I just was like able to shoot so much more and not feel like I was interrupting the moment or missing anything , which was such a good feeling , and so I think in that case the zoom can really come in handy .

And lastly would be the reduced gear weight . If you are in fact sticking to one camera and one lens If you , for example , or like my Canon friends who are shooting primarily with their 28 to 70 , that's amazing because you can have all of your gear in a rolling bag or a backpack or shoulder bag .

We have a whole video on camera bags alone you can put that particular lens on your camera and just leave it , which is going to reduce a lot of weight for you on the rest of your body and just use the lens that's on your camera .

So that reduced gear weight is really convenient and , I think , a big part of why people eventually sometimes switch to zooms . Okay , so we've talked a lot about the perk of a zoom lens , but , as we all know , there are lots of photographers out there who either shoot exclusively with prime lenses or they really rave about their favorite prime lenses .

I am one of those people who raves about some of my prime lenses , and I do shoot with a mix .

There are some parts of the day , like I said , that I shoot the zoom and some that shoot their prime , and so I'm going to dig into a little bit of why I do still rely on my prime lenses for a pretty large portion of the day , I would say somewhere in the neighborhood of like 60% , maybe 65% of the day .

I think one of my absolute favorite things about a prime lens is going to be the quality the quality of the bokeh , the depth of field , the sharpness .

There's just something about especially , for example , my Nycorp 51.2 , which I have a video about that being my favorite lens and why I just love the quality of these images , and when I compare them to images that maybe I took with the 24-70 , it just the 24-70 images can fall flat , and so the quality of the prime lenses because they're more simple .

There's not as much going on in terms of , like , the technical side of the actual lens . It allows that lens to create these more beautiful renderings of what we're seeing . If I had to say I would say my favorite two lenses would be the Nycorp 1.2 , the 50 millimeter .

Like I said , and then also when I was shooting a lot of film on the Contax 645 , I absolutely love the Zeiss 80 . Actually that was the one that I have in the cover photo , the Zeiss planer . It's an F2 lens at 80 and on the Contax it's very similar to about a 50 millimeter focal length , but it's beautiful .

The bokeh on that lens , the fall off , is just . It's unmatched . The only downfall , of course , is that I had to manually focus , but it really slowed me down and created some really magical photos . The next perk of a prime lens is that oftentimes the aperture is going to be lower in those lenses .

So my 24-70 , for example , is fixed at a lowest aperture of f.2 , and my 50 millimeter can go all the way down to 1.2 , which if you're in the early stages of your photography might not be a big deal . But if you've been shooting a while , then you know it's a huge deal .

If you're going from a 2.8 aperture to something like a 1.2 at a dimly lit reception or a church , you can absolutely reduce the amount of grain and improve the quality of that photo . And so when you're looking for lenses to use on a wedding day , it's okay to start with something like the 51.8 .

It's not very far off of the 51.2 in terms of the aperture , but you will see a difference in low light . You will see that those extra stops allow you to let more light in reducing the grain and improving the overall quality of the image . The other thing that you're going to notice whenever especially you're in low light , is the speed of focusing .

My 1.2 aperture lens focuses so much faster and produces such sharper images than my 24-70 Nikkor lens . I don't mind shooting with my 24-70 . A lot of times I'm shooting with a flash at my receptions , but when I'm using the 51.2 , it's very seldom that I actually put a flash on , and when I'm focusing it's so quick .

If people are dancing I do have to back up a little bit more because I can't get as close as I can with the 24-70 , but if I back up and I can lock in those images . It focuses really fast and produces some really beautiful , magical images with a lot of ambient light .

I think the creative opportunity is another thing that really pulls me to the prime lenses . When I'm shooting with a prime I have to move my feet . I can't zoom in and out right , and so if I'm photographing a detail or a person , I find myself really slowing down and thinking a lot about the composition and how I'm photographing that image .

I know , even when I talked earlier about shooting film and manually focusing with the Zeiss 80 , that really slowed me down and you would think that is a bad thing , right , because it slows you down , but in a way it almost made me feel more intentional with my images and really like in tune with what I wanted in the photograph .

And so I like the creative opportunity that comes with the prime lens and there are only a few parts of the day that are so fast that I don't have confidence in shooting solely with prime .

Like I mentioned earlier , the ceremony , for example it's really quick-paced , especially during the processional and the recessional , and I don't really feel comfortable shooting that with prime .

But there are also points in the day , like the couples portraits or the formals portraits where you can kind of slow down and be intentional , and so I like the creative opportunity in those moments of using the prime lens .

Subject isolation with the prime lens is also really nice , where your subject is super in focus and you know you get that immediate fall off , that beautiful bokeh . I find with , like my zoom lenses , the 2.8 , even at 2.8 , you get so much more in focus in the background . Some people do prefer this .

I think that's a subjective decision , but I personally love when the subject feels very isolated from the background . One thing I find that , especially since switching to the mirrorless Z series I shoot with the Z6 too currently and these prime lenses . I feel like it's given my images a more consistent look .

It's eliminating all the other focal lengths right , like you're focused on whatever your favorite focal length is . Some people really love an 80 or 85 . I really love a 50 . And by shooting consistently with that lens at 1.2 aperture it really has given my images a consistency that people can kind of identify with when they look at my photos .

And so when you're shooting , try to figure out what you like , what you feel most confident with when you're taking pictures , and stick to that , because it'll help you create that consistent look as well . And lastly , I feel like photographing with a prime lens encourages stronger composition .

Some people may argue , but when , especially , I bring on a new second right or a new third photographer and they're shooting with the zoom lens , I noticed that they're not paying as much attention to what focal length they're shooting at , sometimes even the backdrop , because they're zooming in and out .

They're moving super quick , especially with details at their reception . So I love details to be photographed with a 50 . And I've noticed that if I tell my second photographers like , look , put the 50 on your camera and don't take it off , it challenges them to move their feet and to slow down and really think about what they're shooting .

I believe in that regard , that's why it encourages , like , a better composition , and so , honestly , I don't think that there's a , you know , definitive answer here . I hope that by listening to this , though , that you can hear what the major differences are . Try out a zoom or a prime lens . Give yourself the opportunity to experiment . I like a mix .

Like I said , for different reasons and for different things that I'm photographing , I really don't have a reason to photograph a session , for example , with a zoom lens , I'll bring it with me just in case I'm stuck in a very tight space and the client wants something specific . But for the most part I'm like 99% shooting that with a prime lens .

However , on the wedding day , I am shooting that mix for the reasons that I talked about in this video . So I hope you found this helpful . I would love to hear what you shoot with . Feel free to share in the comments If you're enjoying the content . Don't forget to subscribe .

If you want to trial our society or membership , go to weddingphotographysocietycom and I look forward to seeing you in the next episode . Thank you for watching .