Wedding Photography : Mistakes Make Magic
A Business Podcast for Wedding Photographers and Creatives : including interviews of successful entrepreneurs, business advice, and a ton of stories on failures and lessons learned. This podcast is dedicated to embracing imperfection and pushing others to pursue their creative passion!
Wedding Photography : Mistakes Make Magic
167: Should I Use a Zoom or Prime Lens?
Knowing the differences between zoom lenses and prime lenses will help you decide which is best to use in different photography situations.
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Catherine Guidry is a New Orleans based hybrid wedding photographer, specializing in timeless and natural imagery. She is also a photography educator and speaker helping other photographers pursue their dreams and run successful, sustainable businesses.
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Hello, my name is Catherine Gidry and I am so thankful that you're joining me today for this episode where I am diving into my thoughts and the differences between using a zoom lens versus a prime lens, especially in wedding photography. If you're someone who's interested in learning how to price your photography, be sure to download our free guide. 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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.