Zoom With Your Feet

Anthony will be guest blogging for me for a few days. Enjoy the eccentric meanderings of Lisa V Lupo Photography’s most valued employee.
 

In the interest of providing unsolicited opinions on some of photography’s most futile debates, I present my collected thoughts on the prime vs. zoom lens debate. For those that have heard this debate many times over, I promise that I intend to spin this argument in a slightly different direction.

A prime lens is a lens that has a fixed focal length. It does not zoom in and out. A zoom lens is, obviously, a lens that can zoom in and out. As a general rule, a professional prime lens is usually cheaper than a professional zoom lens. Prime lenses typically have slightly better optics and larger maximum apertures. A good zoom lens, however, can replace the need to carry several primes; however, zoom lenses tend to be much heavier.

One can certainly buy both prime and zoom lenses, but this will likely result in some optical redundancy. For those that want to maximize bang-for-the-buck, the prime vs. zoom decision is usually more of an either/or issue. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that the photographer in question is considering an entirely zoom or entirely prime lens collection for portraiture and wedding-type events. Obviously, bird-watchers will have different decision criteria— so take that into account.

Of course, both zoom and prime lenses are more than capable of capturing outstanding images. Portrait photographers will probably prefer the depth-of-field options available with f 1.4-and-below apertures (read: tiny depth-of-field and super-creamy bokeh). Zoom lenses come in handy at events, during which ‘being close’ to the subject can often be disruptive.

Those that have been reading the blog the past few days will notice that most of my posts share an underlying theme: your equipment will define your approach to photography without you even realizing it. Human beings are creatures that prefer the path of least resistance. The equipment we possess outlines the ways in which we can engage the subject with the camera. Combine these two facts and it becomes very likely that your equipment will be instrumental to your photographical habit-formation.

Here’s a thought for you. Imagine two photographers, both of which prefer the path of least resistance (or, the easiest solution to his/her compositional objective). Suppose Red Photographer gets a Nikkor 24-120mm (f4, I  believe) because he/she prefers the lens reach at 120mm. Green Photographer uses a Nikkor 50mm 1.4G. In order to achieve the same 4’x6’ composition, Green Photographer will have to stand 9ft away from the Subject, and Red Photographer (preferring to stay as far away as possible from the subject) will stand 20 ft from the Subject (@ 120mm, or full zoom extension). [I did the math on equivalent fields of view. We are ignoring foreshortening effects and other inherent compositional differences.]

 Using math to prove a point? Unheard of.

I think I did the math correctly on the diagram (no promises, as I never was a math guy). The interesting point of the diagram is that in order to recompose the picture, say, from a 90-degrees to the right, the Red Photographer needs to walk twice as far (we’re ignoring secants, or cutting across, for which there would still be a significant difference). Hence, for all re-compositions that require a change in perspective, with the exception of zooming in and out, it takes more effort to get the shot with the zoom lens.

There are several reasons why you shouldn’t take this argument too seriously. The only point I want to emphasize is that the further you are away from the subject, the less likely, in my opinion, you are to move around and get different and interesting perspectives. Simply put, your camera has enabled you to stay further from the subject to get your shots. Your camera has made you lazy and less dynamic.

A disciplined zoom photographer can ignore these problems by getting into the habit of operating within the middle of their zoom range whenever possible. This should give them the most compositional options. Of course, having a 24mm-to-whatever focal length range has the added advantage of enabling wide-angle shots on the fly. At any rate, always take into account the effects of your gear on your shooting technique.

Epilogue

Of course, Lisa and I are prime lens photographers, so we’re somewhat biased. The limitations of prime lenses can be worrisome if you do not have a second camera set-up and ready to go. Those with a back-up camera often mount a wide-angle lens on it in order to be prepared for spontaneous wide-angle opportunities. Again, I think prime lenses help hone one’s skills (for reasons mentioned in Thursday’s blog post), but there is no doubt that zoom lenses come in handy. Remember, pro-quality zoom lenses are very heavy and large—so think about how much weight you can comfortably carry around your neck for several hours. I find that I would rather prefer to carry more weight in my camera bag and less on my camera than vice versa. Camera bags tend to be more comfortable. To each his/her own.

5 Items of Incredible Photographic Value (for under $50!)

Anthony will be guest blogging for me for a few days. Enjoy the eccentric meanderings of Lisa V Lupo Photography’s most valued employee. 

Everything slows down in Afghanistan during Eid week (post-Ramadan), permitting me enough time to push out another blog entry. For your consideration, I present five often overlooked items of incredible photographic value (for under $50): 

1.      Folding step ladder— Take a step above eye-level photography [I couldn’t resist]. A folding step ladder extends your vertical reach and opens a wealth dramatic compositional opportunities. A step ladder is an invaluable asset for vertically challenged photographers that prefer normal lenses and tight portraits (case in point: Lisa) —unless you enjoy asking the subject to crouch. Interesting perspectives make for interesting photos. Experiment and see if you like the way the world looks from 9 ft (or more) in the air. You probably have one of these tucked away in a closet anyway. If you don’t, you can get a sturdy, lightweight step ladder for under $50. Just be careful not to fall off. (I’ve even used a step-ladder to double as a tripod—not a recommended solution, but it works.)

Note the dirty towel. Somebody 'borrowed' my step ladder to dry their laundry.

By the way, this is not an authorized way to wear the 'boonie' cap; but it

prevents the brim from getting in the way when checking focus. 

2.      Gray Card— Do you trust digital white balance algorithms? I know Lisa spends most of her time in LR and PS correcting white balance. Forget the Kelvin slider; there are several ways to use a gray card to simplify your digital workflow. For those of you that know LR or PS, you know that you can select a pixel of an image that is supposed to be ‘neutral gray.’ LR/PS will correct the colors of the whole image to remove any color cast from the pixel you selected, thereby correcting the WB. But if you don’t have a target neutral gray pixel in your image, you have to rely on less accurate methods (read: trial and error) to set the WB. Gray (18%) cards provide a perfectly neutral gray with which to set the WB in LR/PS. For every lighting situation you encounter, take one quick picture with the gray card in the same light as your subject. In PS/LR, select a pixel on the gray card to set the WB. Apply this WB setting to every other image in the same lighting situation (batch process to save time). Instant success. (You can even use a gray card to set the WB in your camera; check your manual.)

You can also use a gray card to standardize your exposures. Take a spot meter reading of a gray card in the same lighting situation as your subject. Decide how much exposure compensation you need achieve the look you like. Put the card away and take the picture. Repeat the process when you move to a new lighting situation. If you meter this way, you won’t rely on your camera’s sometimes unpredictable metering algorithms. All for less than $10.

3.      Step-up Ring Adapters— Lenses come in a variety of filter sizes. A step-up ring allows you to screw on, say, a 72mm circular polarizer on a 52mm filter-size lens. Instead of buying three medium-quality filters, you can buy one high-quality filter and a series of inexpensive step-up rings. Bingo.

4.      Photo Tools App by hcpl— I haven’t tested many Android apps for photographers, but I really like this one. This may not be the prettiest app on the market, but it includes a ton of features of interest to photographers. The app calculates depth-of-field, estimates blue/golden hour times (using your location), reads EXIF-data (information about how the picture was taken: aperture, ISO, focal length), calculates field of view, and performs several additional functions you will never need. The best part: it’s free.
 

5.      Depth-of-Field Chart— A depth-of-field chart shows the nearest and furthest point in focus for a given distance-to-subject, aperture, and film/sensor size. It sounds complicated when described, but it’s actually very easy. Make and print a depth-of-field chart for your camera and lenses. Print, laminate, and pocket it. Now, instead of squinting at your LCD to check DoF (or squinting through the viewfinder with the DoF button depressed), you can compose with DoF in mind. This really helps for group shots (especially with film) in low-light situations when you can’t simply stop-down to guarantee focus. Compose with ‘wiggle-room’ in mind. 

 Fits nicely in a green-leader book.

These are a few of cost-effective and seldom blogged about items that, in my limited experience, are incredibly useful to photographers.

Epilogue

Why bother with a gray card at all? Why not just spot meter on the subject’s cheek (applying exposure compensation as your style dictates)? Ultimately, you should do what works best for you. Certain methods of determining exposure are more conducive to efficiently reproducing specific styles. One key difference between those that use a gray card and those that use a consistent but less formal method hinges on when one prefers to make artistic decisions. For example, if you build over-exposure into your method of taking meter readings (e.g. 'meter for the shadows' photographers), then you’ve embedded an artistic decision within a picture-taking habit. I prefer to determine the most accurate exposure first (or that which most closely reports reality), then decide whether or not I want to over or underexpose for artistic reasons. I find that this slows me down and forces me to think critically about exposure before I release the shutter.

If you’re like me, then using the gray card provides you with a consistent and accurate metering (true to reality) methodology. In theory, spot metering a gray card is the same as taking an incident light reading with a light meter.* Photographers still use handheld light meters because light meters are consistent, predictable, accurate, and simple. Spot metering a gray card is a cheap way to achieve this same consistency.

*In practice, not all light meters are calibrated to 18% gray. This is why using a digital camera spot meter and gray card may require that you apply slight exposure compensation (should be less than +.5 EV). You should only need to do this once; the particular light situation doesn’t matter.

I always get excited when other photographers share what's inside their bag! So I felt I should do the same.