Prime Lens vs Zoom. Do the restraints of a Prime make you a better photographer?

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
I don't think any hardware/software makes anybody a better photographer.

I do think once you realize photography isn't about the tools, you start to become a better photographer.
 

rocketman122

Senior Member
It depends who. In photography the higher you are with expertise the more you benefit by using primes. try shooting primes at a wedding. its not a thing many can do. very difficult and requires a set amount of experience to do so. low light, people moving. very difficult.

for a newcomer who is still only now understanding about perspectives and dof and composition, it will be very difficult for the person to use a prime because he will not know how to take advantage of it. he will be frustrated that he cant get the high quality look he sees others do. it may be simple but focusing a 1.4 (let alone a 1.8) lens is not easy at all. especially if youre a middle focus point shooter and you lock>recompose. I think any photog needs a good 1 -2 years of moderate shooting to really be able to take advantage of it.

I dont know how many people can look at a scene and say Damn, my 35mm would be perfect (instead of a 24mm) or a 85 instead of a 105mm or say you see a nice arch in the background and you want that behind the people youre shooting and doing it with a 200mm will compress that and bring it behind them. not many people can think of a scene and know what FL they need.

I will agree with @FredKingston mostly, because the tools matter, but to whom and for what situation. if you give me only decent gear to shoot a wedding , Im limited. the images will be decent but they wont stand out in terms of having that polished pro quality. I will only be able to do basic "look at the camera and smile" type pictures. give me a D3s and an 85 1.8d and I can make them sing!
 
"Do the restraints of a Prime make you a better photographer?"

Primes are great BUT I personally find them very limiting. There are many times you can not get close enough of far away enough to get the creative shot you really want/need. You end up have to then crop in post. Or worse you miss the shot because you were having to change the prime lens for another prime lens to get the hot you wanted.

And before anyone gives me grief remember I said "Personally" This is a question that can only be answered by the photographer and what he is shooting.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
It used to be that primes were optically superior to zooms, but the gap has closed considerably. Zooms are a little more versatile, but as Rocketman stated, low light focusing might be easier with faster primes. If I were doing studio portraiture, an 85mm would work well (wouldn't particularly need a zoom), but if I wanted to take portraits outdoors, a zoom would be my preference. For macro shots, a dedicated prime macro lens is better than a zoom that has macro capability. It all depends upon the situation whether I'd choose a prime or a zoom. Will one make you a better photographer? No.... It's the person behind the camera, not the equipment, that is most important.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
It depends. You have two legs. When you shoot do they stay in the upright position or are you willing to bend your knees or even lay down on the ground?

My point is that having a prime lens will not make you a better photographer. But, it can certainly help you learn a lot about photography. Say you have a 24-70mm zoom on one camera and a 50mm on another just like it. You're standing in a spot ready to take a photo. You raise the camera with 50mm prime on it to your eye and the shot you want isn't quite framed correctly, so you're forced to use your feet to move. As you do so you notice that not only is your framing changing but so is the spacial relationship of the objects in the frame, impacting both the look and the feel of the shot. This could have a positive or negative, but it surely happens. Had you been using the zoom there's a strong chance you would simply have stayed put, dialed in the framing you wanted and shot.

The question is, do you think about focal length and everything that means when you shoot regardless of what type of lens you have on your camera? If not then there's a chance that shooting with a prime would advance your understanding in those terms, which has to make you a better photographer. If you do think about it then you know the difference between zooming with the lens and with your feet, and you're conscious of that when you're framing a shot, in which case a prime will not improve your photography other than probably giving you apertures to use that wouldn't be available on your zoom.
 
You're standing in a spot ready to take a photo. You raise the camera with 50mm prime on it to your eye and the shot you want isn't quite framed correctly, so you're forced to use your feet to move.


I was standing on the edge of a cliff yesterday overlooking a beautiful waterfall but it was still a distance away. No other vantage point that you could get to up there to get that shot. So you had better have a large selection of primes on your back because sometimes moving closer or further away is just not possible.

I do agree with what you are saying in principle but I do have a problem with photographers who say that primes are the only way that anyone should shoot. (I know that is not what you were saying)

There are good reasons to use Primes just like there are good reasons to use zooms of every length. Listen to what everyone has to say and try the different methods but ultimately you need to make up your mind what works best for you in a particular situation.

10-ways-to-drive-photography-snobs-mad.jpg
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I was standing on the edge of a cliff yesterday overlooking a beautiful waterfall but it was still a distance away. No other vantage point that you could get to up there to get that shot. So you had better have a large selection of primes on your back because sometimes moving closer or further away is just not possible.

I do agree with what you are saying in principle but I do have a problem with photographers who say that primes are the only way that anyone should shoot. (I know that is not what you were saying)

There are good reasons to use Primes just like there are good reasons to use zooms of every length. Listen to what everyone has to say and try the different methods but ultimately you need to make up your mind what works best for you in a particular situation.

A good carpenter has more than one hammer and knows when and how to use each one. If all you're swinging is a 20 oz. Roofer's Claw then you might just have an issue when you try and drive brads without marring the wood. At the same time you're not going to want to down the ladder every time you want to swap weights or types, so you know to go up there with the most versatile one you've got.
 

Blacktop

Senior Member
A prime lens will give a sharper more detailed image (depending on whose hands it is in). A bad shot is just a bad shot. No matter how sharp it is.

There is a saying in music recording. GIGO. (garbage in, garbage out).
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
I currently own a D750 with a Tamron 24
I find I interact more with my photography when using a prime, which in turn has helped me become a better photographer. As has been pointed out already, only when you move, relative to your subject, does the perspective change. The importance of that fact is something you either grasp, or do not grasp but either way that fact alone, in my opinion, is reason enough to use prime lenses on the regular.

I also don't worry about shots I can't get because I can't zoom; I worry about the shots I can get and how to make the most of them.

All that being said, we must all follow our own path.
 
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cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
I find I interact more with my photography when using a prime, which in turn has helped me become a better photographer. As has been pointed out already, only when you move, relative to your subject, does the perspective change.

I don't own any primes, but I can agree with this from one of the weekly challenges a year or so ago. It was to shoot with 50mm (35mm cropped camera). I set the 18-55 on 35 and went out to shoot. It was actually interesting to move around to get a shot. With the 70-300, I find myself not moving but zooming in and out. Of course as has been stated already, they all have a place in photography just as for some a Macro lens.
 

singlerosa_RIP

Senior Member
The only time I use my primes is shooting macro or when I want to travel light. My zooms are close enough in IQ for my requirements (I don't do weddings) that the flexibility outweighs any benefit in low light capability or IQ.
 

Blacktop

Senior Member
A good carpenter has more than one hammer and knows when and how to use each one. If all you're swinging is a 20 oz. Roofer's Claw then you might just have an issue when you try and drive brads without marring the wood. At the same time you're not going to want to down the ladder every time you want to swap weights or types, so you know to go up there with the most versatile one you've got.
If you don't know what you're doing, I don't care if you if you take the most versatile hammer up the ladder, the shit's still going to be crooked or messed up. download.jpg
 

Zeke_M

Senior Member
My primes make me a better photographer.

Why?

They are far better in every way then the two mediocre zooms they replaced. YMMV.
 
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