{"id":1987,"date":"2016-06-30T18:13:05","date_gmt":"2016-06-30T18:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/?p=1987"},"modified":"2017-05-08T22:19:25","modified_gmt":"2017-05-08T22:19:25","slug":"zoom-with-your-feet-a-basic-photo-gear-recipe-for-beginners-and-pros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/zoom-with-your-feet-a-basic-photo-gear-recipe-for-beginners-and-pros\/","title":{"rendered":"Forget Zoom Lens For A While – Zoom with Your Feet"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve got to use zoom lenses\u00a0to take great photographs, right? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

No!<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you love zoom lenses, I am not against you in any way, but merely invite you to set aside those zoom habits for a while, cross a mental bridge into a new photographic territory, and set out on photo adventure with one lens and one focal length.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Photo
Alley Cats\u201d, Boardwalk,\u00a0Atlantic City, New Jersey 35 mm focal length, f\/11, ASA 500, digital capture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here\u2019s a recipe for beginners and pros to use, to develop expertise in framing:
\n1.) Choose one specific focal length (20mm, 50mm, 135mm–your choice).<\/p>\n

2.) Practice with that focal length for an entire shoot, day, or week.<\/p>\n

3.) Use your \u201cfoot zoom.\u201d<\/p>\n

A number of reasons support choosing a prime lens for walk-around, outdoor photography. I learned of these advantages only later in my photo life, after building up my muscles carrying heavy zooms over miles of rugged terrain.<\/p>\n

All my photographs shown here were done with fast, lightweight prime lenses. A prime is a lens with just one focal length. Doesn\u2019t packing primes limit one\u2019s photography? Not at all–instead, it frees photographers to change their viewing stance, moving into a scene to get immersed in it.<\/p>\n

Your mind\u2019s eye learns to see a set perspective at one focal length since you always use the same framing relationship when you photograph with a prime lens. Your mind will follow your eyes. It\u2019s like parking in the same spot at work–you have choices but pick the same option, so you know where you are in space without having to think at the end of the day.<\/p>\n

Zooming with a variable focal length lens takes two hands. When you are outdoors, this extra step can distract you from being aware of what is in front of you. If you doubt this, just watch someone try to zoom while using the camera back as a viewfinder. You\u2019ll see them ignore everything around them including traffic!<\/p>\n

Doing adventure photography, when an extra hand may ensure your survival, an auto-focusing prime lens lets you operate your camera with one hand and leave the other hand free. Generally, you also compose more efficiently without zooming. A single focal length lens makes you move to compose. You have walk to and from your subject, and zoom with your feet.<\/p>\n

\"Photo
\u201cKeep Back Feet\u201d, Provincetown, Massachusetts 50Mm focal length, f\/8, ASA 200, digital capture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Point and shoot camera owners who have zooms can choose just one focal length setting as a good exercise. This can be a valuable visual learning exercise. DSLR owners have an advantage because it\u2019s easy to remember to leave a prime lens on their camera.<\/p>\n

For emotion-packed situations, in crowds, or when traveling abroad, the more practice you\u2019ve put in with your photo gear, the more effective you will be in getting good images. Remember, your attitude is the most important piece of gear you carry as a photographer.<\/p>\n

When a student in my photo class asked what part of the camera is the most important, I answered, \u201cIt is the slightly worn \u201csearch for knowledge\u201d button on the camera.\u201d<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s return to those ideas for improving your framing. Here are two fundamentals for beginners and pros:<\/p>\n

TIPS:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

1.) Have a single bread-and-butter lens on your camera at all times. This lens is the one with which you can auto-focus, or focus manually, without looking at it, keeping your concentration on what you\u2019ve composed through your viewfinder.<\/p>\n

2.) Pick a focal length and stay with it for 100 frames. Use a variety of lenses, but let the prime lens stay on the camera body as the first lens of choice. Try lightweight, fast-focusing lenses. Allow a wide angle lens to pull you closer, until you are involved in the scene, so the pictures you make also pull your viewers in. They should feel like they are an intimate part of the action.<\/p>\n

Having seen some advantages of a using single focal length lenses, I\u2019d like to ask, \u201cWhat is the bigger picture?\u201d We\u2019re all trying for better pictures, so how can this recipe help us as photographers?<\/p>\n

\"Photo
\u201cFleet Blessing Crowd”, McMillan Wharf, Provincetown, Massachusetts 20 mm, 1\/125th, f\/13, ASA 200, digital capture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When you look at expert, professional photos, look carefully at the framing. Everything inside the frame belongs there, without any extraneous elements. All the space in the picture is balanced. Practicing with a prime lens helps your framing; having placed a fixed frame onto your scene makes you much more aware of the picture space, thus improving your spatial composition skills.<\/p>\n

\"Photo
\u201cAleppo Shriners” disembarking in Provincetown, Massachusetts 18mm lens, ASA 200, f\/13, digital capture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can energize your vision by simplifying your equipment. Perhaps you\u2019ll find that you create your most moving shots when you moved your own two feet to capture them. The celebrated photographer Ernst Haas was on target when he said, \u201cThe best zoom lens is your legs.\u201d<\/p>\n

by Jim Austin
\nAll text and photos: \u00a9 2010 Jim Austin. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve got to use zoom lenses\u00a0to take great photographs, right? \u00a0 No! If you love zoom lenses, I am not against you in any way, but merely invite you to [read more]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nForget Zoom Lens For A While - Zoom with Your Feet - Apogee Photo Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/zoom-with-your-feet-a-basic-photo-gear-recipe-for-beginners-and-pros\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Forget Zoom Lens For A While - Zoom with Your Feet - Apogee Photo Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You\u2019ve got to use zoom lenses\u00a0to take great photographs, right? \u00a0 No! 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