The street photography rule book says primes only. Fixed 35mm, fixed 50mm, feet zoom, blah blah blah. I have followed that rule for years. So naturally I decided to break it and take a zoom out for a day.
Here is the thing nobody admits: a zoom is incredibly practical. You see a moment happening across the street and you can actually reach it. You are not sprinting through traffic like a maniac. You just zoom.
Does it change the way you shoot? Sure. You get a little lazier with your feet. You stand in one spot more. But you also get shots you would have missed, and at the end of the day, the shot you got beats the shot you wished you were closer to.
Primes are still my home. But I am done pretending a zoom is cheating. It is a tool. Use the tool.
Leave a Reply