My friend James has started a BLOG which I highly recommend. One of his latest posts was about the use of zoom lenses, and this got me thinking: are zooms right for street photography? Let me be blunt here and go with the simple answer: hell no.
Ok joking aside, can you use zooms on the streets? I’m coming down heavy and saying no, but am I right? Of course not. I know a few street photographers that use zooms, and they produce great work. My friend Sean is one such photographer that uses them to a high standard. Yet are zooms for everyone, and are they better than using a prime lens? If you’re just starting out in photography, then you shouldn’t touch a zoom. You should choose a focal length like 35mm or 50mm and just shoot with that one focal length for the first two years. You will grow as a photographer if you do this.
But what about if, like Sean, you’re a damn good photographer? Should you be using a zoom on the streets? Maybe if that’s what you’re comfortable with. However, for me— and again, this is just my personal opinion— the answer is no. A prime lens is a better option for street photography.
Primes are just faster than zooms, which is what you need for street shooting. Things happen so fast on the streets, and I do think primes are more able to capture those fleeting moments better than a zoom. The other thing with shooting a prime over a zoom is you’re not overthinking things. When shooting a zoom, you’ll find that you are constantly going back and forth on the different focal lengths even when you don’t have to. Zooms offer more options than you need when shooting street photography. To capture those great moments, you need to think and act fast, which I can say with certainty you won’t do with a zoom.
Primes are also lighter and more discrete, and this is again incredibly important in street photography. Street photographers spend hours walking the streets of our towns and cities, and the weight of our gear is so important, just like being discrete is incredibly important when it comes to street photography. You shouldn’t be disturbing the scene you’re trying to photograph. Street photographers should be like ghosts floating through the streets, unnoticed by anyone, and primes are perfect for this. Unlike most zooms, they are small, lightweight, and nobody notices them.
Most zooms, like the 18-55 kit lenses, are lightweight, but you pay for this with the quality of the photos; there are always problems with the photos, be it with the colours, sharpness, etc., and for the cost of a cheap kit lens, you can buy a good prime lens.
The photos also look and feel different when shooting with a prime. Zooms make the scene look distant; there’s a disconnect when a photo is taken with a zoom. Yet when a photo is captured with a prime, you feel as if you’re part of the scene.
If you need to get closer when taking a photo, use your legs, not your lens; you’ll work harder for your photos, and isn’t that more satisfying? Most people on the streets won’t notice a photographer taking their photo when you’re standing close, but I’ll bet money on the fact they’ll notice a creepy sod standing across the street with a big zoom.
Zooms are so impractical when it comes to street photography; trust me when I say stick with a prime, you’ll get way better results.
Below is the only photo I’m 100% happy with that was taken using a zoom.
