There’s always this discussion about using zoom lenses vs primes.
LOADS of photographers will tell you that primes are much better… and well I agree they are.
But still I’m a zoom lens person.
I know primes are sharper and often a bit faster (or a lot faster, meaning wider aperture) but to be honest in the studio I always shoot between f4-f22 so most of my lenses are razor sharp in that area, but even if they would be slightly less sharp then my primes I still prefer the variety of looks I can get from my zooms.

 

Always remember that shooting an image on 50mm and walking towards your model or moving away will be different that shooting from the same location with a 24-70, with the zoom lens you are much faster and if you want a close up you actually compress the scene much more than when walking towards the model with a 50mm (for example).

 

In a photoshoot I would like to have to most options possible and I love to switch fast so for me a zoom is always a good thing. Combine this by walking around your model during the shoot and you can not only get different looks from your composition/compression but also by the light, because if you shoot under aimed lights (like in the studio) the difference can be incredible.

Do you remember the light snake images ?

Here we used the same set and I zoomed in a lot more to use the set in a completely different way, but also included some of the red strobe in the back for a completely different look.

And a few more with different styling and without the red spot.

If you like these kind of tips make sure to check out my book “Mastering the model shoot” or get one of the instructional videos from this website.