As with “portrait lenses,” there is no such thing as a “zoom lens!” You might call me bonkers, but check out what I share below and see if it helps you in your photography journey. Now, let’s take on the legend of the “zoom lens!”

“Zoom Lens“
The usual argument is, “Everyone knows that a lens that goes from 18mm to 135mm is a zoom lens! You can zoom in from far away right up to the subject’s nose hairs!”

Well, what happens when you “zoom” in or out is that you’re changing the focal length. But this also changes the subject’s features, due to compression. We went over this in previous blog posts. So, review it now if you need to. Most people feel comfortable planting their feet in one spot, pointing their camera at someone far away and “zooming” in.

A more appropriate name for what people refer to as a “zoom lens” would be “variable focal length lens.” I call it “VFL lens” for short. As David Marr would say, “It’s not a car. It doesn’t ‘zoom’ anywhere!” But FYI, a camera shop might not know what you mean if you asked them for one, so… I guess we’re forced to continue to call them “zoom” lenses. One day, the madness will end. Maybe…
So, how does one go about using said lens?

Like before, you determine which focal length best flatters your subject. Then, set it on your lens before you bring the viewfinder up to your eye, then move your feet for proper composition. Sounds easy, right?

Well, you need to do your homework first. If you have a variablefocal length lens, like a 28-75mm, experiment with it. Take a portrait
of someone at 28mm and fill the frame with their face. Next, try 35mm, then 42mm, 50mm, 65mm and so on. If you have a 70-200mm VFL lens, run the same experiment at different focal lengths. As you go up in focal length, you will have to move your feet and back up to get the same composition. Then, pull up the photos in a photo editing program and examine each one. Look at how each photo distorts or compresses facial features. Whichever is the most flattering look for that subject is the right focal length for that him or her.

When it comes to VFL lenses, treat it as a prime lens. Don’t take the lazy route and stand in one convenient spot, then crank up your focal length! It may be convenient, but you might be causing all sorts of distortions that you may not notice until later. I don’t care if you have to hop on a Segway and get closer or further away from your subject to get the right composition. Don’t sacrifice quality for convenience. After a while, you’ll get better at seeing how focal lengths affect human features. You’ll be able to match the best focal length for each subject almost instinctively.

You might wonder, “Then what’s the point of having all those focal lengths if I shouldn’t use it to ‘zoom’?” The point is that you have
more focal lengths to try on your subject to see which works best for them. Maybe a focal length of 42mm works best for one subject, while 90mm works best for another. The downside to some VFL lenses is that the less expensive versions often do not have constant wide aperture, such as f/2.8. Often the largest apertures start around f/2.8 on higher end lenses, and f/3.5-5.6
on typical kit lenses. Such kit lenses might be a bit more challenging to use in low light situations because they let in less light. Prime (single focal length) lenses usually excel at this, because many open up to f/1.4 or f/1.8, for example. So, there are pros and cons to prime lenses and VFL lenses. Use the gear that best suits your needs, style, vision and budget.

Conclusion: Remember to experiment with different focal lengths. Learn their characteristics. And, “zoom” with your feet, not with the focal length. It will compress features that you may not want.

Blog question: What did you take away from this post? What stuck out to you the most and how do you feel it will help in your photography? Leave a comment below! Feel free to ask any questions. Stay tuned for next week’s blog post!

Resources: Check out this article I just found on PetaPixel going over this topic: https://petapixel.com/2013/02/16/dont-zoom-move-a-video-on-treating-your-zoom-as-a-series-of-prime-lenses/