Do You Force Yourself?

Just wondering...

Do you force yourself to shoot with only a particular lens?

Last week, I bought the Sigma 17-70mm. I didn't really have a chance to use it much (except for some shots at a wedding), so I figured I'd run it ragged this past Saturday. I told myself that it was the only lens I was going to shoot with.

Well, things being what they are, and considering that I had my whole bag with me, I ended up also using the 70-200mm. No big deal, of course; got some great shots, but it wasn't what I initially intended to do.

So, I'm wondering, do you force yourself to use only one lens? I thought I'd give it a try, but I'm weak and easily swayed by the "L" goodness residing in my bag...

When I'm doing portraits I force myself to use my 200 prime, some would say its too long for a portrait lens. But I find it works great, and love it.

I force myself to use the lenses I have, rather than buying more.
Sometimes it's hard. I would really love to have something long, fast and sharp!

Sometimes I restrict myself to a particular focal length, especially when I'm covering a event and using a flash. Once I get a balance of subject exposure, and background exposure, I try to vary my distance to the subject as little as possible. If want to change my framing, I can resort to the zoom, but it helps to stick to a single focal length - in the case of using the 17-40, 28mm works well - until I get the exposure sorted out. With available light shooting, especially in small clubs, focal length is pretty much dictated by the venue layout and size, crowd size (and behavior), and stage setup. Sometimes I go on "composition" walks, and use only a single focal length in P mode, mostly to free up everthing to just work on split second composition.

I have done it, especially with my 50 1.4 as a way to force myself to think about framing and composition more. It has the added benefit of giving me a bit of a workout via the foot zoom technique.

Thinking about this a little more. I'll bet there are a many users with a 50 f/1.8 as their only fast aperture lens, so there are probably quite a few that are forced to use this lens out of necessity.

The wife looks funny at me when I want to take the pelican case for a walk downtown..

So yeah. I choose a different lens and usually stuff my 50mm 1.4 in a pocket somewhere for when the sun goes down. I prefer travelling lighter these days.

Okay.. i'm going to be the oddball.. I generally pick the lens that I think is going to give me whatever results i'm wanting at that particular day.. but, once i'm shooting I rarely think about changing lenses..

sari

One of the reasons that I bought my DSLR is so that I could change lenses. The only restriction I have is when I need to shoot long, then I have no choice. Otherwise I choose the lens for the specific shot and might change again if needed.

These days I tend to have a theme and shoot broadly around that (usually for the POTN World Photo Weekend) and so I will often choose a single lens and go shoot with it. Most useful ranges for me are 35mm and 50mm.

Other times, if I don't exactly know what I might encounter, I will take the 24-105mm IS L and/or Sigma 15-30mm EX, which together will cover any urban shot I want to take. My Pentax 50mm 1.4 will fit in a pocket, so sometimes I take it if I honestly think I might do indoor shots or want some stellar bokah.

So, just depends. I don't change lenses much when I am out unless I really do have to.

On occasion I will be shooting arena shots with my 70/200 and get called away to shoot a "posed" set. Sometimes areas are tight and space is cramped to the point that gymnastics are involved, but it can be done. A horse/rider combo is about 8.5ft X 9.0ft and to back off to allow for cropping trim, it gets a bit tricky. If i'm really desperate I resort to a dismount and talk them in to a "more intimate" head and neck shot. If not, I reschedule and walk the 500 yards to and back with another lens (muttering under my breath about insensitive clients).
Ain't it just so much fun??

Yes I do and I love it.

I have been doing some street shooting with film and a 28mm prime. It's a religious experience.

I just came back from vacation. I forced myself to use only my 28mm prime on my XT because it was the only lens that i brought with me =)

I shoot with primes most of the time, so I tend to change lenses often. I bought a second body to cut down on the number of lens changes, which has been helpful for sporting events.

I don't have much choice I force myself to adapt all the time, mostly with my 85mm since I'm only 13 months older than the 50mm in my bag.