Do you follow Henri Cartier-Bresson or do you change cameras / lenses during a shoot ??

I only have one zoom lens (35-70) that goes with my current portrait camera. So no I don’t change lenses a lot.

I used to chop and change throughout a shoot but as I've progressed I tend to pick a set-up in advance and stick to it. I enjoy the challenge and also the fluidity.

That said, if it really isn't working I will have other bodies and lenses with me so can adapt if necessary.

B.

Like a lot of things, it depends! I usually only carry one camera (an R5) although I will have a backup somewhere handy.  It usually has the EF 24-70mm f2.8 zoom on it, but I'll change to assorted primes as required.

I do chop and change. But it's dependent on location usually.

I'm finding it beneficial to limit equipment. Forcing myself to "problem solve"

I swap lenses all the time depending where and what I shoot.

I've only got two lenses. But at the risk of seeming extravagant, I've got two - yes, two! - camera bodies. So I can keep one lens on one body all the time. 

Wherever possible I use the body with the nifty fifty, but if space doesn't permit I'll use the other body with the kit zoom.   

To me cameras & lenses are just tools albeit important tools. I usually bring two cameras to a shoot but only use one either a Canon R5 (preferred) or a Canon R6 MKII. For portraiture I take three lenses an RF 24-70mm f2.8L IS USM, a RF 70-200mm F4L IS USM and either at RF 50mm f1.2L or a EF 85mm f1.4L IS USM. The bulk of what I shoot is on the RF 24-70mm f2.8L. 

For landscape I mainly use the Canon R6 MKII with a RF 24-105mm f4L IS USM, a RF 16mm f2.8 and a RF 100-400mm f5.6-f8 IS USM. For bird photography I use a Canon R10 with the RF 100-400mm but intend to get the RF 100-500mm with a 1.4X converter. My walk around Lens for that camera is the Sigma RF-S 18-50mm f2.8. 

The most important camera is the one you have with you so most of the time that's my iPhone 15Pro Max! 

playwithlight said

To me cameras & lenses are just tools albeit important tools. I usually bring two cameras to a shoot but only use one either a Canon R5 (preferred) or a Canon R6 MKII. For portraiture I take three lenses an RF 24-70mm f2.8L IS USM, a RF 70-200mm F4L IS USM and either at RF 50mm f1.2L or a EF 85mm f1.4L IS USM. The bulk of what I shoot is on the RF 24-70mm f2.8L. 

For landscape I mainly use the Canon R6 MKII with a RF 24-105mm f4L IS USM, a RF 16mm f2.8 and a RF 100-400mm f5.6-f8 IS USM. For bird photography I use a Canon R10 with the RF 100-400mm but intend to get the RF 100-500mm with a 1.4X converter. My walk around Lens for that camera is the Sigma RF-S 18-50mm f2.8. 

The most important camera is the one you have with you so most of the time that's my iPhone 15Pro Max! 

Very true !!

With film, vintage-film, infrared and digital, changing camera bodies became a big distraction, even more so when I tried to get the same set in multiple formats.

I tried to balance this firstly by limiting the bodies I bring, but then by sticking to a lense/body config for the whole set and only changing between sets.

I think one body / one lense for a while career would be too limiting, but not swapping mid-set I'd advocate and potentially doing a whole shoot single-config I can see the appeal of

Edited by 8-bit Fashion

Studio Canon 24-85. Location Fuji 16-55. I have others but these are my goto lenses for 95% of shoots.

If you’re shooting in a studio, many photographers may want to change lenses for different looks. More experienced photographers can usually create different looks in post without switching lenses. I can easily change lens-type distortions in post without any issue. Obviously, if I’m shooting with a 50mm lens and the model is moved 30 feet back (unlikely, but let’s play along), I’d need to move forward or change the lens. But if the model is in a fixed position, I can shoot all day with one good lens and effectively change the look in post, no problem at all.

Post work is the most powerful tool in photography.

The most important piece of advice I was ever given was, 'always shoot with a bigger crop than you want.' Basically, when you frame your picture, zoom out a little so you have room to crop later. You can always remove part of the image, but it’s harder to add what isn’t there. Of course, that may have changed slightly with technology, but I still stick to that rule.

Edited by ANDY00

I have 4 lenses which I may use in a shoot.  One I use 80+% of the time, 2 others I use about >10% each, and the last once in a blue moon.  

I'm in the process of moving from DSLR to mirrorless, and getting a couple of news lenses in the process. My intention is to have a 50mm 1.4 on one, and a 35-150mm 2-2.8 on the other. I'll keep my 150-600mm for wildlife shoots, but otherwise aim to stop switching lenses around quite so much.

I only have two lenses, 85mm & 35mm, if there is enough room the 85mm would be on all the time, unfortunately that is rarely the case, so they get swapped during the shoot

Edited by thoroughly.exposed

I guess the thing which has changed, more than anything else, is the cost of "spare" camera bodies relative to lenses.

I couldn't really contemplate the cost of 2 digital cameras hanging around my neck, never mind the weight.

The logic of carrying multiple cameras and still swapping lenses, I'm afraid, escapes me.

As for my own practice, I "grew up" photographically speaking in dusty third-world countries where opening my camera to the elements was avoided at all costs, and where any extraneous gear was not only a huge burden but apt to get lost, pawed or otherwise damaged. I used a decent quality zoom and it sufficed for most purposes. I guess I have carried over the same practice to model photography, which is after all a hobby, and I find the results acceptable. If I am ever commissioned to do "proper" work I use prime lenses of a suitable focal length.