We’ve made it to the start of a new week, everyone! For this week’s post, I’m doing a photography “This or That” post based off of an earlier post by Gareth Willey that made its rounds on Medium. Be sure to leave your brief answers in the comments or even make a post of your own, tag me in it/link me to it, and credit Gareth if you found this kind of thing thought-provoking! (Also, please mention in the comments if you want to see another one of these posts with prompts thought up by yours truly.)

Want to be part of the creative process and help think of some prompts for a future “This or That” entry? Do you also want exclusive access to other content I release? Get a membership to my Patreon community for those opportunities and more!

---

PRIME OR ZOOM LENS?

It depends on the work I’m doing. Generally, I prefer using a prime lens as they end up giving a sharper image and perform great in low-light situations. (We love a low f number in concert and nighttime photography!) Prime lenses are all I use for my street photography, specifically a 35mm until I get myself an 85mm for people shots I’m too shy to get close for.

I was also a fan of my newest addition (the Sigma 40mm f/1.4 ART prime) in a dimly-lit club last time I photographed one at Elsewhere. A 50mm and some wider primes for cityscapes and architecture work are due up soon, too.

Despite a preference toward primes, zooms of some sort will always be in my bag. I need a 24-70mm f/2.8 to give me some more range for concerts as well as a 70-200mm f/2.8. I’ll probably invest in a 24-120mm f/4 and 16-35mm f/4 for city and architecture work, too.

TRIPOD OR FREE-HAND?

Free-hand for now since I, honestly, don’t have much experimentation time with a tripod. (I know – I should have it on me for architecture work; I just forget every time.) I want to experiment with long exposures and light trails with my city photography eventually, so I’ll have to make sure I keep it with me more often.

While some may think a tripod limits the kinds of photos you can take, it’s still the easiest way to keep the camera steady for sharp architecture photos and techniques like long exposure.

PIXELS OR PRINTS?

Prints! I don’t have much space to purchase fellow photographers’ prints often, but I love seeing beautiful art in physical form. (Photo albums and scrapbooks are the best.)

Maybe I can find some of your prints for when I finally decide to decorate my office more…

PORTRAITS OR LANDSCAPES?

I’d say portraits because of my love for concert photography. I love cityscapes specifically rather than traditional landscapes, but I would probably be miserable if I couldn’t photograph another show again.

For general portrait work, I also enjoy getting to know people and coming away from an experience with stories. That happens less often with the outdoors. (I also don’t find traditional landscape photography very interesting in general.)

BLACK & WHITE OR COLOR?

Each has its place, but I often stick to editing in color unless I’m experimenting with monochrome on an image or have no other way to “save” a club concert photo in post. I like to think my editing style has a vibrancy or brightness to it (along with some contrast) that comes out best in color. Monochrome is great for practicing the aspects of light and shadow and contrast as a whole without overdoing it.

If you check my Instagram following feed, though, I follow a whole lot of both. I enjoy both equally when I’m consuming art.