Three Essential Lenses

Some photographers prefer to use prime lenses because they’re shorter and lighter, and they come in wider aperture options such as f/1.4. I have my own inventory of prime lenses I like to shoot with when I’m on assignment here in the states. They challenge me to think in terms of fixed focal length and to use my feet to zoom in and out. But when I travel abroad on assignment, I don’t lug around any lenses that I may use only once or twice. I choose to take what’s necessary to achieve the story.

For foreign editorial assignments, I shoot primarily with three well-rounded, fixed f/2.8 aperture lenses—the Nikkor 14-24mm, 24-70mm, and 70-200mm lenses. I keep the 24-70mm lens on my primary camera and the 70-200mm lens on my ...

Get A Photojournalist’s Field Guide: In the trenches with combat photographer Stacy Pearsall now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.