From my reply to a discussion in r/canon on Reddit.

Get rid of the idea of a “holy trinity” of lenses. It’s a stupid marketing gimmick (I’ll probably trigger a lot of people with that statement). It makes sense for professional event photographers, who need maximal flexibility from their kit. And for a lot of amateur photographers who shoot a bit of this, that, and everything, a do-all set of relatively fast zooms seems attractive. The problem is that they’re big, heavy, and expensive. And in some ways, they offer too much choice.

Instead, build your own “trinity.” You shoot portraits, animals, and flowers. Ok, so get a kick-butt portrait lens, a decent telephoto with a bit of reach, and a macro. You’d do well with a 50mm, 100mm macro, and a 135mm, for example. It’s a smaller kit that would allow you to focus (ba-dum-dum) in on the things you love.

But what if you’re on a trip and you want to take a landscape? Use the 50. Or learn to do landscapes with the 135. Sure, you won’t get wide sweeping vistas, but that’s ok. Learning to use limited tools to capture the images you want is what will define your art and images.

Now don’t get me wrong, zooms aren’t a bad idea for a lot of people. Maybe you’re one. Maybe your 24-70 is your defining lens. If that’s the case, then accept and even embrace its limitations. You’ve got one of the best normal zooms of all time, so you don’t need a 50 at all. Instead, maybe add reach with a 70-200. Or again, compliment it with a prime like the 100mm macro L or 135mm f2 (both of which are absolutely amazing and versatile lenses).