Woodwinds Recommendations?

I was wondering if anyone could make some recommendations for artists that use a lot of woodwinds in orchestration. I can't say I have heard all of hans zimmer of two steps from hell's music, but I have been having trouble trying to find cues on when to add woodwinds into orchestration. I like the idea of starting off a song with bassoons and contrabassoons, bass clarinet.

Woodwinds are pretty diverse and complex, so forgive me if this answer is too generalized. By themselves, woodwinds blended together create this lush, watery, woodsy sound that you don't get from the strings. Unfortunately, they're easily drowned out by the rest of the orchestra, so you have to choose your woodwind moments wisely. As you know, they're much more versatile than their wind cousins the brass, so woodwinds are great for playing those fast harmonies or countermelodies against the strings.

However, what I like best about the woodwinds is their different voices! The flute is light and airy, the oboe resonant and mournful, the clarinet liquid and graceful, the bassoon (such a versatile instrument!) deep and chocolatey in its lower register, wispy and yearning in its upper register. If you were to take a melody and have it repeated by the different strings (violin, viola, cello, bass), your piece would be boring. But take that same melody and have it repeated by the different woodwinds, and each tells a different story!

Concerning woodwinds cues, I feel your pain. My head doesn't naturally "hear" the woodwinds in its music, so when composing I have to pause every now and then and ask myself "Has every instrument been given a chance?" Some of the richest moments in my pieces have been when I did this and passed a lush melody on to the woodwind section!

Like much of music, it's an art that gets better the more you do it. I hope this helps!

Yeah I think you're spot on with that one because the clarinets and oboes have a very different kind of sound to them more expressive rather than like leads/melodies.