How to take photographs with a wide-angle lens. Shooting with a Wide Angle Lens: Tips and Tricks

Wide-angle lenses (increasing viewing angle)

Wide-angle lenses have firmly taken their place in photography. Along with telephoto lenses and portrait lenses, wide-angle lenses are among the three most common among professional photographers

· 06/02/2017

Article text updated: 10/18/2018

I won’t be mistaken if I say that absolutely all visitors to my blog have experience shooting wide: smartphones have a lens with an equivalent focal length (EF) of 25-28 mm. But not everyone produces masterpieces. Today I propose to analyze how to photograph with wide-angle optics so that it does not turn out to be a UG.

First, let's deal with the abbreviation “UG” - “sad g..but”. When a novice amateur photographer acquires his first wide shot, he dumps tons of shots like this on social networks and on specialized photography forums.

What's good about this photo? Probably only the line of the fence leading the viewer’s eye to the SVKTs (the plot-important compositional center, if anyone has not yet read Lydia Dyko’s textbook “Conversations on Photographic Craftsmanship”). Why do I think this photo is UG? Someone will say: “Because the building was shot close and there is distortion” (in in this case the lines tend to converge at one point, although in reality they are parallel). Why distortion appears when shooting wide if you tilt the lens axis is discussed in detail and with diagrams in the photo lesson “Why do I need full frame"(a link to this article and others that will be mentioned throughout the conversation can be seen at the very bottom).

But I don’t agree that distortion is the main evil here. I load the image into Photoshop, make a duplicate layer, set guidelines in the menu “Edit – Transform – Perspective – Scale”. I'm more or less leveling the walls of the building. It got better (if I had shot from the front, the result would have been a little better). Still UG...

So the reason is different. I believe that this photo is of poor quality because it contains medium shot(near corner of the building), rear (far corner and bell tower), but no front. If there was some interesting object on the near plane, the viewer would not even pay attention to the distortion.

Want an experiment? I take the original photo with crooked walls and make a simple photo collage.

I bet you didn’t even immediately notice that I additionally curved the walls of the building in the editor...

Wide Angle Lens Features

Wide-angle lenses have two characteristics that set them apart from other types of lenses. Firstly, shirik stretches the perspective (intensifies): objects in the foreground turn out to be very large, and objects in the background quickly decrease in size.

Photo 5. The train cars, believe me, also have the same height in front and back, although due to the perspective enhanced by the wide-angle lens, they do not look very realistic. But impressive... 1/160, -1.67, 8.0, 450, 14.

Secondly, a wide-angle lens produces an image that English-speaking photographers characterize as “inclusive,” that is, “inclusive, interpenetrating.” In Russian, I would say, “pulling the viewer inside,” or “interactive.”

Agree, when you look at these flowers, it seems that they are behind glass, you can reach them. An extraordinary feeling. Neither a portrait lens nor a telephoto lens will give you this feeling - this is the “magic” of wide-angle optics.

Mistakes that beginners make when shooting with a wide-angle lens

Experienced photographers identify four types of imperfections in photographs taken by amateurs with wide-angle lenses:

1. There is no object close to the lens.
2. There is no clearly defined SVKTs.
3. Trying to fit too many objects into frames.
4. Distorted faces in portraits.

Let's try to analyze each of these points.

1. The subject is located far from the camera lens

In my opinion, the first mistake is the cause of 90% of weak shots and it is closely intertwined with the next two.

Most of the best shots taken with a wide-angle lens are taken from less than a meter away (in terms of large objects) and even from a few centimeters (if we're talking about about little ones). For example, I photographed the flowers in picture No. 6 from about 10 cm.

To get interesting shots, we must have greater image depth (in other words, enhance the perspective), that is, we must approach the subject at a minimally short distance.

Let's do an experiment. Let's take a photo from street sculpture full frame Nikon D610 with reportage zoom Nikon 24-70 mm f/2.8 at the wide end FR = 24 mm. At first I approach a very short distance: literally half a meter.

I think the car is about to jump out of the screen and onto the computer! I move a little further, literally 50-70 centimeters and... the magic is lost.

Well, if you move a couple of meters away, then our subject is completely lost in the picture. The charm disappears completely.

I believe that in the example above, the circle of paving stones more or less serves as the foreground. If it were not there, the perception of the image would be even more weakened.

But for those who hate wide shots, I’ll give an example of the same plot, but shot at a long focal length.

Notice the size of the windows in the background in both the wide-angle and telephoto shots. Now is it clear why, when photographing against the backdrop of a mountain or monument, it is better to ask the model to move away from it and use a lens with a long focal length to take pictures?

In an article with a story about why I need a wide lens and why I need a telephoto lens, I drew attention to: if you take a frame with a Canon 70-200 mm f/2.8 at FR = 200 mm and FR = 180 mm, then the change in focal length will be only 10% and, most likely will not be noticeable to the viewer. And in the photograph taken with a Canon 16-35 mm f/2.8 at AF=35 mm, and then at AF=16 mm, despite the fact that the focal length changed by only 19 mm, the relative change was 219%.

It’s the same story with changing the distance to the subject: if we shoot with a telephoto lens, if we move one step away, we get virtually no changes in perspective; if we shoot wider, there’s a significant jump...

We must not forget that there are wide-angle lenses (FR = 24-35 mm for full frame, and FR = 15-22 mm for CROP), and there are ultra-wide-angle lenses (FR = 14-24 mm for FX, and FR = 10-14 mm for DX) - they are many times more sensitive to the photographer’s mistakes made when constructing the frame.

The situation as in photos No. 12 and No. 13 is described by professionals as “the arrangement of composition elements at the same distance from the lens and, as a result, the loss of the SVCC.”

Well, maybe I didn’t pick it very well here good example, since the car in the background is located 30 meters away. If she stood 5 meters from the bear, then both subjects would merge and it would seem that they were located almost in the same plane...

How it works? Read the photo tutorial about the differences between crop and full frame - there are diagrams and formulas there (the link is located at the end of this article).

I'll tell you briefly here. If in photo No. 11 the distance to the bear is 1 m, and to exactly the same bear in the background is 5 m, then the difference is in their change linear dimensions image in the picture is Δ=((5/1)*100%-100%)=400%. When the photographer moves 2.5 m away from the first bear, then Δ=((5+2.5/(1+2.5)*100%-100%)=114%...

In practice, this means that in the first case the perspective is very pronounced: the bear in the foreground will look 4 times larger in the picture than a sculpture of the same size located at a distance of 5 m from it. In the second situation, such bears will look different in the picture in size from each other only 1.14 times.

This means that the trick of standing back, shooting wide, and then cropping out the subject won't work without losing the magic of the wide frame. Indeed, in this case the perspective will be less pronounced.

To compare perceptions: let’s say we shot the same scenes with a telephoto lens from a distance of first 20 and then 22.5 meters. Then the change in the size of the bears would be in the first case Δ=((25/20)*100%-100%))=25%, and in the second ((27.5/22.5)*100%-100%)= 22.2%. Firstly, the sizes of both sculptures in photographs taken with a telephoto lens differ from each other significantly less than when using a wide lens (compare 25% and 400%), i.e. the prospect is less pronounced. Secondly, changing the distance to the subject also does not lead to dramatic differences: 25%/22.2%=1.13 versus 400%/114%=3.51...

So again: if you want beautiful pictures With a wide-angle lens, move closer to enhance perspective, that is, the difference in size between the foreground and background. Here's another practical example. I approached the sculpture at 30cm.

Everything seems to be fine, the picture is captivating. What happens if the distance is reduced by 15cm?

I note that the examples chosen here are not ideal from the point of view of composition. I’m also learning and it’s not often that I get to shoot my masterpiece wide. In particular, in this example and in the frame with the bears, the bottom is cut off unsightly. In the photo report, I would probably leave the previous image so that the slab on the ground would be completely included in the frame. Well, a couple more shots to demonstrate the postulate: it’s better to photograph with wide-angle optics from a short distance.

2. There is no clearly defined object in the frame when shooting with a wide-angle lens

The requirement to have a SVKT in the frame that draws the viewer’s attention is interconnected with the previous point: if you move a little further away, the viewer gets “lost.”

Dear reader, forgive me if my tone came across as somewhat didactic. I repeat once again, I also don’t know how to shoot wide, I’m just learning. And on the blog I post my “lecture notes.” I know that it often happens that this SVKTS is difficult to find and designate, that sometimes there is no way to get closer, etc.

To bring a shot like this to life, it's vital to find something that will catch the viewer's eye: a rock, an inscription, a crack in the foreground.

Why do you think I go on trips to distant countries with my wife? I need it to bring the “human element” into the composition.

My theory here is this: in these shots, the main subject is not the person, but the environment around him, and it, as it should, is located close to the photographer.

3. Trying to put too much in a photo

Shirik has a very wide viewing angle. This helps when we want to show, for example, the habitat of our object. But this also interferes with building a composition, since the photo may contain too many minor details that distract from the main thing. There is only one piece of advice: know your limits and be careful when choosing the frame border.

4. Shooting portraits with a wide-angle lens

You've probably come across strict recommendations many times: portraits of people should not be shot wide, as the proportions of the face and body are greatly distorted.

The first frame was photographed from a distance of 15 cm, the second from 30 cm.

I would like to make a clarification here. When a girl, a fashion model, writes to you: “Dear photographer, please take a portfolio for me,” it’s probably better to take a Canon 50mm f/1.4 or Canon 85mm f/1.4 portrait lens. And if you walk down the street and take street photography, you can get very interesting pictures with a wide-angle lens with the effect of involving the viewer.

Conclusion

Let's summarize. Without a wide-angle lens it is very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to shoot a professional report from a wedding, birthday, party or travel. If only because you need an establishing shot with a general shot that gives the viewer an understanding of where the event is taking place (see the lesson “How to photograph a photo story”).

To ensure that wide-angle photos are not UG, you need to follow simple rules: 1) come close; 2) show the viewer clearly who the main object is; 3) don’t make a “hodgepodge” of thousands of subjects, be simpler; 4) if you want natural proportions of the human body, long focal lengths are used, but for street photography and humor you should not be shy about shooting wide.

I understand that I am not an authority on photography, but try to carefully consider the points that I have outlined here. Then go to the Mywed website and analyze the best shots - 30% wedding photos shot wide. Then type in Google the phrase “Businessman, the best photos of the year". There, too, a third of the scenes were taken at a wide angle. Analyze each photo, compare it with what is in your portfolio, and then you too will start shooting masterpieces with a wide-angle lens. Good luck friends!

I would also like to add that all of the above does not mean that we should always use shirik, and there are exceptions when we do not follow the rules described in the article. I would also like to point out that in a photo report it is advisable to alternate shots taken different types lenses: if all the pictures are taken with a wide-angle lens, the viewer will get bored.

We noticed that when shooting with this type of optics it is extremely important acquire lines in the frame? Almost everywhere they very tenaciously “capture the eye” and lead the viewer to where the photographer needs. You need to be very careful when building a composition.

In this article we saw photos taken with the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 ultra-wide-angle lens. This lens has a relative:

Under ultra wide angle For the purposes of this article, we will mean any lens with a focal length of less than 20 mm (film equivalent). There are two types of lenses that fall into this category - a regular ultra-wide angle and a fisheye. The article will not talk about the technical capabilities of these lenses, but about the creative capabilities - “ultra-wide” opens up the opportunity for us to see the world from a completely unusual perspective, which is undoubtedly fertile ground for various creative experiments.

"Eyes Wide Open"

I have experience with two ultra wide angle lenses - fisheye Zenithar 16/2.8(on crop and full frame) and with lens Samyang 14mm f/2.8. I’ll say right away that both of these lenses the best way manifest themselves on a full-frame camera, however, there are “ultra-wide” lenses on sale specifically for cropped lenses - their focal length is 8-10 mm at the short end, which in terms of a full frame gives 12-16 mm, so my experience will be quite applicable to these lenses. However, let's immediately agree that in what follows I will operate with “full-frame” focal lengths.

What is the insidiousness of an ultra-wide angle?

At first glance, it may seem that a wide angle offers a huge advantage when photographing architecture and other large objects at close range. It would be very convenient to take photographs during excursions! While owners of standard lenses squeeze into the walls to fit the entire object into the frame, you can photograph architectural ensembles and the interiors of cathedrals and museums with complete peace of mind. But you have to pay for convenience... To begin with, I will give two examples of photographs of a certain object, which were taken using 14 mm and 50 mm lenses so that the scale was approximately the same.

How different are photographs of the same object! As you probably already guessed, left photo was taken with a 14mm lens almost point blank. Perhaps, for such “creative” objects, this shooting style is acceptable, but when photographing classical architectural compositions, such an aggressive perspective quickly begins to irritate.

The photo on the left was taken with a 14mm lens, the right - with a 16mm fisheye.

Of course, when Adobe Help Photoshop Lightroom can partially compensate for the perspective effect...

But at the same time, objects turn out with terribly distorted proportions - implausibly elongated upward and flattened on the sides! In addition, to maintain the proportions of the frame, it had to be significantly cropped. Thus, the resolution of the photo suffered.

You can also “straighten” a photo from Zenithar16 in Lightroom by applying a lens profile to it Canon 15mm f/2.8 fisheye. The result will be approximately the same, but with noticeable blurring of the corners (actually because of this, I changed the fisheye to an ordinary ultra-wide angle, which initially gives a “smooth” picture).

Ultra-wide-angle for architecture - are you sure this is a good idea?

Often on lens review sites, in particular on photozone.de, ultra-wide angles are positioned as almost special lenses for photographing architecture. Personally, I don't think this idea is very good.

As already mentioned, if you photograph buildings from a close distance and from a low point using a wide-angle lens, they will appear to be “falling” backwards. One more example:

Perspective can be leveled in Photoshop, but this does not always work out well - with strong compensation for the effect, the shape and proportions of objects in the upper part of the frame will suffer greatly.

If you need to get really high-quality photographs of architectural objects, avoid using an ultra-wide angle if possible. Look for a shooting position that will fit your subject into the frame when using a “normal” lens (40-50mm) or even a telephoto lens. Horizon line - the closer to the middle of the frame, the less perspective distortion.

Here is an example of a photograph of an architectural object taken at a focal length of 105 millimeters from a distance.

No falling walls, crooked lines or distorted proportions! Agree, looking at such photographs of architectural objects is much more pleasant than these:

Or these:

Of course, using a long lens to photograph architecture is not always possible. It often happens that architectural objects are located very poorly - they are obscured by trees, billboards, and other buildings. There is nothing to do here - salvation is only in the wide-angle. But still, try to shoot at the maximum focal length possible under the given conditions.

p.s. It's not about artistic photographs, in which perspective distortions play the role of an artistic device.

Nature photography

Landscape photography is the true strength of ultra-wide-angle optics! The field of view of a 14mm lens at full frame is about 120 degrees horizontal - this is approximately what a person sees with both eyes.

When photographing nature, as opposed to cityscapes, severe perspective distortion is not as critical as when photographing buildings. On the contrary, an aggressive perspective gives the photo additional dynamics and depth.

When composing a frame with an "upper horizon" the a large number of foreground objects (sometimes even the photographer’s feet). This forces you to take a more responsible approach to choosing a shooting point. But the photographer has the opportunity to convey in one frame all the splendor of the landscape in every detail - from the grass or water under your feet to the horizon line.

When shooting a landscape with an ultra-wide angle, background objects turn out to be very small - this is the specificity of such a small focal length, but this often turns into a huge advantage. Landscapes with clouds are especially good with the ultra-wide angle. If with a regular lens the clouds were just a background that complemented the composition, then with an ultra-wide angle they often become full-fledged key objects.

But this photo was taken with a 24mm lens:

Agree, it turned out more interesting with a 14mm lens!

Even if there is no foreground as such, make the “cloud pattern”, slightly enhanced in Photoshop, the main motif in the landscape.

Of course, with this angle we will encounter vertical objects being blocked due to the perspective effect. The original version of this photo looked like this:

The perspective distortion at the bottom of the image seems catastrophic! What did you expect? No one has repealed the laws of optics. About how to fix such a problem without cropping the edges of the picture (as in the photo with the bell tower), you can ask me a question at Photography Courses, I will be happy to tell you everything and show you. Perhaps video tutorials will appear in the foreseeable future.

Is the horizon in the middle a deviation from generally accepted rules of composition or a useful artistic technique?

You may have read or heard that you should avoid the horizon in the middle of your frame at all costs. At least in many textbooks, the middle horizon is characterized as a flaw in composition. But photography is not physics or mathematics! You can and should deviate from the rules. But still, this should be done with caution, carefully weighing the pros and cons.

For a long time I was an opponent of the middle horizon in the landscape, however, relatively recently I changed my mind on this matter. The main reason for this was to add an ultra-wide-angle lens with a focal length of 14 mm to my arsenal. A lot has been done with this lens in a short period of time. good photos, the horizon on which was located, as if in mockery of all the rules and canons, exactly in the middle of the frame. Here are some examples:

Gorokhovets, view from Lysa Mountain:

Evening in Vorsma (1):

Evening in Vorsma (2):

I tried to understand why the middle horizon in these photographs does not hurt the eyes at all, but on the contrary, provides a certain effect of presence? And it looks like he figured it out...

A 14 mm lens at full frame has a field of view angle comparable to that of a person (with two eyes, taking into account peripheral vision) - 115-120 degrees. In our normal state, we hold our heads straight and, quite obviously, we are used to seeing the horizon line in the middle! That's the whole solution. That is why, in photographs taken with such a wide angle, the horizon line dividing the frame in half is a completely reasonable compositional move.

From this we can safely conclude that classic rules compositions (which came into photography from painting) on ​​ultra-wide-angle lenses are not so unshakable! It’s the same as Euclid’s geometry and Lobachevsky’s geometry, or classical mechanics and quantum mechanics :)

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to say that photographing with an ultra-wide-angle lens is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. You will almost always encounter such difficulties. Many people are disappointed in such optics due to a number of its features:

• Severe perspective distortions(you need to learn to correct them in the editor, or use them as a creative technique)
• Distortion(relatively easy to edit in Adobe Lightroom)
• Lack of dynamic range(due to the angle of the large field of view, well-lit objects, as well as objects in deep shadow, will fall into the frame - master HDR)
• When using manual lenses you need to get used to manual mode

If you successfully master the ultra-wide angle and “get into” it, enormous creative possibilities will open up for you!

This time you will get acquainted with ultra-wide-angle optics.

For a full-frame camera, an ultra-wide-angle lens is a lens with a focal length shorter than 24 mm (15 mm for cameras with an APS-C matrix) and a viewing angle of more than 80 degrees along the diagonal of the frame.

Everything fits in the frame!

Often in a room you want to take more overall plan, but it’s impossible to move further away from the subject of photography - walls or other obstacles get in the way. This is where an ultra-wide-angle lens comes into play. It is used in reportage photography and is indispensable when shooting interiors.

Shot taken with a 50mm lens

Shot taken at 14mm focal length

Ideal for landscape photography

If you want to capture the entire surrounding landscape in the frame, and not just its fragments, then you cannot do without wide-angle optics. When shooting landscapes, all types of lenses are used, even telephotos. But still, the main tool of a landscape photographer is an ultra-wide-angle lens.

Nikon D810 / Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED SETTINGS:

Makes you come closer

“If your photos aren’t good enough, you haven’t gotten close enough.” This quote is from one of the most famous photojournalists of the mid-20th century, Robert Capa.

An ultra-wide-angle lens allows and even forces you to shoot minimum distance from the subject, the foreground. If you move further away, all objects in the frame will be equally small.

The photo was taken using an ultra-wide-angle lens and . I took this shot on a steep mountain slope, literally “hovering” over the cliff. To show the peonies in the foreground, I had to climb into a small grove and shoot from a very close distance (from the lens to the flowers less than a meter). The wide-angle lens allowed us to show flowers, textured trunks of old trees, and the sunrise.

Vivid Perspective

A wide viewing angle and shooting from minimal distances affects the transmission of perspective in the frame - perspective distortions appear. Objects located in the foreground visually increase in size, while those more distant decrease in size.

But it’s better to shoot people with wide-angle lenses full height. Fit your characters into the surrounding plot, and make classic portraits more beautiful.

The best choice for shooting starry skies

Filming starry sky, northern lights are becoming more and more popular. Of course, photographers strive to capture as much space as possible in the frame, and they can’t do it without a wide viewing angle.

Nikon D810 / Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED SETTINGS:

Nikon D810 / Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED SETTINGS:

Shooting the starry sky is a task performed to the limit technical capabilities photographic equipment. To capture maximum light from distant stars, the lens must have a high aperture ratio and provide good sharpness even at the edges of the frame. Many ultra-wide-angle lenses from Nikon meet these parameters, but I would especially like to note the Nikon AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED and the Nikon AF-S 20mm f/1.8G ED Nikkor fast prime.

Nikon D810 / Nikon AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED SETTINGS:

Geometry distortion. Lenses without distortion and fisheye

In addition to the perspective distortions inherent in all short-focus lenses, there are also geometric distortions that different models optics manifest themselves in different ways. Distortion is a geometric distortion in the frame. It is especially noticeable when shooting scenes with straight lines. Geometric distortions are extremely undesirable, for example, when photographing architecture, since no one wants to get a curved house or a dashingly twisted interior in the picture. A high-quality ultra-wide-angle lens should not have distortion.

On the other hand, strong geometric distortions can be used to create . For example, in fisheye lenses (fish-eye) distortion is not corrected.

There are several such lenses in the Nikon optics line: the classic Nikon 16mm f/2.8D AF Fisheye-Nikkor, designed for use with full-frame cameras, Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G ED DX Fisheye-Nikkor for cropped cameras, as well as the new Nikon AF -S FISHEYE NIKKOR 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED, which can be used both full frame and cropped.

Nikon Ultra Wide Angle Lenses

How to choose an ultra-wide-angle lens? Here is a short overview of the most interesting models from Nikon.

Let's start with models designed for use with full-frame cameras.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED- the standard of ultra-wide-angle optics. Thanks to its focal length of 14 mm, it has a record viewing angle. But you have to pay for high aperture and excellent optical characteristics: the lens weighs almost a kilogram, and due to the impressive front lens, it is not possible to install standard threaded filters on it. Excellent sharpness and high aperture make the Nikon AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED convenient for working in any genre: from wedding to architectural photography.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR- more compact solution. The lens has a slightly narrower viewing angle and lower aperture. The disadvantage of the latter is partly compensated by an effective image stabilizer, which allows you to photograph without a tripod even at shutter speeds in the region of ¼–½s. This is very useful when shooting landscapes on the run, because you don’t always have time to set up a tripod. In addition, the presence of a stabilizer is an excellent insurance against blurry shots. The lens is relatively compact and allows the use of threaded filters with a diameter of 77 mm.

Wide-angle lenses are often misused or chosen for the wrong reasons. Many beginners buy a really good wide angle lens, a 50mm (because someone suggested it) and a longer zoom lens. But the biggest mistake is not understanding how they work, why you need each one specifically and for what situation.

In this article we will look at wide angle lenses. What they do, how to use them, and how to avoid the following five most common mistakes photographers make.

• Everything in the image is the same distance from the lens.
• There is no clear subject.
• A wide-angle lens is only used to fit more objects into the frame.
• Taking bad photos of people.
• Shooting with a wide-angle lens for no reason.

What is a wide angle lens?

Technically, it is any lens that has a wider field of view than the human eye. Back in the days of film, a 50mm lens was considered "normal" because it produced a picture that was closest to what a person sees. Now with digital it's a little more complicated - 50mm is considered normal for full frame cameras, which corresponds to approximately 35mm for APS-C or crop sensors (for the same viewing angle).

Thus, focal lengths greater than 50mm (full frame) or 35mm (APS-C) are considered wide-angle lenses. The shorter the focal length, the wider the frame will be, for example; 15mm, which is ultra-wide (full frame) or 10mm (a special lens made only for APS-C cameras). Even wider lenses are considered fisheye lenses, which make the image almost circular when shooting.

What does a wide angle lens do?

Wide-angle lenses distort objects and improve perspective: objects closer to the camera appear larger than those further away, even if they are the same size in reality.

Look at the photo of the subway sign above; notice how much larger the part closest to the camera is compared to the part further away. This is the result of a wide-angle optical lens. The same thing can be seen in the photo with the Brooklyn Bridge above and the buildings below.

Let's compare the images below taken with a wide-angle and telephoto lens respectively.

17mm lens on a full frame camera (to get this angle of view you need to use 11mm on APS-C)

A 75mm lens on a full frame camera (a 50mm lens on an APS-C camera will give you roughly the same angle of view)

Look at the size of the tractor in the two images. Notice how much larger the tractor in the first photo is compared to the object in the background. See how the size ratio has changed in the second image? The tractor did not move between pictures, and the distance between objects did not change either. The only thing that changed was the lens the photographer used and the distance between the subject and the camera.

5 Beginner Mistakes When Using a Wide Angle Lens

• Everything in your image is the same distance from the lens

To use a wide-angle lens properly, you need some object close to the lens.

This was shot with a 24mm lens. There is no object here because all the elements are at the same distance from the camera. Compare with the image of the tractor above, especially the wide-angle shot: the tractor literally comes to life in this one

Now let's look at the two images of the bike below. There's nothing that stands out in the photo on the left. As he gets closer, he switches to a bicycle. The photographer was only inches away from the front tire when he took the second photo.

You can't stay hidden when you're shooting wide-angle. To make your photos more interesting, to have more depth and perspective, you need to get closer to the subjects you are shooting. Try to find an object very close to the lens, something else in the middle distance, and leave the background further away. This will add depth to your photo.

The image above was shot from the hip (literally) as the photographer crossed a street in New York City. The finished image was cropped and processed as follows.

True New York is a bustling hub of activity. And the perspective achieved with a wide-angle lens takes the viewer right into the thick of it. Do you feel the chaos through the photo?

One more example.

Beautiful sunrise, but it may seem like it's missing something

It's best to add a person into the frame, proximity to the camera adds depth

• There is no clear object in the image

This error is closely related to the first one. When everything is at an equal distance from the lens, . As soon as you zoom in to make an object appear larger in the frame, it will begin to stand out visually.

In these examples, the photographer started with 17mm and a very low angle. He wanted to emphasize the perspective through the converging lines of the railroad tracks.

The first image (above) fails to achieve this as there is no clear subject for the viewer to linger on. The focus was then on a nail that was sticking out of the board. It turned out better, but then it was discovered sticking out of the rotten boards yellow leaf. Backlit by the sun, it really stood out in the photo. The leaf became the focal point of the image not only because of its size in the frame, it is bright warm color, not centered, and also on it in a certain way.

What story do you want to tell in your photography?

Use all your senses to take in what is happening around you as you take photographs. How can you relate this to your image?

The image above was taken at Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal.

A wide-angle lens was used to focus more attention on the statues and pulpit and less on the main altar. The viewer's eye "goes" to them due to their size in the frame.

Finally, consider composition and lighting. If the subject is placed off-center, the photo will be more interesting. Make sure it is well lit and the background does not distract the viewer.

• Mistake #3 - Trying to fit too much into a frame

Street vendor in Havana, Cuba; 17mm lens (full frame)

Pick something interesting on the counter to focus on while the rest of it acts as background. It is necessary to select one object, and not the entire room, market or other place. Your message will be diluted if you try to fit as many things into the frame as possible.

Simplify - simplify - simplify. Often in photography, less is more. Say more with less in your images. Look how simple, yet graphic, the photos are below?

• Taking bad photos of people

Wide-angle lenses distort objects in the frame. Thus, the nose of the person in the photo will lengthen, the jaw will stick out, and the head will look simply huge!

17mm lens - not very good Good photo models

This type of photography is generally not suitable for most people. If you want to photograph a person well, simply don't use a wide-angle lens. You need to understand what effect it will have in the photo and use it wisely.

35mm is a little better

70 mm is another matter. 85mm is a common focal length for portrait photographs. The face looks nice, less background is displayed, the viewer's attention is focused on the model's face

160mm - great for head shots

Experiment with all the lenses you have, think about it, if you were being photographed, what lens would you want to end up with? Take photos with him.

Use a wide-angle lens to photograph people who show their surroundings (think of the store owner in the example above), add fun or even a little humor, and tell a story. But know that this photo probably won't be flattering on the model.

If you intend to take a portrait that is flattering for the model, choose a lens slightly longer than usual in the short telephoto range (85-135 mm in full screen mode, 60-90 mm APS-C).

The wide-angle view shows the whole picture. This is a guide and shaman to Peru playing Machu Picchu. The background in this case is very important - it tells part of the story

Humor and wide-angle photography go well together

Children are a very important subject and you can have some fun with them. Let the spirit of explorer awaken in them and they approach the wide-angle lens. This will add a sense of playfulness and fun to all your photos.

• Shooting with a wide-angle lens is good simply because it's good.

The final mistake is using a wide-angle lens just because "it's cool." Often, when people buy a new lens, they only use it for a while, where they need it and where they don’t need it.

Success with a wide lens

Choose your lens based on the effect you want in your photos.

Converging lines long corridor lead the viewer to the stage

Get closer, find a clearly defined and understandable subject, don't try to fit as many things into the frame as possible, photograph people correctly with a wide-angle lens, and make informed decisions about its use in general.