Mountain-Light
Composition - the Wide Angle Lens
When I started learning photography my instructor often said that the "lens is more important than the camera body."
It took me long time to appreciate that statement. Not only does the quality of the optics affect the quality of the image but also the lens the photographer uses can make or break the composition the photographer wishes to create.
Selecting the right lens for a specific photograph is an important decision.
When I started learning photography my instructor often said that the "lens is more important than the camera body."
It took me long time to appreciate that statement. Not only does the quality of the optics affect the quality of the image but also the lens the photographer uses can make or break the composition the photographer wishes to create.
Selecting the right lens for a specific photograph is an important decision.
The wide-angle lens.
The image above was taken with a 10 mm Sigma lens using a Canon 40D. This means that in a full frame digital sensor the equivalent is 16 mm - and that is a true wide-angle lens.
Wide angle reveal what is close as well as what is distant and at the same time allowing us to show a large amount of the scene. Our eyes cannot capture the same amount unless we move our head. Because of this, wide angle lens reveal to us an exciting and unusual scene.
However, the wide angle lens can either excite the viewer because of its dynamic presentation of a huge scene or it can also ruin the image if all the elements do not work together.
In the above image we notice that the foot prints closest to the camera are presented rather large - taking an importance that will not be noticed when using a normal lens.
The light house is a large structure and it is only about 60 - 80 meters away from the camera, and yet the wide angle lens presents it as an insignificant feature.
Notice too that the lighthouse is tilted. This is because it is a tall structure too close to the wide angle lens.
Experienced wedding photographers use this knowledge to their advantage by placing the married couple closest to the camera, (not too close otherwise there will be distortion). A few meters behind them the main group - this will make the couple stand out from the main group.
Landscape photographers do the same - anchoring the scene, as it were, to the foreground by exaggerating the size of nearby objects.
The extremely wide field of view means that the size of nearby objects is emphasized while the size of distant objects is reduced.
The image above was taken with a 10 mm Sigma lens using a Canon 40D. This means that in a full frame digital sensor the equivalent is 16 mm - and that is a true wide-angle lens.
Wide angle reveal what is close as well as what is distant and at the same time allowing us to show a large amount of the scene. Our eyes cannot capture the same amount unless we move our head. Because of this, wide angle lens reveal to us an exciting and unusual scene.
However, the wide angle lens can either excite the viewer because of its dynamic presentation of a huge scene or it can also ruin the image if all the elements do not work together.
In the above image we notice that the foot prints closest to the camera are presented rather large - taking an importance that will not be noticed when using a normal lens.
The light house is a large structure and it is only about 60 - 80 meters away from the camera, and yet the wide angle lens presents it as an insignificant feature.
Notice too that the lighthouse is tilted. This is because it is a tall structure too close to the wide angle lens.
Experienced wedding photographers use this knowledge to their advantage by placing the married couple closest to the camera, (not too close otherwise there will be distortion). A few meters behind them the main group - this will make the couple stand out from the main group.
Landscape photographers do the same - anchoring the scene, as it were, to the foreground by exaggerating the size of nearby objects.
The extremely wide field of view means that the size of nearby objects is emphasized while the size of distant objects is reduced.
Landscape and Wildlife Photography
