Wide Angle Photography : A Beginner's Introduction

Wednesday 18 July 2012
Talking about wide-angle photography, it refers to capturing your images with the lens whose focal length is substantially smaller than the focal length of a normal lens for a projected frame. A kind of photography that allows more of the scene to be included in the photograph, which mostly focuses the landscape, architectural and interior photography where the photographer has certain limitations and may not be able to move beyond from the scene to capture it in a single frame. Also very useful when the photographer implies to focus the difference in size or distance between objects in the foreground and the background, the nearby objects appear larger and objects at a moderate distance appear smaller and far away.
Take a step back with the perspective of the art of digital cameras through a much broader viewpoint, which is a really pun-filled way to say that this article will analyze the primary idea of large position digital cameras. We’ll take a look at what large position digital cameras is, why you should try it, some considerations to keep in mind and finally a few lens to get you started.
What is a Wide Angle Lens :
The sole purpose of this article is to make recognized to absolute beginners, a brief meaning of our terms is necessary. A “wide angle” lens will simply be one with a fairly short focal length. If you own a 14mm lens and an 85mm lens, the 85mm will possess a greater magnification than the 17mm. Because of its zoomed out nature, a wide angle lens is capable of capturing more in the frame than a zoom lens and is therefore considered to have a “wider” field of view.
Why Not a Zoom Lens?
Every time a new photographer purchases their first digital SLR and eventually set off in the hunt of a few good lenses to buy, they tend to have only one thing in mind: Zoom. Good lens is the one that allows you to take a close-up shot of a fly on a horse’s ear from thirty yards. All that other stuff is just second rate, right?
Apparently, the answer is a booming “NO!” Don’t get me wrong, zoom lenses are absolutely fantastic and every photographer should have at least one good one. They’re just not the only thing you should consider in your expedition to develop your lens arsenal. There are in fact several situations where it is hard to beat for both convenience and quality. This same logic applies to a good wide angle lens. Whilst it definitely won’t be appropriate for all shooting set-ups, it is an incredibly essential piece of equipment that can produce uniquely stunning photographs.
Do More than Landscape :
When you capture any image with a zoom lens or even something like a 50mm prime tends to bound what you can take in. If you’ve ever walked around with one of these you know that there are plenty of opportunities to capture scenarios when you simply can’t get the shot you want. Very often the first type of shot that comes to your mind when you think about a wide angle lens is a landscape. After all, what wider subject could you possibly hope for than a mountain range or a huge desolate countryside? Definitely there’s a reason for taking into account of these shots first; wide angle lenses are absolutely supreme to capture the beauty of an immense landscape. Your eyes are capable of taking in nearly 180 degrees of a scene at once and when you’ve got a beautiful view, you typically want a lens that can capture as much or more than what you’re seeing.
Conversely, taking in the sites isn’t the only thing that wide angle lenses are the best at. Anything zoomed in too far can leave you frustrated at your failure to capture anything but close details of the room you occupy. A wide angle lens will enable you to really take in the full room and capture the essence of the scene before you.
Depth of Field :
Understanding the depth of field is a key to mastering wide angle photography. Pointing out that what’s really changing drastically with the focal length is the distribution of the depth of field. Put simply, “a wide angle lens provides a more gradually fading DoF behind the focal plane than in front.” Because longer focal lengths flatten your perspective, they appear to have a greater depth of field. Keep in mind that in photography appearances are just as important as the literal truth.
The best step you can take toward understanding the technical side of wide angle depth of field is to experiment. Take the same photo with multiple lenses at multiple aperture settings and compare so you can get a feel for how to produce the effect that you want. All the technical articles in the world can’t compare to actually getting your hands on a camera and picking up some experiential knowledge.
Let's sum up that the big fancy zoom lenses are both wildly impressive and highly practical in certain situations, but as a photographer you should always be ready and able to capture the bigger picture, and you’ll need a wide angle lens to do it. Though wide angle lenses are most often thought of in relation to landscapes, they actually have a wide variety of applications in all kinds of settings.
In conclusion, constantly be aware of the level of distortion as well as both the apparent and literal range of the depth of field in your wide angle photos. With practice you’ll be able to use these variables positively to create the shot you want.