Let me just say: I LOVED THIS WEEK'S THEME!
I have been doing so much portrait work with the typical prime lenses, that I have not been using my wide angle lenses lately. Silly me, I should actually be using them in my portrait work sometimes as well. I forgot how much I like what a wide angle lens has to offer.
Using different lenses often requires using a different approach to setting up a photo. When using a wide angle lens, with a wider field of view, more elements are a part of the photo, so you have to make an executive decision about how to set the photo up and what elements you want to include. Also, wide angle lenses often make close objects appear larger than distant objects in a way that lends energy to the photo.
I used an 18-70 Nikkor lens this week. I decided, due to the monsoons of Pennsylvania, to stay indoors and to just use everyday life as my subject base. This would be especially difficult in our house with a wide angle lens. To make it even more challenging, I took the bulk of my shots in a cluttered area (view-wise) and nearing twilight. I used a camera mounted flash with a diffuser, and bounced light off of my white ceiling.
I have been doing so much portrait work with the typical prime lenses, that I have not been using my wide angle lenses lately. Silly me, I should actually be using them in my portrait work sometimes as well. I forgot how much I like what a wide angle lens has to offer.
Using different lenses often requires using a different approach to setting up a photo. When using a wide angle lens, with a wider field of view, more elements are a part of the photo, so you have to make an executive decision about how to set the photo up and what elements you want to include. Also, wide angle lenses often make close objects appear larger than distant objects in a way that lends energy to the photo.
I used an 18-70 Nikkor lens this week. I decided, due to the monsoons of Pennsylvania, to stay indoors and to just use everyday life as my subject base. This would be especially difficult in our house with a wide angle lens. To make it even more challenging, I took the bulk of my shots in a cluttered area (view-wise) and nearing twilight. I used a camera mounted flash with a diffuser, and bounced light off of my white ceiling.
For the first set of images, I used Luke, and didn't go to any great lengths to color coordinate the scene. I wanted to see what I could do to use a wide angle creatively and go with all of the elements that were present. You can see in the photo on the left, I simply took a head on shot using little imagination. There were many more elements in this photo, but I cropped it down to the subject. It's an okay photo, and because Luke is a very cute dog with big ears, even though the photo is pretty straight forward, it might cause you to go "Awww." However, the photo on the right definitely has energy. I sat on the ground very close to Luke to distort the perspective a little bit with the wide angle lens. I angled my camera upward so there are more elements in the photo, but the time of day and my one flash, makes them darker and less obtrusive. You see less of the ottoman due to my crop, and I feel this photo shows Luke to his advantage. This is not a shot I would have been able to achieve with a regular prime lens, as I would not have gotten the angle distortion and/or the appearance of Luke being so much larger than the items behind him.
I asked our illustrious (and often hell-raiser) cat, Matty, to help me out for my next photo series. Here you can see Matty enjoying some quiet (this is a blessing really and I almost left him there with no interruption) time away from the dogs in our front room area. The lens, again, took in a great deal more in this photo, but I cropped it down a bit so you can't see the window behind the couch. Again, an okay photo, but nothing overly exciting. Now, let's change the angle of the camera again, get closer with the wide angle lens and see the dynamic that results below.
Matty is now framed by the couch, and his paws appear larger (the better to swat you with, my dear). The incidental items behind him lend themselves to the ambiance, and you can now see a bit of the window frame behind the couch. A much better perspective. Right after this Matty went and chased a dog for fifteen minutes. I knew I should have let well enough alone.
Two things which our author noted this week, which I believe are the most important thoughts about using wide angle lenses:
My final photo is of our little Beth, because she ultimately decided Luke was getting too much attention. I left lots of the background elements in this photo, but Beth is still up front and the major attraction, thanks to getting in close with the wide angle lens. Yes that is a squirrel on her collar tag. Yes, she chases them.
Two things which our author noted this week, which I believe are the most important thoughts about using wide angle lenses:
- Because they diminish the size of the elements in the frame relative to real life, wide-angle lenses must be pushed in closer to a subject to keep the subject larger in the frame, thus exaggerating the lines.
- Wide-angle lenses are harder to use because they allow so much to be included in the frame, which means greater care is needed to choose a point of view. (The Visual Toolbox: David Duchemin)
My final photo is of our little Beth, because she ultimately decided Luke was getting too much attention. I left lots of the background elements in this photo, but Beth is still up front and the major attraction, thanks to getting in close with the wide angle lens. Yes that is a squirrel on her collar tag. Yes, she chases them.
For more on using wide angle lenses, start here with Teann Dhariwal, Edmonton Pet Photographer - Mutt Love Photography.
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