| If you are anything like me when I started out in | | | | could not. |
| photography there was so much to learn and I | | | | Wide Angle Lenses. These range of lenses are |
| felt it was all so complicated. Well if I told you that | | | | called short because of the shorter focal length |
| you could learn some really quite advanced | | | | and smaller millimetre length. These would be |
| techniques, quickly easily and without having to | | | | ranging from a 35mm lens down to single digit |
| wade through those long and boring manuals | | | | numbers. However some very wide lenses have |
| would you be interested? I thought so. | | | | other names like fisheye. |
| Well I have written a series of short quick guides | | | | As with the telephoto lens there are some |
| for you to follow and take a massive leap into | | | | factors to consider when and why a |
| better photography and maybe even selling your | | | | photographer might use these lenses. The most |
| photographs for profit in the future. | | | | obvious is that they will be the opposite to the |
| Understanding lenses. | | | | long lens because they will get more of a subject |
| There are many different types of lens, however | | | | in. However they will also have a tendency to |
| they are broken into 3 groups. These are | | | | make the dimensions of a subject extend out. For |
| Telephoto, Standard and Wide. These types of | | | | example, the nose and chin of a person will seem |
| lens all come as fixed or zoom lenses. | | | | to stretch out towards the lens. It is also worth |
| Telephoto Lenses. These are the range that will | | | | noting that these effects with a wide lens are |
| act like a magnifying glass for bringing images | | | | multiplied when the camera is at an angle other |
| further away closer. They are called long lenses | | | | than horizontal. This is easily seen when |
| by the way and every lens is measured in its | | | | photographing a room with a wide angle lens, |
| millimetre length. (Not to be confused with the | | | | change the angle of the camera to the ground |
| actual size of the lens which is different) Any lens | | | | and the corners will start to stretch out. Wide |
| over 150mm would be considered a telephoto lens | | | | angle lenses are also very good at getting most |
| but lengths below this down to 70mm would | | | | things in focus because of a higher depth of field. |
| behave in a similar way. | | | | Standard Lenses. These are the lenses in |
| However there are some additional factors to | | | | between the telephoto and wide extremes. These |
| understand with these lenses. The most important | | | | lenses will be what is used in most situations and |
| of these factors is that the longer the lens the | | | | are the most common lens. |
| shallower the depth of field. This means the | | | | It is worth noting that any lens will come in a |
| amount of the image that is going to be in focus | | | | zoom or fixed variant. However the trade off |
| behind and in front of the point from which you | | | | with a zoom is that a zoom lens will not be as |
| focus. It also has the effect of making the | | | | sharp as a fixed focal length lens. Many |
| subject matter in the image feel a little flatter in | | | | professional photographers only use fixed focal |
| dimension. People use these factors in long lenses | | | | length lenses for this reason. |
| to their benefit and for effect. For example it is | | | | The lens of choice is very personal to the |
| very standard to take images of people with a | | | | photographer however it is also potentially |
| 105mm lens. This is because it is flattering to the | | | | confusing. Knowing how to photograph things in |
| human face due to the effect of the depth of | | | | the right and potentially professional way is key to |
| field and the flatter look. No-one wants to have a | | | | understanding the different uses for a lens. It is |
| pointed nose and chin and the 105mm lens will | | | | just about going out and trying different focal |
| happily give someone a flattering compromise. It | | | | lengths to discover how the length will change the |
| is also really good at making the background out | | | | look of the photograph, and in many situations the |
| of focus which has the effect of lifting the | | | | right choice will make the image highly saleable. |
| subject off the page in a way that a shorter lens | | | | |