How to Use the Wide-Angle Lens

First of all, let's understand the wide-angle lens. Generally, a lens with a focal length of 16-35 mm is called a wide-angle lens. A lens with a focal length of less than 16 mm is called an ultra-wide-angle lens. Wide-angle lenses have a common feature. That is, the perspective is very broad. In the perspective relationship, it can show the characteristics of "near big, far small". The scene near the edge of the screen will stretch and deform. This feature is called "perspective deformation". This is common to all wide-angle lenses. This is why we can shoot a lot of blockbusters.

The distortion of the scene produced by the wide-angle is the perspective distortion we mentioned above. So these are two different concepts! Here are a few tips. It will take you to understand how wide-angle lenses play a role in actual photography!

Before talking about actual use. We also need to understand the most basic characteristics of wide-angle lenses:

First, provide a broader view. The biggest feature of wide-angle is to make your field of view wide enough. You don’t even need to move left or right to capture more scenes. This feature is more useful in cramped environments!

Second, exaggerate the zooming effect. We said above that if the wide-angle lens is at the edge of the scene. It is easy to produce perspective distortion effects. Because wide-angle lenses are inherently distorted. So things on the edges of the photo will be stretched and enlarged. This can be regarded as a good or a disadvantage. It mainly depends on the effect you want to express by the subject!

Third, express the sense of space. The wide-angle has a unique perspective effect of near large and small. It is easy to express the sense of space in a small picture. The people and scenery in the photo are large and small, far and near. Can show a static picture more three-dimensionally!

Wide-angle lens shooting skills:

First, the environmental portrait is centered in the composition. It has the characteristics of a wide viewing angle. Make use of wide-angle shooting. Can better record the current environment. Add a sense of scene to the portrait. Form the effect of "bringing people with scenery". But be careful when shooting such portraits. Don't bring the character too close to the edge. Otherwise it is easy to deform.

Second, shoot portraits with long legs. Leg length of 1.8 meters is not a dream. The wide-angle lens only needs to do one thing when composing a picture. Place the character's legs in the four corners of the screen. It can be naturally elongated. Master this technique and easily shoot long legs!

Third, stay close to the prospect. "If you are not shooting well enough, then you are not close enough." Robert Capa’s famous saying seems particularly applicable. Get close to the subject when using a wide-angle lens. Exaggerated visual effects will make the animal being photographed very "cute".

Fourth, it is easier to obtain a large depth of field. When using an ultra-wide-angle lens. Everything from 50 cm in front of the lens to infinity is in focus. All scenes can be taken clearly. This characteristic is called hyperfocal distance. This time circle is about F16 or F22. When using the maximum aperture. The focus range becomes smaller and the foreground becomes larger. The background is appropriately blurred into a soft tone effect. Emphasize the main subject. Make the viewer feel more strongly the appeal brought by the shooting environment.