MAZDA'S MAYHEM
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT
Wide Angle Lenses
(all images by Mark Zelinski)
 
                                   
  If you are like me when you first looked through a wide angle lense you likely thought, "Everything looks so small, why would I ever want one of these." The problem was (at least for me) I didn't know how to properly use a wide angle lense.

The main advantage to them is the distortion factor. Yes, they cover a wide field of view, but that's only the tip of their creative abilities. Once you've practiced with them the effects are quite fun.

The distortion works in a couple ways.

1) Objects closest to the lens are always magnified in comparison to those in the background. This is a prime example of why head and shoulder portraits aren't created with a wide angle because the face will look a little distorted. However, very creative portraits can be made with the creative use of a wide angle lens. We'll get to that later. However wide angle lenses can create some interesting closeup photographs as you'll see in the examples below.

2) Since wide angle lenses cover such a large field of view it's easier to get a lot of depth of field in your photographs even with a relatively small aperature like say f5.6 or 8.

3) You can exaggerate distance and height by using a wide angle lens. Just get a little closer to the subject you are focusing on and that makes the background seem further away. Or get up a little higher than normal height and it will make it look like you've climbed higher than you really are.

4) Wide angle lenses usually have the ability to focus quite closely so don't be afraid to use that feature. As an example get real close to a bouquet and fill the right side of the frame with it but let the environment the bouquet is in be shown in the left side of the frame.

5) When using wide angle lenses keep in mind compositional rules like the rule of 3rds and S-curves to bring more interest to your photographs.

Today I went to one of my favorite historical places, The Brewster Grist Mill with my Canon 17-40 and forced myself to only use the 17mm setting. Later with a bouquet in my living room I show with the 40mm setting just how close you can focus on a subject to fill the frame with it.
Now add to this thread. If you've got some great wide angle shots let's see them. If you've never gotten creative with yours, get out and practice. You'll love the results.

  
                                   
                       
                                   
One note on the above photograph. Wide angles are great ways to make lines converge in the distance since they get so much smaller the further away they are from the lense. In reality the shot only covers about 5 feet in distance.
     
Here's an example of getting up close to something and showing the environment at the same time. I was about 7 inches away from this ivy leaf so the attention is drawn to it. This is a great way at a wedding reception to get a shot of the cake with the couple dancing in the background.
   
Here are two examples of how adding an object to the foreground helps add interest to the composition.
As a note, try using as small an aperture as you can for these types of shots where you want the most focus. We'll get into Hyperfocal distance at a later time.

           
Now remember I said I thought everything looked small when I first looked through a wide angle. Not anymore. Here are two full frame shots of ice formations.

Edit: I wasn't even looking through the viewfinder for this shot. Another great thing about wide angles, your focusing depth is greater than telephoto or macro, although they have their advantages too.
     
   
     
                         
Then I took a step back. Another beauty of wide angle is you can usually hand hold at a much slower shutter speed. My hands were frozen at this point in the shoot and I still got pretty good sharpness.
Remember the lines and how you can exaggerate distances with wide angles. Here's two more examples of how to do that.
                         
       
And an inside one. The weather was horrible and there isn't any interesting foliage outside so I did my best.
         
         
                               

Keep composition in mind so the shot is interesting.
First one is at wide setting and the second is at about 40mm.

                               
                   
                                 
These next two were fun. Funky stuff growing on roof shingles.

 
                                 
                     
                                 
In this one the roof was on top of an old well and was literally about 4 feet long. But notice how the wide angle stretches it out.
  
                                 
                     
                                 

Have fun and push your lens' limits. Hope you enjoyed this.

(Mark Zelinski)

  
                                 
     

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