Wide-angle lenses
Include more of a scene in your photographs with this lens that packs in more, while opening up creative paths
the widest setting on most standard kit zooms (eg Canon EF-S 18-55mm) offers a reasonable wide-angle option, but how can a 10-20mm ultra wideangle lens affect your pictures? At its simplest, a really wide-angle lens enables you to include more of the scene in your image.
But using a wide-angle lens successfully isn’t just about including the whole scene. Shooting at the widest focal length, for instance, can easily make everything in the scene appear tiny in shot, so you need to use a few compositional tricks to maximize the impact of your images.
Converging verticals
Getting the whole subject in while keeping it a reasonable size in the frame can lead to a problem, especially with architecture shots: when you angle the camera up slightly to get the best composition, the vertical lines in the subject end up pointing inwards, making it look like the subject is falling over. The only way to avoid this with a wide-angle lens is to make sure the back of the camera is parallel to the subject and try to make the most of the composition from this position. Try shooting with the camera very low to the ground to include plenty of foreground if it’s interesting enough.
Focus for more depth of field
The aperture you choose not only affects the length of the exposure, but also how much of the scene is sharp from front to back, known as the depth of field. A simple way to achieve the maximum depth of field is to focus on an object around a third of the way into the scene, then choose an aperture that will keep everything sharp from the foreground to the background.
For most landscapes you encounter where you can see a long way back, you will need to select an aperture of f/11 or narrower to keep everything in the frame nice and sharp.
Lenses for architecture
When photographing buildings you generally need a wide-angle lens, ideally one that captures as little distortion as possible. This is where investing in a wide-angle prime lens over zooms can help. Primes also offer wider maximum aperture (eg f/1.4 compared to f/4) which enables you to achieve faster shutter speeds for shooting in lower light levels at the same ISO, without risking camera shake if you need to shoot handheld.