Choose lenses for scouting

The lenses you choose for scouting trips may differ from those you use for your main photoshoot

When conducting a first visit to a new location there are certain markers you may look for, to provide creative ideas and confirm it as a place to revisit. While the images you make on such a shoot may be portfolio-worthy, the kit you use should provide the best opportunity for capturing photographic ‘sketches’ rather than final pictures. While not essential, you may find that using the ‘wrong’ lens for a final composition actually gives more usable, informative reference shots.

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18-200MM A popular focal range among travel photographers, the super-zoom gives maximum versatility of composition, from wideangle to medium telephoto. There is a trade-off in image quality, with overall lower sharpness and the widest settings often displaying barrel distortion, however this is the perfect lens for trying many different framing possibilities.

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SUPERWIDE Often a 10mm lens can prove too inclusive of unwanted foreground detail, so unless you have found good points of interest in all frame areas, a standard lens is better. However, if you need to carry one lens and plan to shoot both wide and standard frames, shoot at 10mm and crop multiple options later.

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STANDARD A 35mm or 50mm optic, on APS-C and full frame cameras respectively, provides a perspective similar to human vision. These lenses are also usually compact and great choices when travelling on scouting trips to multiple locations. While a prime lens is not the most flexible for varying composition, they are good tools for visual ‘note-taking’.