Work with wide angles

Follow these steps to create dramatic perspective with wide-angle lenses

1

ASSESS THE SCENE When you arrive on location, look for strong foreground interest that connects well with the background. here there is plenty, but it’s obviously necessary to get in close.

2

INITIAL FRAMING check the scene through the viewfinder, trying different focal lengths. Try to find a balanced composition with strong foreground and an obvious background focal point.

3

CAMERA HEIGHT experiment with the height, paying attention to the visual separation of the main scene elements. Try to use wide-angle distortion to get lines pulling into the frame from the corners.

4

FOCUS FOR DEPTH OF FIELD To make the most of the perspective, make sure you have sufficient depth of field. set the aperture in the f11-f16 range and focus at double the distance of the nearest object.

5

FINAL STEPS Meter the scene and fit any necessary filters e.g. grads to balance the contrast. have a final check around the frame to make sure there are no distractions, then take the shot.

6

REVIEW THE IMAGE As well as checking exposure via the histogram, carefully check sharpness: zoom in on the nearest object and also the background to make sure the image is sharp throughout.