EXPLORE WIDER PERSPECTIVES
Capture expansive vistas with considered exposure and composition
Now that we’ve discussed telling a story without capturing too much detail in the frame, let’s examine wide-angle framing of broad scenes. As we’ve mentioned, there are occasions when viewers will expect to see a widely framed shot of a well-known view, so it is imperative to understand the potential challenges of capturing a location with a wide field of view. There are certain moments when a wide-angle lens immediately suggests itself, when it is clear that no other focal-length range will effectively bring all of the scene detail into frame.
Whenever you have excellent foreground detail, in addition to points of interest around the periphery of the image, it is possible to create a balanced composition where there are no large areas of blank space. However, as is often the case in springtime, landscapes can feature patchy detail, where some zones have started to fill out with vegetation and colour, while other parts of the scene are still bare. This is partly caused by localised temperature variations – a shady area can be much colder than an area in the sun – and by the staggered growth rates of different plant species. This naturally unbalanced distribution
of interesting detail can create a real challenge for photographers.
This is exaggerated by the stretching effects of a wide-angle optic. If the photographer is not careful, the foreground can be filled with muddy patches of earth, or equally underwhelming uniform areas of short grass. Similarly, the sky can appear exaggerated, making blown highlights uncomfortably obvious, along with any other exposure irregularities, such as uneven polarisation.