How to simplify and better composition with normal or long lenses

A post by: Andrew s. GibsonPPIMG class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-64975″ alt=”Telephoto lenses and composition” src=”http://www.photo-natural.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/wpid-01-telephoto-lens-composition.jpg” width=”600″ height=”400″/PPAndrew s. Gibson is the author of understanding lenses part II: A Guide to Canon telephoto lenses, normally special deal on Snapndeals now 40% off for a limited time only./PPA potential problem with wide angle lenses is that you are trying to include too much information in the frame. It takes real skill to create a strong composition with lenses that have a wide field-of-view. It is easier with normal and telephoto lenses, because you can make use of their narrow field-of-view to compose strong yet simple images with few in the background distract from the viewer./PPLet’s take a look at how that works:/PIMG class=” wp-image-64976″ alt=”Field-of-view diagram” src=”http://www.photo-natural.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/wpid-02-field-of-view-diagram.jpg” width=”529″ height=”397″Angle of view of a wide angle lens (left) and a long lens (right)/PPThis diagram shows the difference in field-of-view between a wide angle lens (left) and a telephoto lens (right). You can think of a wide angle lens as a lens of inclusion: allows you to many of the scene in a photo. You can get close to the subject and still fit in a lot of the background./PPThe telephoto lens is a lens of exclusion. You don’t get as close to your subject and there is less in the background./PPHere are a few examples:/PPIMG class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-64977″ alt=”Portrait taken with wide angle lens” src=”http://www.photo-natural.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/wpid-03-portrait-wide-angle-lens.jpg” width=”600″ height=”400″/PPI took this portrait using a wide angle lens (24 mm on a full-frame camera). I was able to get pretty close to the model and still include a lot of the background./PPIMG class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-64978″ alt=”Portrait taken with telephoto lens” src=”http://www.photo-natural.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/wpid-04-portrait-short-telephoto-lens.jpg” width=”600″ height=”400″/PPThis portrait was taken using a short telephoto lens (85 mm on a full-frame camera). I was able to get into close cooperation and exclude most of the background. The effect is emphasised by placing the model against a dark background./PPThis effect seems to kick in at about 50 mm on a full-frame camera (the equivalents are 35 mm on an APS-C camera, and 25 mm with the micro four thirds format). Here is a picture taken with a 50 mm lens on a full-frame camera to illustrate:/PPIMG class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-64979″ alt=”Photo taken with a normal lens” src=”http://www.photo-natural.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/wpid-05-normal-lens-composition.jpg” width=”600″ height=”450″/PPThis means that you can use to simplify this technique of composition, even if the only lens that you have is a kit lens. Just set it to the longest focal length and move in closer to your subject./PPThere are other ways to simplify composition-not rely only on focal length:/PSTRONGPay attention to the background./STRONG Contains the bright highlights or anything else that draws attention away from the topic?STRONGHarmonious the colors in your photo?/STRONG If the colors don’t work well together this also can weaken the composition.STRONGExperiment with depth-of-field./STRONG Using a wide aperture helps simplify composition by throwing the background out of focus. This works best with prime lenses if they have wider apertures than most zooms.STRONGMove as close as you can to the subject./STRONG One of my favorite techniques is to use a close-up lens (it’s called a lens, but looks like a filter and screws on the front of your lenses the same way) to reduce the minimum focusing distance of my 85 mm lens and get in real close. Another advantage is that depth-of-field narrower in close-up photography, help create images with beautiful bokeh.PHere is an example taken with an 85 mm lens equipped with a Canon 500 D close-up lens:/PPIMG class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-64980″ alt=”Photo taken with 85mm lens plus close-up lens” src=”http://www.photo-natural.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/wpid-06-close-up-lens.jpg” width=”400″ height=”600″/PPWhat are your thoughts? Use your normal or telephoto lenses to simplify composition the same way? What are your favorite focal lengths? Let us know in the comments./PPIMG class=”alignright wp-image-64981″ alt=”Understanding Lenses ebook” src=”http://www.photo-natural.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/wpid-07-Understanding-Lenses-ebook.jpg” width=”300″My ebook understanding lenses part II will teach you how to get the most out of Canons normal and telephoto lenses. It contains a buying guide, takes a deep look at aperture and bokeh, and shows you how accurate with telephoto lenses focus. It is now 40% off Snapndeals for a limited time only./PIMG class=”avatar avatar-78 photo” alt=”” src=”http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f87dd50c44f1ee0fb5cf9699de68484c?s=78d=blankr=G” width=”78″ height=”78″ PAndrew s. Gibson is a writer and photographer living in New Zealand. He is the author of more than fifteen photography ebooks and he gives two of them away. Sign up for his monthly newsletter to receive additional copies of the creative image and use Lightroom better./P
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