Most people think that a wide-angle lens is just used to capture an overall scene. They might use it only for a bucolic scene of a mountain range or maybe a group shot. But it can be used for much more than that.
Many people neglect to include a prominent foreground to their photos. You can use the wide-angle’s perspective to include leading lines in the foreground as elements to help draw the viewer’s eye into the composition. The foreground can also be used as a frame to help emphasize your subject.
When photographing people, the true power of the wide angle lens is realized and used most effectively by forcing the photographer to use his or her feet and move in close to the subject. There can be a feeling of intimacy in the photos, that the photographer was right next to the subject and gives the viewer the feeling of being there.
It helps to establish a rapport with your subjects so that they don’t look uncomfortable with the presence of the camera. For some people, it can take just a few minutes to establish that connection, for others it can take hours. The best photographers can make their subjects feel at ease quickly. For some who have the gift of gab it’s an easy, natural process, for others it can be learned.
But with great power comes great responsibility. There can be distortions with a wide-angle lens, and the wider the lens, the greater the distortion.
“Keystoning” can occur when using a wide-angle lens at the base of a structure, such as a building. It can cause normally parallel lines to appear to converge at the top.
Also when using an extremely wide-angle lens, the horizon can become bowed when the lens is pointed up or down from the perpendicular to the ground.
When taking a portrait, if one gets extremely close, it can make your subject’s features look cartoonish. Acceptable if you’re going for comedic effect, but not so much if you’re trying to make them look good. The distortion is more pronounced if you point the camera up or down. Try not to place your subject’s head at or near the extreme corners of the frame. This is where the distortions are the most intense, and it will give them a bean-shaped pate.
When you’re aware of them, all of these shortcomings of the wide-angle lens can be manageable and even usable in some instances. The most important thing is to go out and practice using your wide-angle lens to learn how to use its power.
