58 DIGITAL CAMERA^ AUGUST 2019 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
CAMERA COLLEGEfrom a short focal length to a long one
means that objects will simply fill more
of the picture – but changing the position
of the camera does.
If you want an object to fill the frame
when you’re shooting with a short focal
length, you need to be physically close it.
This creates ‘extension distortion’, where
features close to the camera appear much
larger than those in the distance. While it
can help to exaggerate the sense of depth
in a picture and draw attention to a subject
that’s close to the camera, this effect
doesn’t give the most flattering resultswhen you’re photographing portraits –
unless you’re a fan of the caricature look,
with noses looking disproportionately
bigger than the rest of the face.
If you want to photograph a subject so
that it appears the same size using a longer
focal length, you need to shoot from farther
away. The narrow view offered by a long
lens means that it’s easier to isolate
individual subjects from their surroundings.
A much smaller area of the background
is included in the shot, and as a result it
appears magnified and much closer to
the subject than it is in reality. ThisA smaller area of the
background is included in
the shot, and as a result it
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much closer to the subject
than it is in realityCompression distortion
Longer focal lengths make features in the foreground, middle ground and background of a photo
appear closer together. You can exploit this trait while shooting a whole range of scenes1 Portraits
There are a couple
of benefits to shooting
portraits from a distance.
Facial features are kept in
proportion, leading to more
flattening results.
It’s also easier to
isolate a person from their
surroundings. Try a focal
length of 50mm (full-frame
equivalent) for full-length
shots and in the region
of 85-135mm for tighter
portraits. You can go even
longer for candid pictures.2 Landscapes
Scenic photography
isn’t the preserve of ultra-
wide lenses. A telephoto
allows you to pick out
interesting details in the
wider landscape. For
instance, by zooming in to
fill the frame with trees in
a forest, you can make it
look densely packed and
impenetrable. You can
achieve a similar effect
when shooting hills and
mountains, making the
peaks appear imposing.3 ’Abstracts’
Because longer
lenses make subjects at
different distances appear
close together in the final
image, they allow you to
remove the sense of depth
you get with a wide-angle
lens and combine and
contrast layers of patterns,
shapes and textures into
more abstract compositions.
In this low-angle shot of
a reflection in a lake, the
context is removed, and
the image is now all about
the layers of textures.4 Cityscapes
Longer focal lengths
make town and city streets
appear more crowded and
buildings appear packed
as tightly as a deck of
cards, which can help to
get across how built up and
claustrophobic the urban
environment can be (if
that is your aim, of course).
You don’t want to be
lugging a huge lens around
a city all day, but a 70-
200mm (or equivalent
for crop-sensor cameras)
will give plenty of reach.