subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 17 August 2019 19
Use manual focus
When using a telephoto for close-ups,
depth of field will be wafer-thin,
meaning there is absolutely no leeway
for error when focusing. Manual focus
is often most precise. And with some
lenses, the minimum focusing distance
decreases slightly when you switch to
manual, meaning you can get closer to
your subject and increase magnification.
If you are able to use a tripod, focus via
live view for added accuracy.Try a different
shooting angle
Telephotos have a narrower field of view
than short length lenses, and this is a
big bonus when shooting close-ups.
As the lens is ‘seeing’ less of the
background, it is far easier to change
or improve the look or colour of your
subject’s backdrop by simply altering
your shooting angle ever so slightly.
Try for yourself.
Support will be needed
Longer lenses are harder to use handheld
owing to their bulk and weight, and your
movement will appear exaggerated at higher
magnifications. Therefore, support your lens
whenever possible. A tripod is the obvious aid,
but for low-level work (when photographing
wild flowers or reptiles, for example) use a
beanbag (or crumpled up fleece/hoodie) to
stabilise your set-up.Consider increasing ISO
To help generate a suitably fast
shutter speed, you may need to
increase ISO. You could do this
manually or consider auto ISO.
In auto ISO, the camera will adjust
sensitivity automatically to maintain
the shutter speed you desire relative
to the light. For example, if you don’t
want your shutter to fall below, say,
1/500sec, select shutter priority
mode and dial-in this speed – the
camera will do the rest. When using
auto ISO, I recommend selecting a
maximum sensitivity to ensure ISO
doesn’t rise too high and noticeably
degrade image quality. For example,
if you are comfortable with your
camera’s ISO performance up to ISO
6400, enter this as your upper limit.Keep backgrounds simple
Telephotos don’t just provide a more generous camera-
to-subject working distance, but they also provide better
background blur – or bokeh. Longer focal lengths have
more limited depth of field, so distracting background
clutter will quickly be reduced to an attractive blur (at large
and mid-range apertures). This will help keep your shots
simple and help your subject ‘pop’ from its surroundings.