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Using a wide-angle lens for landscapes
Techniques
24 October 2007 14:20
The wide angle-of-view offered by wide-angle lenses is ideal for landscapes. These allow you to include as much of the scene as possible in your frame for a broad view of the whole area.
But because objects appear smaller in the frame when using wide-angle lenses, it’s easy for everything in your shot to look distant and empty. The best way to combat this is to use foreground interest to add a sense of scale to your images. Rocks, plants or ripples in water make ideal foreground interest, but always look out for suitable objects.
The wider the lens you use, the closer you’ll need to be to the object for it to appear large in frame. Also look for objects to use as lead-in lines to add a feeling of depth to your wide-angle images.
The wide-angle zoom is the most flexible option – the 17-35mm zoom has a useful range. Remember the digital conversion factor too. You may want to consider a lens wider than 17mm when using a DSLR that’s less than full-frame.
When shooting wide-angle landscapes into the sun you may encounter lens flare. This can be seen as an overall ‘haziness’ or lowering of contrast, or as visible spots of light. To minimise the effect, use a lenshood and make sure your lenses and filters are spotlessly clean, as even the tiniest bit of dirt or water droplet can exacerbate the problem. Even while you’re out shooting, check the lens periodically, especially if you’re shooting in rainy conditions or by the sea.
We used a wide-angle lens for our shot of the seashore. We framed carefully to use the lead-in lines of the eroded rocks on the shore to add a sense of depth. With lines leading from the foreground, use a low viewpoint to maximise their effect.
The seaweed on the foreground rocks adds interest and colour. Shooting with a 28mm lens meant that the closest of these were only a couple of feet away from the lens.
Thanks to the wide-angle of view, the shoreline and the cliffs could be included. We chose the 28mm focal length as a wider lens would have made the headland on the horizon appear much smaller in the frame.