You just got a fancy new camera, with a shiny kit lens that, for the most part, has served you well in your beginning everyday adventures. Now you want to take your photography to the next level, whether it's getting a farther reach and being able to capture that dream-like bokeh that you hear everyone talking about or obtaining a more encompassing view. So, what's the next lens you should buy? There are a few different ways to go about answering the question, but the answer comes back to one question that you have to answer yourself — … [Read more...] about Photography 101: Which lens should you buy first?
focal length
Photography 101: Why Focal Length Matters
When we look at the basic principles of photography, one of the key elements has to do with focal length. When describing a lens, this is the first thing that comes to mind and what it is is a bit of a mystery. This article describes what focal length does. Focal length affects your angle of view and determines how much or little of a scene will be captured. As you zoom in, your angle of view decreases. The subject becomes magnified. Likewise, as you zoom out, more of a scene will be captured, and objects decrease in apparent size. Simply … [Read more...] about Photography 101: Why Focal Length Matters
What is “Normal” Focal Length?
Normal is defined as conforming to a standard, the usual, the typical or the expected. When it comes to photography, normal most often refers to the standard focal length lens on a camera. A normal lens sees about the same angle of view as the human eye. Let's delve into what normal means and why it's important. A "normal" lens is one whose focal length is the diagonal of the sensor of the camera. The sensor size is commonly known as the format. A full frame DSLR sensor is 36mm by 24mm. A cropped or APS-C sensor is typically 22.7mm by 15.1mm … [Read more...] about What is “Normal” Focal Length?
Focal Length Explained
Focal length has a lot to do with modern photography. It's always been important, and now, even more so. Changing the focal length makes a photograph of the same scene into its own unique vision. Above, the first photo is a normal, 47 angle of view. The middle one was made with an ultra-wide angle at a 114. The third one is a super telephoto with a not quite 7 angle of view. All three views of the inside the San Diego convention center couldn't be more different from each other. It's amazing, considering that each one was taken from exactly … [Read more...] about Focal Length Explained
Using Longer Focal Lengths to Compress and Blur Your Backgrounds
One reason for using a telephoto lens (such as 100mm or 200mm) is to keep some distance between you and your subject. This can be great for portraits of people, as well as nature photography (so you don't scare away any animals). However, longer focal lengths affect more in your images than just bringing your field of view closer to your subject or focus point. Some of the biggest changes you will see will be in regards to depth of field and compression of the background or foreground of your images. Take a look at the following two images, … [Read more...] about Using Longer Focal Lengths to Compress and Blur Your Backgrounds
