Need advice please comment.Thanks

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Matt Needham on January 5, 2011 at 5:21am

You can google "photography glossary" for lots of lists of photographic terms and their meanings.

 

How the 3D world looks converted to a 2D photo is mostly controlled by perspective.  Perspective is controlled by where the camera is in relation to the subject.  Perspective is not controlled by focal length, as is often claimed on the internet.  Focal length controls magnification, and coupled with camera format controls field of view/in-camera cropping.  If I'm 15' from my subject, and I shoot it with a 28mm lens and a 70mm lens I should be able to crop the 28mm shot so it is composed exactly like the 70mm shot.  Of course that's not a very efficient use of my film or sensor, but it's a good demonstration that focal length does not change perspective. 

 

What this means is while you'll have no problems finding advice on which lenses are commonly used for certain subjects and situations, the very best way to go about learning is just to look with your eyeballs (through a lens or just on their own).  Notice how a face looks from 3' compared to 6' compared to 15'.  From 3' away it's going to look more rounded with bulging features compared to 15' away.  So photographers tend to use longer focal length lenses to photograph less than full length photographs (most folks don't want to look round and bulging).  Short focal lengths would require that the photographer get too close for the desired perspective, or if they stood at the correct distance they'd have to crop too much later. 

 

So use your feet and eyes to explore the scene, and figure out where the camera should be placed.  Choose a focal length that gives you the field of view you want. 

 

Here's a link to an article that may shed some light.  http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-lenses.htm   

 

It does have at least one statement in it that I think is confusing.  In the example photo it says "Move your mouse over the above image to view an exaggerated perspective due to a wider angle lens."  Once again, the change in perspective is actually caused by the photographer moving the camera closer to the first set of lights.  If the photographer would have kept the camera in the same position, and only shortened the focal length the perspective would remain the same, just the field of view would have been wider. 

 

Google "focal length perspective" for lots more articles.  Just remember that in many of them they concentrate on focal length and sort of gloss over camera location.  They assume the changing of the camera position is just understood. 

 

 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dale "Gene" Stockton on March 19, 2011 at 1:31am

Personally I think one of the best places currently to learn froma  guy who speaks straight talk and it easy to under stand is BCPhoto.com, he has a podcast that is informative as well. 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by CameraClicker on March 19, 2011 at 9:34am

It would be helpful if you used the Quick Add... drop down menu near the upper right to add some of your work so we can see what level you are at.

 

The photography terms that are most important are all in the manual that came with your camera.  The next most important terms will be found in any book or article addressing composition.

 

There is no "right" lens for each picture you are taking.  Some lenses may be more suitable than others because of focal length, focusing distance or maximum or minimum aperture, depending upon the subject, the "look" you want to obtain and the film/sensor format of the camera body.  For instance you can use a macro lens for macro photography but you can also use a regular telephoto lens with extension tubes to get the same result.  You can shoot a portrait with a 28 mm lens, an 85 mm lens, or a 200 mm lens.  Some people like the look of a portrait taken at f/1.4 or f/1.8, while others prefer portraits shot with a smaller aperture.  You need to try out different lenses to see what gives you results you like.  If there are images on the web that you are drawn to, frequently you can obtain the EXIF data which will tell you what focal length and aperture was used.

 

These were all taken with the same lens, a 24 mm Canon f/1.4 L.  Hopefully you will agree they are not all equal and that there is more to it than the lens.

This is the basic snapshot

 

This is less than a minute later

 

This is weeks earlier

 

Subject, composition and lighting all play a major role, the lens plays a minor role, but the lens is the easiest to purchase.

• ▶ Reply