Wyndham Wisdom

Wide Angle Photos

Best ways to open up your pictures

 

The wide-angle end of any zoom lens is so underused that many point-and-shoot manufacturers have entirely eliminated it. That's too bad, because it can create exciting compositions. If your camera's lens says "28mm or wider," you've got enough to make some dynamite wide angle photos.

Wide Angle Photos Offer Prime Real Estate

To take in that panoramic perspective, wide angle lenses place great emphasis on the foreground. If you don't utilize that foreground, you get disappointing, far distant shots with tiny subjects. So try filling about half the frame with something--a Gorgon head in a Roman ruin, say, or a street musician. Get up close--so close it might feel uncomfortable at first. That provides a large, dramatic anchor for your wide angle photo composition in the foreground, and lets you use the background to tell the rest of the story, usually by setting the scene.

This "foreground/background" technique is often used in news photos, because it helps relate a person to an event. In the foreground you see the person, perhaps clutching something representative of the event, and in the background is the burned building, hurricane destruction, just-completed mural, or some such.

Lines and Frames

Another way to utilize the foreground: Look for "leading lines."  These are found elements--fences, sand dune ridges, a winding stream--that lead the eye into the composition. If you shoot with a wide angle lens, the eye gets "hooked" in the foreground and follows the line through the frame. The strongest leading line is a diagonal one, which is why these shots work well as verticals. The more you look for them, the more you'll find.

You can also make the most of the wide angle by using "foreground frames"--found objects that provide a "frame" for the composition, helping to create a sense of depth. Tree branches, arches, sculptures, even people can do the trick. Once again, the key is practice.

Set the Scene

Finally, the wide angle can be a great portrait lens--just not in the traditional sense. If you shoot a standard head-and-shoulders portrait this way, you won't make many friends, because the nose and forehead will be exaggerated. Rather, try shooting an environmental portrait, showing the person and the surroundings to give a sense of how the subject lives. Market stalls and shop interiors are often tight spaces, and the wide-angle gets it all in. Again, anchor your composition by having the subject, not the environment, dominate the frame. Get as close as possible, without creating distortion of your subject's facial features for the perfect wide angle photo. (Getting this close is often good for a laugh, which helps break the ice.)

If the light is low, don't use the flash in the standard setting--your subject will be washed out and the background dark. Instead, set the flash to "slow synch" or "night portrait," so the flash will blend with available light and give more pleasing results. Now you know how to use a lens that will capture the wide world in all its glory!