One big thing I learned in photography school is that a lens makes a picture more than the camera does. Different lenses will give you different looks, certain lenses work better in certain situations. You have macro lenses for those super close up shots, wide angles that get everything in, telephotos, zoom, prime, fisheye, and the list goes on. There is no wrong lens when choosing a lens; it all depends on the look you are going for.
I thought I would share a small example of what three different lenses and focal lengths can do to the same subject. The idea behind this is to take the exact same photo with each lens keeping the same settings and the subject the exact same size in each photo…
Wide Angle 16-35mm 2.8 – Shot at 16mm
The main thing to remember with a wide angle lens is that they can distort an image. The closer you are to your subject the more distorted they become. Think big noses, super long legs, big hands…basically whatever is closest to the lens will look bigger than everything else in the image.
For example in the image below, his ears have pretty much disappeared and his nose looks huge.
Mid 24-70mm 2.8 – Shot at 50mm
The 24-70 lens is definitely my go to since it is the middle of the road. It has just enough zoom that you can get closer to your subject but is also borderline wide angle so in a tight space you can still fit your entire image in. It also works pretty well for portraits if you want to be able to make out some of the background but still have definition between your subject and background.
Telephoto 70-200mm 2.8 – Shot at 200mm
Telephoto lenses can be big heavy things but are awesome for portraits. They slim out the face and compress the background enough that it creates an amazing blur.
For example if you compare the image above and the one below will see that you can still make out the house in the background with the 24-70 whereas with the 70-200 you would never know what is in the background.
So that is it, a quick and simple example of what three different lenses can do to the same subject!
What is your favourite lens to shoot with?
