How to draw a portrait from a photograph in watercolor. Watercolor portrait for beginners: a step-by-step drawing lesson

Good afternoon friends! Gradually we are approaching key concepts in photography (we are talking about), without understanding which further progress in teaching photography and generally conscious shooting is unthinkable, and this is what gives good stable results. Let me give you a quote about following the rules in photography:

Failure to comply with this rule - gives garbage.
The ability to follow this rule - gives a reliable crafting level.
The ability to break this rule - gives masterpieces.

So I think that beginners should strive to master the basic techniques and develop basic shooting skills (confidently shoot in manual mode, understand how to compose a frame, what to focus on in a frame, how to process pictures ...). And a confident base and experience will definitely bear fruit in the form of more interesting results, don’t even hesitate!)

The concept of lens focal length

Focal length is one of the most important characteristics lens. In short and simply, this parameter determines how close an image we can get. Choosing a lens should start with this, because your shooting style requires certain focal lengths.

I assume that you are already, which we considered earlier. pay attention to the following scheme SLR camera:

Here, the red dotted line indicates the optical axis of the lens, in fact, its center. Here we are looking at a camera with a cut-away lens, top view. If you turn the lens with the front lens towards you, mark (mentally, of course!) The center of the circle, then, drawing a perpendicular down from it, you will get the optical axis. The object being filmed is marked green on the left. The red lines represent the passage of light through the lens.

Every lens has a lens that flips the image. The point of intersection of the rays in it is called the optical center of the lens. The figure is marked by the point of intersection of the lines.

Hold your attention on this diagram for a moment and take a closer look. There is nothing complicated in this, it is enough to delve into it once.

Focal length is distance from the optical center of the lens to the focal plane (matrix). See schematic drawing above.

The exact location of the optical center is known to the lens developers. And the point that corresponds to the focal plane, i.e. matrix, can be identified by the designation of a circle with a straight line intersecting it on the camera body to the right of the wheel that switches shooting modes (on Nikon).

Naming. In the speech of photographers, you can hear the following names:

• focal length;
• focal;
• FR (abbreviation);
• focal length (English equivalent);
• FL (abbreviation of the English equivalent).

What is focal length measured in?

Dimension in millimeters, mm. It's better to look at an example. Let's say we have the popular Nikon 35 mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Nikkor lens. The marking indicates 35 mm, i.е. its focal length is constant and is 35 millimeters. Don’t pay attention to the rest of the characteristics yet, we will consider them when we talk about lenses.

Another example is the standard Nikon 18-55 mm f 3.5-5.6 GII VR II AF-S DX Nikkor kit lens. It says 18-55 mm, the focal length is variable. That is, by turning the zoom ring on the lens, you can change it from 18 to 55 mm. Looking ahead, such lenses are called zoom lenses or zoom lenses.

Popular misconception. Sometimes you hear that the focal length depends on something. This is wrong. As described above, the focal length is the physical characteristic of the lens, which is laid down by the designers. It does not change under any circumstances.

What does focal length affect?

Attention! We are approaching a critical part of our conversation for understanding. If you understand what will be discussed below, then you will make yourself an excellent reserve for understanding the composition, which is extremely important. If not... You can't help but understand! In which case, I am always at your service in the comments.

Parameters affected by focal length:

1. viewing angle;
2. Image scale;
3. The degree of blur and depth of field;
4. Perspective (indirectly).

Let's consider everything in detail. Small conventions - in the article on matrices, we considered . There we talked about the fact that the viewing angle is wider, the larger the matrix. Here we will take a certain size of the matrix and we will consider all changes in the parameters based on the fact that the matrix does not change. In order to avoid confusion in different focal lengths depending on the size of the matrix, we adopted the EGF (effective focal length), which recalculates the focal length in the equivalent of a full-frame camera. We will talk about this in the next article on the crop factor. All of the following examples are from a crop camera, i.e. if the same shots were taken with a full-frame camera, the angle of view would be wider.

Effect of focal length on viewing angle

As the focal length increases, the viewing angle decreases, and vice versa, the smaller the focal length, the wider the viewing angle. Look at the examples - shot from the same point at different focal lengths.

It can be concluded that:

• The more surrounding space we want to capture in the frame, the more wide-angle (with a smaller focal length) the lens should be.
• Conversely, if you need to shoot a relatively distant subject, then it is better to prefer a telephoto lens (with a long focal length).

Effect of focal length on image scale

In fact, it is related to the first point. The fact is that with a larger focal length in the final picture, the object being shot will turn out to be larger. They say that such a lens will give greater magnification or larger image scale.

An example - we are standing on one point, not moving, and we are shooting a person at a distance of 10 m with a wide-angle lens with a 18 mm focal length. We get a photo of a person in full growth and a lot of space around the edges. By changing the lens to another, for example, with a 85 mm FR, we will also get a full-length image of a person, but now there will be less empty space around the edges, and the person himself will be larger. As a result, we will get an image on a larger scale.

Influence of focal length on the degree of blur

It is quite possible that you have already heard about this and know that the longer the focal length, the more blurred the background will be. This is why portraitists love telephoto (long focal length) lenses so much. Look at the example of the toy, how the blur changes:

It is worth mentioning that as the focal length increases, the depth of field (DOF) will become smaller, thereby forming a blur. Just keep this in mind, we will talk about IPIG a little later.

For some beginners, a DSLR (or mirrorless) is associated with the possibility of a strong blur of the background, which they do when they “grab” such a device. In fact, blurring the background "in the trash" is not always useful. Yes, so we have all the attention concentrated on the object being shot, but there is nothing else in the picture! In many cases, it is better that the details of the background still be traced. And it plays an important role right choice focal.

Effect of focal length on perspective

First of all, what is perspective? This is the nature of the transmission of the ratio of the size of the object being shot and other elements in the frame, its shape. Consider the following shot taken with a 17mm (wide angle) lens:

There are road barriers and houses in the distance. In the case of shooting with a wide-angle lens, we get interesting geometric relationships - the scale of the fence will be noticeably larger than the house on the horizon. This is unusual for the human eye, and allows you to build interesting compositional solutions.

In the second case, shot at 125 mm (tele-focal range), the difference in scale between the fence and the house will be less.

In general, when shooting objects from one place with different focal lengths perspective will not change.

The focal length only affects perspective if objects close or far are in the frame. In the example above (1st photo), you can see that there is a fence in the frame, located close to us. Being close to us, the fence is depicted in the frame large, and the houses in contrast seem small. Therefore, we see as if the perspective is stretched. Another example is if you shoot a distant object with a long-focus lens, and there is another object much further away from it, it will seem as if there is a minimum distance between them, and they are nearby. As they say, a compressed perspective. This is due to the fact that the photographer is very far away from the object being photographed, and the difference in the scale of the object being photographed and the very distant background is not so great. This is also seen in the example above (2nd photo). The fence is far away, the house is very far away, but it seems that the distance between them is not too great.

Wide-angle lenses with short focal lengths are great for landscape photography. But at the same time, they are not recommended for use when shooting portraits, because the shape of the face will be more elongated and look unnatural. It is said that wide-angle lenses (with a small focal length) stretch the perspective, while telephoto lenses (with a large focal length) compress it. But this happens primarily not because of a change in the focal length itself, but because of the need to change distance between subject and photographer.

Handheld shooting at long focal lengths

Problem.

It could be considered extra activity for those who want to know more) I propose to move on to a small photo-reasoning and consider a simple situation. In fact, such thoughts should be “scrolled” in your head all the time, very quickly you will get used to doing it automatically.

Let's say you're taking a portrait close-up in the evening on a camera with an APS-C matrix. There is no sunset yet, but it seems that there may already be problems with the lighting, it is not enough. The goal is to remove beautiful portrait with strong background blur.

In fact, if you study photography from scratch and read my articles consistently (see), then you understand that your knowledge is not enough. But there is nothing wrong with that - we will reason with what we have and gradually expand the horizon of the unknown) Do not worry, very soon the puzzle of knowledge will form in your head. Just don't be lazy to think.

Recently we talked about the matrix, (ISO). So, at the same ISO on a camera with a smaller matrix (we compare cameras of approximately the same generation and manufacturer), the picture will be noisier. Usually, the noise level of full-frame cameras is taken as a reference. It follows that it is very likely that our camera will be able to register less light with the same quality. Let me explain - shooting on a full-frame camera at ISO 1600, we get an image of a certain noise. When shooting on a camera with an APS-C matrix, in order to get the same level of noise, we already need to shoot, for example, at ISO 400. This means that less light will enter, which in our conditions is clearly not a good factor.

We need to achieve a strong blur. This can only be done with a telephoto lens with a long focal length. The degree of blur depends on other factors (for example, distance from the subject, aperture), but more on that later. Let's say we chose 105 mm. This is a fairly large focal length, and ...

The longer the focal length, the faster the shutter speed should be chosen. This will compensate for trembling in the hands and get a clear, not blurry picture.

Excerpt? What? Again, we will soon consider in detail. In short, this is the exposure time of the matrix, i.e. the time during which light hits the matrix after pressing the shutter button. Get used to the word "exposure") Now we come directly to the problem of shooting handheld with a lens with a long focal length.

You can make a comparison - imagine that you are at school and you need to point to a small detail on the board. What will be easier to do - a short pen or a long pointer? Of course, with a pen. The reason is that when using a pointer, the slightest deflection of your hand will result in a significant deflection of the opposite side of the pointer. Using a pen, even with a significant deflection of the brush, its opposite edge will not deviate so much. That is, using a long object as a pointer, we need to clearly fix the position of the brush.

It's the same with photography, only harder. Where we point on the board is our subject. The lens acts as a pen or pointer. Well, the brush remains the drive of this whole mechanism) It is important to understand that our strong grip on the camera, a comfortable stand and a short shutter speed (we reduce the exposure time of the matrix) act as a fixative here. Even if our brush moves to a significant angle, the shutter will work faster, and the matrix will no longer “see” this.

Let's say we shoot at a long shutter speed for these conditions. What's happening? Light from a point on a person passes through the lens and hits the matrix, forming the same point. Our hand trembled a little, the camera shifted upwards, and the light from another point on the person falls on the same point of the matrix. And at this time the matrix continues to be exposed. As a result, we get a blurry image, in the common people “shake”. If the shutter speed were shorter, the result of the shift would not be fixed on the matrix, and we would get a clear photo.

So what's the answer? And it is very simple - you need to find a balance, the optimal ratio of all parameters. Minimize problems and achieve the maximum possible result. Something it reminds me of university times) We will learn this.

What you need to remember about focal length?

What it is and what it affects, I think you already understood. Now briefly to repeat the basic information:

1. Focal length - the distance between the optical center of the lens and the camera matrix.
2. Often referred to as FR for short.
3. Measured in mm.
4. The focal length is determined by the lens designers and does not depend on the camera on which the lens is mounted.
5. Affects the viewing angle and zoom level, allowing you to "zoom in" or "zoom in" on objects.
6. Affects the degree of blur and depth of field.
7. Affects the perspective of the image.
8. At longer focal lengths it is more difficult to shoot handheld.

The focal length greatly affects the final result, so it is important to learn how to “feel” it and choose the right one for specific purposes.

I suggest you go outside and try to shoot, for example, landscapes with different focal lengths, being at the same point. And observe how objects approach, how geometric relationships change. Shoot close objects, such as a tree branch. You can not even shoot, but simply change the focal length (if you have a zoom lens) and observe the changes in the viewfinder.

Over time, you will get so used to your camera and lens that you will offhand, without looking into the viewfinder, determine what the result will be approximately.

Good luck and see you soon!

4 comments on What is focal length? What does it affect?

Hello Vlad! I read your lessons on photography, I really liked the articles about the device of the camera, everything is consistent, understandable and intelligible. Thank you for such a presentation of the material, I will wait with interest for the continuation 🙂
Maybe you will make a brief announcement on what other topics to expect articles? And what materials do you think are useful for a beginner to learn? And then there are so many things, you won’t immediately understand what you need to deal with in the first place)

• Good evening, Catherine!
  Thank you very much for appreciating my work, it's always a pleasure to receive such feedback :) it looks like it was useful for someone!

  1. Regarding the announcements - on the horizon are materials about crop factor, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, exposure, dynamic range and ... Perhaps, I will not reveal the cards further)

  2. With regard to materials that would be useful for a beginner to study. First you need to understand at what point the person is, i.e. what he knows at the moment and where he wants to get (what results to achieve) and, based on this, plan the best steps to overcome this path. Tell in in general terms what you know at the moment and what you are striving for (what genre of photography attracts you the most and what works inspire you).

  Generally speaking, then, in my opinion, a beginner needs to conduct an educational program for himself on critical important aspects. These include the triangle of aperture, shutter speed, ISO, have an understanding of exposure, focal length, depth of field, shooting modes (shutter / aperture priority or manual, it’s better not to shoot in “Auto”) + basic aspects of composition. In general, having a superficial understanding of all this, I would further advise to shoot-shoot-shoot as much as possible.

  At the same time, pay attention to the surrounding space from the position of the “viewfinder”. For example, go to work and, watching how the light falls on the flowers, think about what angle they would look best from, how you would crop them ... In parallel with the practice of closing the gaps in the basic theory of photography, look at many photographs of other people and reflect on how and under what conditions they were filmed. The last one is very important. Trying to shoot in RAW format, you can even start right away, especially if you have editing skills. RAW provides tremendous editing possibilities, "forgiving" many mistakes.

  You definitely need to learn how to process photos - I'm not a supporter of imposing a ton of processing on the original frame, but I think that doing basic things (exposure compensation, noise reduction, sharpening, working with shadows / lights, color correction, noise elimination, etc.) should be carried out, because. To. give a significantly better perception of the final photo. For my part, I can recommend Lightroom.

  And gradually move on to more advanced things, but by that time the “newbie” will already be able to tell and show a lot of interesting things and understanding what to do and where to move on will definitely be. For basic things, for example, I recommend reading the articles on Alexander Shapoval's website, he expounds perfectly. And don't forget that practice is everything.

  As far as my plans are concerned, this moment I have a desire to put together something like a textbook - a consistently written manual, after reading which a beginner in photography could get comfortable, learn how to get good results and critically approach the analysis of his/other people's photos, most importantly, learn to think. Plus, he knew how to process his pictures, easily understood them when there were a lot of them and just loved photography)

  It is difficult to paint it all at once, it takes a lot of time. But gradually, materials in chronological order for study will be added to the Lessons section (so far only technical ones, about processing later) + I periodically make collections of Friday Mood, where I present thematically the works of other photographers that inspire me and seem interesting.

  P.S. To keep abreast of emerging materials, if you wish, I recommend subscribing to an email newsletter or a VK group in the upper right corner of the site. And, of course, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me in the comments or here. I will try to answer as much as possible.

Knowing what focal length is and what the features are is especially important when buying lenses. This lesson will give you information on how lenses with different focal lengths work, how to use them creatively and choose the ones that are right for you.

Step 1 - What does it really mean?

The focal length of your lens basically determines what zoom will be in your photos: what more number, the greater the zoom effect will be.

Focal length is often misunderstood, saying that it is measured from the front or back of the lens. It is really the distance from the convergence point to the sensor or film in the camera. Look at the diagram below where this is explained

Step 2 - Different focal lengths and how they are used

Ultra Wide Angle 12-24mm

These lenses are considered highly specialized and are not often included in the general photographer's lens kit. They create such a wide viewing angle that the image may look distorted because our eyes are not used to this kind of range. They are often used in event and architectural photography, for shooting in confined spaces. Wide-angle lenses, as it were, place the photographer in the center of events, making him no longer an observer, but a participant, creating the effect of presence. They are not very suitable for portrait photography, as they increase the perspective so much that facial features can be distorted and look unnatural.

Wide angle 24-35mm

Here you will find many kit lenses for full frame cameras, they start at 24mm, when the angle is wide, but the distortion is not yet so pronounced. These lenses are widely used for reportage photography by documentary photojournalists because they have a wide enough angle to capture a large number of objects, and the distortion is not so significant.

Standard 35-70mm

It is in this range of focal lengths of 45-50 mm that the angle of view of the lens will roughly correspond to how our eyes see (excluding peripheral vision). I personally would like to use this range when shooting outdoors or when meeting friends in a pub or at a dinner table. A standard lens such as the 50mm f/1.8 is a great value lens and gives excellent results. A fixed focal length lens will always give best quality images than zoom. This is because it is built with a single purpose in mind. He does one job well and several jobs poorly.

Initial telephoto 70-105mm

This range is usually the extreme range for kit lenses. It starts with telephoto and prime lenses for portraiture (about 85 mm). This a good choice for portrait shooting, as it can shoot close-up portraits without distortion, as well as get separation of the subject from the background.

Tele 105-300 mm

Lenses in this range are often used for distant scenes such as buildings and mountains. They are not suitable for landscapes, as they compress the perspective. Longer lenses are mainly used for sports or wildlife photography.

Step 3 - How does focal length affect perspective?

I already talked about this in the previous section, but to give you a better idea of ​​the effect of focal length on perspective, I took 4 photos of the same objects at different focal lengths and compared them. Three objects (soup cans) were in the same position 10 cm apart in each photo. It is worth noting that the pictures were taken on a crop camera, so the focal length will be slightly larger.

Now let's talk about what the crop factor is. In essence, this means that if any lens for a full frame (EF, FX, etc.) is put on a carcass with a crop factor, then part of the image will be cut off. The crop factor will be approximately 1.6. In real terms, this means that if you shoot with a 35mm lens, you will get the same result as if you were shooting with a 50mm lens.

How it works is shown in the pictures below. This is actually a zoomed image, narrowing the angle of view of the lens.

Even lenses that are designed for crop cameras (EF-S, DX) will experience a similar effect, as focal lengths are always specified for full frame. It's just that these lenses at full frame will give a strong vignetting effect, since the image is not projected over the entire frame area.

That's all! And two completely different shots taken at different focal lengths. The first is at 24mm, the second is at 300mm (both on a camera with a crop sensor).

A camera lens is a system of lenses and one of its main characteristics is the focal length.

In order to deal with the question of what is the focal length of the lens and what it affects, you will have to remember a little physics.

So, the rays of light, reflected from objects, pass through the lens of the objective (not one, but several lenses are installed in the lenses, but for now we will not complicate it). Since the object being photographed is usually located at a considerable distance from the lens, the rays of reflected light can be considered parallel to each other.

When passing through the lens, the rays are refracted and at some distance from it they "gather" into a point. This point is called the focus, and the distance from the focus to the lens is called the focal length. The plane that is perpendicular to the main optical axis of the lens and passing through the focus is called the focal plane. An image is formed on it.

The figure shows an ideal situation, but nevertheless we will proceed from it.
In fact, the whole principle of “transferring” a real image to a camera matrix can be represented like this:

We can say that the focal length of the lens is the distance from its optical center to the camera matrix, that is, to the plane on which the image is projected.

We have considered the physical meaning of the concept of “focal length”, but if you do not go into the details of optics and forget about physics in general, then the focal length determines how much the lens will be able to “zoom in” on the subject. Therefore, you can remember one simple rule:

the longer the focal length of the lens, the visually closer will be the object being photographed in the photo

Focal length is measured in millimeters and is usually indicated on the camera lens.

Various frame coverage angles

The field of the frame covered by the lens can be expressed as the angle of coverage of the field of the frame. Typically, for 35mm film, focal lengths of 40mm to 60mm generally correspond to the picture that the human naked eye perceives in perspective.

Lenses with shorter focal lengths than this standard range of focal lengths are called "wide-angle" lenses, while lenses with longer focal lengths than the standard range are called "telephoto" lenses. The shorter the focal length, the wider the field coverage angle becomes (hence the name "wide-angle"), and the longer the focal length, the narrower the frame coverage angle (for "telescopic" lenses).

* The relationship between focal length and field of view angle is always constant, regardless of the lens focal lengths used. However, in exceptional cases, due to different design principles and distances from the camera to the object, the angles of coverage of the frame field may differ.

perspective

The lens displays nearby objects as larger, and distant objects as smaller. When using a wide-angle lens, the focal length is shorter and this effect is intensified, i.e. close-up objects are shown large and distant objects very small (enhanced perspective).

When working with telescopic lenses, the opposite effect is observed, that is, distant parts of the plot are reproduced somewhat more, and close parts are somewhat smaller than it is perceived by the naked eye. human eye(flattened perspective).

Depth of field

When focusing the lens from a certain distance, there are areas in front of the subject and behind it, which are also displayed sharply. This range is called the sharpened space range. If it is small, they say "shallow depth of field", and if it is large, they say "large depth of field".
The range of sharply displayed space becomes smaller as the set f-number decreases (i.e. when the f-stop opens!), and vice versa. In addition, with the same distance setting, the depth of field is the smaller, the longer the focal length of the lens.

Comparison of a zoom lens and a fixed focal length lens

The zoom lens is versatile

A variable (adjustable) focal length lens allows you to smoothly adjust the focal length without changing focus. In this case, the capabilities of a whole group of lenses with a constant focal length are combined in one single lens.

Lenses with fixed focal length and maximum image quality

A fixed focal length lens can be optimally applied to its specific area, providing a combination of compactness with extraordinary high quality pictures. Tamron offers a range of prime lenses that successfully take advantage of technologies originally developed for zoom lenses.

• Ultra wide angle lens (AF 14mm),
• Macro Lens (90mm F/2.8 1:1, 180mm F/3.5 1:1),
• Fast Telescopic Lens (300mm F/2.8),
• Reflex lens (500mm F/8) (supplied as a manual focus lens only).

Macro (close-up shots)

Dedicated macro lens

The macro lens (MACRO) is optimized for photographing small objects as large as possible. MACRO lenses correct for display errors that are more pronounced when shooting at close range.

Display scale

The display scale is expressed as the ratio of the original size of the displayed object (1) to the size of its reproduction on film (1/X) in numbers: 1:X.
The larger the X number, the smaller part of the original object is displayed on the film. The coin displayed on the film with the same size as in reality (life size) is reproduced in the display scale 1:1. A display scale of 1:2 means that it appears on film only at half its true size.

Close-up with a ZOOM lens

As mentioned above, macro photography is a method of displaying small objects in a photograph. Close-ups are possible not only with special lenses, but also with telescopic lenses that have a variable focal length (ZOOM lenses), provided that the telescopic lens has the appropriate setting. Tamron lenses with the designation "MACRO" on the barrel allow you to get a display magnification of at least 1:4.

solar hood

With the exception of a few models, most Tamron lenses come with a solar hood (also incorrectly referred to as "Back Light Hood"). These Tamron solar hoods are an essential component in optical imaging and are essential for suppressing unwanted scattered light and loss of contrast. This applies not only to fixed focal length lenses, but also (to a greater extent) to zoom lenses, where the shortest focal length serves as the starting point for optical rendering of the image.

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It is rare that a photographer does not dream of a new lens. The reasons for this are individual. But here's how the focal length correlates with the compression of space in the frame and distortion, and why exactly this ratio should be put at the forefront when planning to buy a new lens or choosing from available ones, not everyone remembers and knows. Let's get acquainted with the opinion of a professional photographer. M.d. Welch is a special guest writer for Lensrentals.

Only after a few days of working on the article, I realized that when discussing lens models in detail and carefully, we completely forget about their character and behavior in general. Like many photographers, I have already lost count of the time I wasted reading and looking at reviews. I was wasting time saving up money for the "same" lens, but did not ask the main question - what will bring such a focal length to my photo?

As it turns out, I'm not alone. At Shooting the West in Nevada, I got to speak to a large group of photographers about differences in focal lengths and lens behavior. It turned out that many photographers, both beginners and experienced craftsmen, do not always realize why they are in different situations use one lens or another and don't understand that the choice shouldn't be based solely on the distance to the subject or the quality of the background blur.

In this article, I will not waste your time comparing the bokeh of different lenses and looking at frames pixel by pixel. I will try to outline some criteria for the focal length of the lens, see how the focal length correlates with the compression of space in the frame and distortion, and why this particular ratio should be put at the forefront when buying a new lens or choosing from available ones.

For me, the first criterion for choosing a lens is the compression of space in the frame, in other words - how much background should be present in the frame behind the subject. To clearly demonstrate the compression of space when portrait photography, I asked my good friend and fashion model Travis Stewart to work and not move until I took a few shots. I shot at different focal lengths, trying to get Travis to occupy the same part of each frame.

I started with wide angle lenses, gradually increasing the focal length. Focal lengths of 16mm, 24mm, and 35mm are rarely used for portraits, but pay attention to how much background gets into the frame in this focal range.

Travis, of course, is present, but the frame is not only about him, and such focal lengths are suitable when it is important to show not only the hero, but at the same time his environment, the place where he lives or works. Distortion or perspective distortion on these focal lengths is expectedly present (we will talk about it a little later), but even at 24 mm the distortion is not so strong as to ruin the picture. You can simply change the composition and, for example, shoot a full-length portrait.

Focal 50mm and 70mm are perfectly balanced: Travis is no longer lost in the frame, but stands out - he is "torn off" from the background, at the same time there is a considerable part of the landscape surrounding him. These focal lengths are also suitable for cases where you need to show the hero in the environment.

At 100mm, the background is compressed so that the mountain range disappears from the frame, and only the hills directly behind Travis remain visible. At 135mm and 200mm the hills seem to get closer. At these focal lengths, the hills appear to be directly behind Travis, although they are actually 800 meters away, if not more.

Distortion is another criterion by which you need to evaluate focal lengths. On the shots taken at focal lengths of 16 and 24 mm, you can see how much she changes the face of the model. For greater clarity, I made a series of facial portraits - the distortion will be more noticeable on them. At wide angle, the distortions make Travis' nose look bigger and his body and face appear to shrink and shrink. At focal lengths of 50 and 70 mm, distortion is reduced, the nose returns to normal size, and the body confirms that the owner spends a lot of time in gym.

It is because of distortion that most portrait photographers refuse wide-angle lenses. But here is an example for you when distortion can help and work for your idea.

I asked Travis to hold a bottle of water in front of him and took a series of shots. At a focal length of 16mm, the water bottle looks huge, it becomes the main object and the center of attention of the frame. At a focal length of 200 mm, the size of the bottle is not at all large and does not attract much attention. Imagine that you have two orders: one from sports team, the second - from the manufacturer of sports equipment. An image of an athlete holding the ball with his arm extended towards the camera is required. By choosing the wrong focal length, you can completely misplace the accents in the picture. A wide-angle or close-to-wide-angle lens will make the ball bigger and draw attention to it - the ball manufacturer will be satisfied. The telephoto lens focuses on the athlete, albeit with the ball in his hand.

Of course, you should not forget about the ratio of the depth of field and the focal length of the lens. Look at the examples - the depth of field decreases as the focal length of the lens increases. All shots were taken at f/10. The distance from the camera to the subject has a significant effect on the depth of field. In our case, even at 16mm, the background is blurred due to the distance from the camera to Travis.

It is unlikely that I discovered something new, but it was useful to experimentally check how the focal length of the lens affects not only distortion and depth of field, but also the space in the frame. As a result of this exercise, I now use two lenses with a fixed focal length as portrait lenses - 35 mm and 100 mm.

It is these criteria that should be used when choosing or buying a lens. If you are working in a small studio or indoor environment, a telephoto lens will not only help reduce distortion and provide good background blur, but will also compress the space around the subject. When photographing the owner of the enterprise against the background of the assembly line, it would be wiser to use a lens with a focal length of 35-70 mm to show the object in his surroundings.

Looking at test charts and comparing the bokeh of different lenses is, of course, interesting, but if we are talking about work, then make sure that you place the accents correctly.

M.d. Welch,special guest writer Lensrentals