Paint with the Big Brush: Ultra-Wide Lens

Bob Ross taught us to use a selection of brushes to paint our work of art. An Ultra-Wide-Angle lens is an important brush in your creative photo kit. A 12-24mm or 14-35mm (or full frame equivalent) is one of the trinity of lenses that definitely deserves a slot in your bag. Often thought of for interiors, architecture and scenery an Ultra-Wide lens with ~110 degrees angle of view produces photos with a unique look and feel. Let’s explore making awesome photos with an Ultra-Wide lens.

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

This broad field of view is what brings photographers to select an Ultra-Wide lens.  Creative photographers realize the uses and effect on the photo is more than the field of view! Think of your 12mm or 14mm lens as the BIG lens. A lens that captures the BIG picture. The BIG view that makes sky or foreground BIG in the picture. To have success with this BIG brush we need to use care and understand the look we are capturing to make award winning pictures.

‍

‍

How do you make the Ultra-Wide lens work for you? Wide angle lenses will distort space and lines, ultra-wide lenses distort even more. To keep this distortion at a minimum (for architecture) hold the camera parallel to the ground. This advice is sound, but it creates a photo with the horizon in the center that lead to a static composition. I love to embrace the distortion and tip the lens 30 to 45 degrees up or down. This produces a dynamic look to your photos. Tip up and tip down also create a photo with a Big Sky or Big Foreground.

‍

‍

Tip the lens up for a Big Sky and ribbon of foreground. Let the beauty of the sky fill the frame with just a bit of land to ground the image. This is the right technique for the Northern Lights in Churchill, the Milky Way in Joshua Tree or amazing clouds at Monument Valley. Avoid placing people, buildings or trees on the edges of the picture as they will be distorted. Big Sky accentuates the sky and shows the wide open spaces to the viewer. The Big Sky picture can be quite impressive.

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

Tip the lens down for a photo with Big Foreground.  Tip down is effective to bring emphasis to the land, add depth to the picture and visually expands the distances. I love this look for many travel and scenic photos like Cathedral interior in Italy, Sand Dunes in Death Valley, the Merced River in Yosemite. Explore photographing with the camera at eye height and from a low position.

This can dramatically change the look. You may choose to include a ribbon of sky or no sky at all in your photo. We want to photo to look like you can almost walk into the picture.

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

An Ultra-wide-angle lens can be challenging yet effective to use. Think about the distortion, big sky and big foreground effect to aid your photo planning and composition. Take the 110 degree angle and make award winning pictures. I can’t wait to see them!

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍