Self Portraits

Wide-Angle Lenses
by Monte Nagler

Did you know that you could dramatically widen your photographic horizons by using wide-angle lenses? Wide-angle lenses are truly exciting to use and are my favorite of all I lenses.

A wide-angle lens will alter depth-of-field and perspective and give you a picture quite unlike what a normal or telephoto lens will produce. In short, it's a lens that "sees" more, taking in a wider expanse than other lenses.

There are several advantages to the wide-angle lens. First is the increase in depth-of-field ---the zone of sharpness realized in the final picture. A 28 mm lens [moderate wide-angle] at an aperture of f/Q will produce a depth-of-field from five feet to infinity. In contrast, a normal 50 mm lens, properly focused, will give you a depth-of-field of about 20 feet to infinity. This means that with the wide-angle lens more of what you see in the viewfinder will be sharp and in focus.

Going even wider, a l7mm lens (super wide-angle] at f/16 will produce an astounding depth-of-field of l0 inches to infinity. This means that if light conditions enable you to shoot at f/16, you never have to focus the camera as long as you are at least l0 inches from the subject!

Second, you can get by with much slower shutter speeds with a wide-angle lens, a nice advantage when light is limited. The "rule" is that a lens can be handheld at the shutter speed closest to its focal length. Therefore a 28mm lens can be safely hand-held at l/30 second and a 17mm lens can be held at 1/15 second. With slow speed film, low-level light, and a desire to maximize depth-of-field, this can be quite an advantage. Try shooting a normal or telephoto lens at these shutter speeds and see your shaky results!

Many photographers ask about distortion, the bending of light rays characteristic of wide-angle lenses. Buildings will curve upwards and some subjects may begin to look unreal. It happens, and there may be situations when distortion is undesirable.

But the inherent distortion of wide-angle lenses can be turned into one of your biggest advantages. Selective distortion can be a plus. Strength, drama, and excitement can be added to your photographs through proper use of distortion.

Creatively used, distortion can emphasize certain parts of a picture and can give a photograph an artistic quality no other lens can produce. Sweeping foregrounds and bold subject framing are easily attainable. And you can deliberately exploit the wide-angle lens' tendency to exaggerate the size of close objects at the expense of distant ones.

Wide-angle lenses will produce photographs for you that are truly unique.