Those who do not believe in understanding and mastering the fundamentals of photography as well as asking themselves the three most important questions as listed in Issue No. 1 of The Art of Photography, can conduct a little test for themselves. Just go out and study any pictures you come across with, like those published in the photographic books and magazines, travel magazines, brochures, posters and other publications where professional photography techniques are widely used. Then see for yourself whether any of the pictures have conformed to the fundamentals of photography and the three questions. Better still, get a hold of any Canon brochures featuring the EOS 35mm SLR cameras and see whether the accompanying photographs are executed according to the fundamentals of photography and the three important questions as described in The Art of Photography. As long as photo enthusiasts are not taught how to visualize and "see" the subject matter the way professional photographers sees things photographically, the chances of learning the skills-of-the-trade will not be realised no matter how much the enthusiasts may have learn from reading all the photographic books and magazines. That is why this third issue of The Art of Photography is all about using Lenses and Focal Length effectively. Lenses are the most important part of photography since they are responsible for forming the image on film. The camera is just a light proof box that holds the film. And how the photographer visualised his subjects photographically are also based on the angle-of-views and focal lengths of his photographic lenses, hence the importance of knowing what each and every lens is capable of performing the types of functions required by the photographer. In any given situation, EOS owners have a wide range of photographic angles to consider given the choice of nearly 50 different EF lenses available ranging from a full-frame 15mm fisheye, a 14mm super wide-angle to a 1200mm super-super telephoto, three Tilt & Shift (TS) lenses, three Macro lenses and more. Focal Length and Angle of View: Changing the lens focal length alters the angle of view and also determines how much of the background will be included. For each shot here, I changed my position so that the model would always be the same size in the frame. Notice how telephoto lenses make the elements in the photograph seem closer to each other (compressed perspective) than they really are while wide-angle lenses give the appearance that they are farther apart (exaggerating perspective) from each other. Fisheye lenses seem to include everything in the visual field while super telephotos bring distant subjects up close. The interchangeability of lenses is one of the greatest advantages of the 35mm SLR camera. The same scene becomes vastly different when approached through a 28mm lens and through a 200mm lens. You can use telephoto to isolate the subject from the background while wide-angle lenses let you explore relationships among the elements. Macro lenses let you focus very closely. In general, working with a variety of lenses enables you to see the world afresh. Lenses are identified by their focal lengths ñ a 50mm lens is thought of as "normal". Anything longer is a telephoto and anything shorter is a wide-angle lens. The actual number indicates the distance from the lens' focal point at infinity to the film plane -- for a 50mm lens, it's 50 millimeters. Angle of view varies inversely with focal length. That is, a wide-angle lens presents a wider angle of view than a 50mm lens and has a very short focal length. Thus, a 28mm lens has an angle of view of about 74° while a 200mm telephoto lens has a narrow angle of view of only 12°. Magnification varies directly with focal length. Something viewed through a 50mm lens is about the same size as if seen with the naked eye. The same subject viewed through a 24mm lens seems very small and far away while through a 300mm lens makes it seem bigger. << Back to Main . 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 .