Wide angle shots in cities and towns

Gear
A lens which is 18mm or wider is a good choice if you're working with a camera that isn't full-frame. If you want to have the option of changing your focal length take along a zoom lens which will give you the option of shooting a variety of perspectives. As your foreground objects will be quite close to your lens the smallest movement from your camera can make a huge difference to your photo so take a tripod out with you. You may also have trouble with lens flare so pack a lens hood and take a lint-free cloth to wipe away any spots on your lens.

Technique
The problem with wide angle lenses is that objects can appear small so it's easy for your shots to look empty. Or, if there's lots of objects filling the scene your photo will look overly busy and the viewer won't have anything to focus on. The best way to deal with this is to have foreground interest that will give your image scale and also give you a focus point. If you want to use this technique to its full potential to give your image as much impact as possible you need to get as close as you can to your foreground object. Look out for objects you can use to lead the eye through the image too as long paths and roads give the impression they stretch on for miles when shot with a wide angle lens which pulls the viewer right through the photo. In a town this would work well with something such as a bright red postbox on the corner of a road as this would catch the viewer's eye then the road/pavement would guide them off to the distant shops, parked cars and other buildings. Just watch out for unwanted items such as your own shadow creeping into shot.

You need to have the eye-catching foreground interest filling enough of the frame while still retaining enough background detail to make the photograph interesting and for that you'll need to make sure everything is sharp. A small aperture (large f stop) is a good place to start. Don't be tempted to focus on your foreground interest as this will leave too much of your foreground in focus and not enough background detail will be sharp. Instead focus just beyond what's in your foreground, around a third in, or if you can, use the hyperfocal focus point.

If there's nothing of real interest in your foreground get down low to the ground and just emphasis the scale of the entire scene. If you have a few clouds in the sky they will streak out around your scene and as they curve towards the edge of the frame it gives them a sense of motion which can add interest to your shot.


You've read the article, now go take some fantastic images. You can then upload the pictures, plus any advice and suggestions you have into the dedicated Photo Month forum for everyone at ePHOTOzine to enjoy.