Ultra-Wide Angle Photography - See More, Get More

Advertorial promotion

Vadim Sherbakov is an independent art director with over fifteen years of experience, as well as being a passionate travel photographer and videographer, specialising in cityscapes, landscapes, aerial fields & time blending photography. He is also an Irix brand Ambassador. Here, he discusses his work with the Irix 11mm lens, or as he calls it, the ‘See more, get more’.

Image © Vadim Sherbakov

The 'see more, get more' approach

When I used this lens for the first time, I found myself comparing it to a drone. Thinking about it, this certainly does seem like an odd comparison to make. But when affordable drones first came onto the market, photographers were quick to adapt and make use of the opportunities provided by these machines in order to get new angles and new perspectives. Now we can get a different view of the same places. So the same happened to me with this lens: I shot a few places that I’d shot before, but this time I got more. And it's like discovering a whole new perspective for old locations.

Image © Vadim Sherbakov

As you can see in these pictures, sometimes such places get a ‘new lease of life’ with such a wide angle of view.

I like very much the ‘see more, get more’ angle of the Irix 11mm f/4.0 lens. But it’s not just for getting everything into a picture. It's also helping me in more challenging situations as well. We’ve all experienced situations where sometimes we’re not allowed to shoot with a tripod set-up and therefore it’s difficult to shoot multiple images in order to stitch together a panorama for that bigger perspective. So one shot can capture all, or most, of what you need instead of having to take multiple shots if you have a shorter range lens. So it certainly helps in those tricky situations.

In addition, you can always zoom in and crop the exact proportions as necessary in those shots.

Image © Vadim Sherbakov

As with other lenses you shoot a carefully considered composition, even more so with this lens. The Irix 11mm, with its 126-degree field of view, is not very forgiving when it comes to tilting. That's why, for me, this lens is a bit more suitable for architecture and nature photography rather than animal or portraiture. But when you do, it’s very rewarding.

Capture the entire scene in tight spaces

One of the great benefits of this lens is that you can shoot in tight spaces. We all get into those situations when you can’t move yourself any further back but you want to capture the entire scene. Now that’s what this unique lens is excellent for: interior shots of great architecture, ceilings, staircases, portals, and so on.

Image © Vadim Sherbakov

But what about exteriors? Well, when it comes to exterior shots this lens doesn’t disappoint. Its ability to capture so much more is also beneficial for exterior architecture. Not everyone has an expensive tilt-shift lens, so the wider 126-degree angle of the Irix 11mm f/4.0 is such a saver for those situations when you just have to capture everything in the one frame but aren’t able to do it any other way.

And so, after almost a year of using this Irix lens, I can safely say that it's my go-to lens for those unique angles both for exterior and interior shots.

Image © Vadim Sherbakov

Irix's infinity focus click feature

The unique feature of the 'infinity focus click' lets you nail sharp images every time without even having to check the focus at the back of your screen. Imagine a situation when your ability to see the back camera screen is limited by circumstances beyond your control; with the Irix you can rotate the zoom ring until it fixes itself into a groove, telling you that you have perfect infinity focus. This feature allows you to focus more on composition and not worry about getting incorrect focus. You can even lock it down further should you desire.

Now, my photography processes are heavily dependent on post-processing the images I like, and working with the 11mm helps in that area too. Irix has released a good Lightroom lens correction profile that fixes any vignetting and distortion of the lens. The lens is awesomely sharp even at the edges considering that it is an ultra-wide angle. All this is designed for us to stop making excuses and take more awesome shots.

Thanks For reading!

See more of Vadim's work: 

Vadim's website      Vadim's Instagram