article on using wide angele lens

[gooomz]

can anyone direct me to an article or offer some advise on how to use a 21mm, 24mm, 28mm lens and how to avoid those distorted lines.

I take a lot of portraits with wide angle lens 21mm-35mm and i do not like those distorted lines or look. While i like wide angle lens i dont want to make my photos scream wide angle lens.

Any good advise to offer?


thanks in advance.

 

[FrozenInTime]

The golden rule is that, to avoid perspective distortion, you must keep the back of the camera i.e. the film plane perpendicular to the ground. Do not tilt the camera.

There is some unavoidable geometric distortion with wides - so don't place round objects close up and near the frame corners or they will be drawn as ovals.

 

[gooomz]

thanks a lot.

if i keep my camera back perpendicular and take a face portrait close up (round) will i still get some distortion?

is some distortion unavoidable with a 21mm or 24mm?

 

[tele_player]

Check Wikipedia for 'perspective distortion'.

 

[Double Negative]

If you get closer with a wide angle, you'll end up with enlarged noses, for example. Not a flattering look.

I wrote up some stuff under Perspective and Spatial Effects and Exploiting the Angle of View that details wide angle effects.

Spot-on:

The golden rule is that, to avoid perspective distortion, you must keep the back of the camera i.e. the film plane perpendicular to the ground. Do not tilt the camera.

There is some unavoidable geometric distortion with wides - so don't place round objects close up and near the frame corners or they will be drawn as ovals.

 

[Zlatko Batistich]

if i keep my camera back perpendicular and take a face portrait close up (round) will i still get some distortion?

is some distortion unavoidable with a 21mm or 24mm?

Yes, close-ups with such a wide angle result in some unavoidable distortion. To avoid it, you have to step further away and preferably use a longer lens. Wide-angles are generally not good for close-up face portraits.

 

[StephenPatterson]

thanks a lot.

if i keep my camera back perpendicular and take a face portrait close up (round) will i still get some distortion?

is some distortion unavoidable with a 21mm or 24mm?

Unless you are going for a comic effect it's obviously more flattering to your subject to use a 50mm or longer lens for a close up, however don't rule out the artistic look of adding some distortion with wide and ultra wide angle lenses. As photojournalists have known for years these lenses can add a great deal of context to a portrait.

Here's a photo I took a few months ago with the M9 and 21 Super Elmar-M. Even though there are diverging verticals of the door and window, caused when I tilted the camera down to take the shot, I like the effect here. Besides, there are no straight lines in China!!! Have fun and use whatever works for you.

 

[algrove]

Stephen
I must say I like the poles on the wall pointing towards your subject. It makes a strong image even stronger.