21 Most Important Rules of Composition in Photography

Tags: Photography for Beginners, Newbie Photography

By Jenn Mishra 

 

 

There are a number of important rules of composition in photography.

Composition in photography is about what to include or leave out of your frame. It’s also about how you decide to place the elements in the scene.

Rather than thinking of these as “rules”, think of them as guidelines for making your images more visually appealing and interesting.

Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash 

1. Use the Rule of Thirds to Add Interest

Composing using the Rule of Thirds means placing your main subject a third of the 

way into the image. Placing your subject off-centre is much more interesting than 

placing it in the centre.

Many cameras, including smartphones, can overlay a Rule of Thirds grid on the 

screen. It looks like a tic-tac-toe game. Two horizontal lines and two vertical lines 

divide the frame into thirds.

When photographing, place your main subject on one of the lines. Either horizontally 

or vertically.

“Crash points” are where the lines intersect. If you can, place your focus subject where 

the lines intersect.

This image shows the Rule of Thirds grid lines with circled crash points. Notice 

how the horses take up 2/3rds of the image. The eye of the front horse is on a 

crash point. Also, notice there are three horses. This is also an example of the 

Rule of Odds (see Rule #2).

2. Simplify a Scene with the Rule of Odds

The Rule of Odds is a way of simplifying a complex scene with many possible subjects. 

In general, we find an odd number of subjects more interesting than an even number.

Three is a magic number, but five or seven also work.

The Rule of Odds helps us select our subjects thoughtfully. The rule guides us on what 

to include and what to leave out.

The Rule of Odds also reminds us to isolate our subject in a busy scene. One is an odd 

number.

3. Focus on Your Subject by Filling the Frame

Filling the frame is about getting close to your subject. Really close.

Make your main subject clear and distinct. Ask yourself, how much sky do you really 

need? How much background?

We can fill the frame by using a zoom lens and getting photographically close to our 

subject. But it’s often better to “zoom with your feet”. Get physically closer to your subject.

In post-processing, consider cropping tighter on your subject to fill the frame.

The image on the left is the original. I cropped the image on the right much 

tighter eliminating much of the sky and the pavement. The original image is 

in portrait orientation, but I switched it to landscape orientation (See Rule #5).

4. Choose a Suitable Depth of Field

Depth of field is deciding how much of the image should be in focus. This isn’t so much 

a rule as a compositional decision you need to make.

A shallow depth of field means only a small part of the image is in focus, usually the 

subject. The background is blurred.

A deep depth of field means the image is in focus from the front to the back.

Use a shallow depth of field to blur distracting backgrounds. Sports photographers blur 

backgrounds so athletes stand out against a busy crowd. To get a shallow depth of field, 

use a wide aperture like f2.8.

Generally, use a deep depth of field for landscape photography. To get the entire scene 

in focus, use a narrow aperture like f16.

Shallow depth of field isolates individual flowers in a field.

5. Use the Best Orientation for the Scene

Orientation and aspect ratio determine how much of the scene you capture in an image.

Orientation refers to whether you’re holding the camera horizontally or vertically. Aspect 

ratio is the size of the image taken by the camera.

If there are a lot of vertical elements or height to your image, use portrait orientation. Hold 

your camera vertically.

If there are a lot of horizontal elements or width to your image, use landscape orientation. 

Hold your camera horizontally.

Don’t forget that you have a panorama option. We usually think of panoramas as long, 

horizontal images, but they can be vertical as well.

I often take the shot both ways and see what I like later. I often try different aspect ratios 

and crops in post-processing.

6. Straighten Lines for an Aesthetically Pleasing Image

Straighten lines that should be straight.

Not all lines in an image need to be straight, but there are some lines that are expected to 

be straight. For instance, the horizon line in a landscape. Horizon tilt in an image is 

immediately noticeable and distracting.

I bumped my tripod during a fireworks display (left). The tilted horizon is easy to 

fix in post-processing (right).

Many cameras and tripods include a level. Use these tools to help orientate your camera. 

It’s also easy to correct a tilted line in post-processing.

Straight lines are also important in architecture. Using a wide-angle lens often distorts 

lines. Leave space on either side of a building so you can straighten lines in post-processing.

In an image with many different lines, choose one to be your main focus. Make this line 

straight even if the others are a bit off.

7. Create Depth with Leading Lines

Our eyes naturally follow lines through an image. Leading lines direct our eyes to the 

main subject. Used well, leading lines create a sense of depth.

Lines may be actual lines or implied by elements in the scene.

Sometimes the lines are straight and lead directly to the subject. Other times, the 

journey is roundabout. S-curves are a favourite of photographers.

Leading lines lead somewhere. If a line doesn’t lead anywhere or it leads the eye 

out of the frame, change your position. Move left or right or up or down.

This image is full of lines leading to the cityscape of St. Louis and the 

Gateway Arch. The clouds, the reflection of the clouds, and the bridge 

are all leading lines. This image also includes rocks as a foreground 

element (see Rule #19).

8. Use Diagonal Lines to Add Energy

Diagonal lines add interest and energy to photography composition. Try 

photographing lines on a strong diagonal rather than straight across the frame.

Make sure your diagonal is obvious. A little tilt to a line looks like a mistake.

Think about where lines intersect with each other. Converging lines draw the eye. 

Also, consider where lines enter or leave the frame. Photographers sometimes try 

to have a line enter or leave the frame in a corner.

Rather than straightening out the lines of this spiral staircase, I shifted them to 

a diagonal.

9. Attract Attention Using Light

Our eyes naturally go to the brightest part of an image. Knowing this affects how 

we compose an image. The main subject should be the brightest part of the image.

Portrait photographers use flash or reflectors to highlight the faces of their models.

In post-processing, techniques like dodging and burning direct the eye. Dodging is 

selectively lightening certain parts of the image. Burning is selectively darkening 

certain parts of the image.

I use a lot of dodging and burning in post-processing to guide my viewer’s eyes to important elements in the frame.

10. Use the Negative Space Around Objects

Negative space is the use of the space between or around subjects as an important 

element in the image. Negative space becomes its own subject with its own shape.

Negative space can show scale or imply an emotion like “emptiness.”

Sometimes it’s difficult to see negative space because we’re so used to focusing on 

a subject. Try flipping your images upside-down in post-processing. This will help 

you see space without being too focused on the details of your main subject.

This photo of white swans in the fog is impactful mainly because of the 

negative space.

11. Balance the Subjects for Symmetry and Visual Balance

Visual balance is the relationship between two or more elements in your composition. 

The elements look balanced. One is not visually heavier than the other.

Composing symmetrically creates visual balance. The left half of the image matches the 

right, or the top half matches the bottom. Reflections in photographs work so well because 

they show symmetry.

Even non-symmetrical images need visual balance. Balance a large, visually heavy 

subject on one side of the frame with many smaller subjects on the other. Balance a 

foreground element with a background element.

This image shows symmetry through the reflections, but also another type of visual balance. The tree in the left foreground is balanced by two trees in the right background.

12. Chang Your Perspective

Perspective is about where you are in relation to your subject. Changing perspective 

means getting down low or going up high.

Everyone sees the world from about the same perspective – at eye level. You can make 

images more interesting by using a different perspective.

Photographing from a low angle makes the subject look more powerful.

This photo is more powerful because I’m photographing up at my main subject. 

She looks more powerful.

It’s also fun to change your perspective and go high. This is one reason drone photography 

is so interesting. We rarely get this bird’s eye view of our world.

Using a low perspective is important when photographing subjects close to the ground. 

It’s also important when photographing children. Get down to their eye level.

13. Emphasise Your Main Subject with the Golden Rule

The Golden Rule is about placing your main subject in an important part in your frame. 

This rule is like the Rule of Thirds. But the Golden Rule suggests a different arrangement 

of compositional elements.

The Golden Rule is based on the Golden Ratio. The Golden Ratio is a naturally 

occurring mathematical phenomenon. The natural world favours the ratio 1 to 1.618. 

Mathematically, this may mean nothing to you, but visually, you see it everywhere. 

The most common visual representation of the Golden Ratio is the spirals of a seashell.

In photography, the Golden Rule is represented either as a grid or a spiral.

Some cameras allow you to see an overlay of the Golden Ratio or the Golden Ratio

 on your viewfinder. Lightroom also has overlays to help you crop images using the 

Golden Rule.

In this screen shot, I’m using the Golden Ratio spiral overlay in Lightroom to 

help me place important elements in the frame.

14. Capture Movement from Left to Right

We read images like we read text, from left to right. Movement in a photograph should 

also move left to right in the frame. This compositional rule is particularly important for 

wildlife and sports/action photographers.

It’s not always easy to capture motion left to right in the real world. Flip your image 

horizontally in post-processing to create left to right movement. This often works as 

long as there is no text in the image.

I flipped the image horizontally to show the difference when the planes are 

flying left to right or right to left.

Make sure to leave room in the frame for the subject to move into. This means leaving 

space to the right of the subject. Otherwise, it looks as if the subject is moving out of 

the frame.

15. Pattern and Repetition for Stronger Compositions

Our brains like pattern and repetition. We’ll even impose patterns on random elements. 

Think of the fun we have finding patterns in clouds. Incorporating repetition and 

pattern makes our photographic compositions stronger and more interesting.

Repetition and pattern are often found in shapes and colour.

You may have to change your perspective to make patterns pop. Notice how changing 

perspective alters spacing or hides the pattern.

I often look for repetition in architecture. Architects know about the rule of repetition as well.

Adding contrast to repetition makes your photos even more dynamic. The contrasting 

element may be a different colour, shape or height. Breaking up the pattern emphasises 

the pattern.

16. Find a Relationship Between Elements

Look for interesting relationships between elements in your image.

For instance, look for tension. Two elements that appear to pull at each other create 

visual tension. The colours clash, or there is a size discrepancy.

Street photographers often juxtapose elements. Something in the environment conflicts 

with people on the street. This can create humour or suggest a deeper idea.

I noticed the sign behind this street performer. This street performer’s smile is “lovelier”. Juxtaposing the sign and the person creates a deeper meaning.

Colour theory is about how colours in your image relate. Colour theory is often represented 

as a colour wheel. Colours across from each other on the wheel are complementary.

17. Simplify Images to Capture the Essence

Simplifying means including only what you need in the image. Take out everything you 

don’t need.

Simplifying an image doesn’t mean creating minimalist images. Simplicity is distilling 

the idea of a photograph into its purest form.

Decide what your photo is about. Then take out everything that isn’t about this idea.

18. Draw the Eyes with Framing

With framing, one element of your image sits inside another element. This creates a 

frame within your frame. For instance, you might shoot through a window or through 

an opening in the trees.

Frames add depth and draw our eyes into the image and to the main subject.

The Millennium Bridge over the Thames frames St. Paul’s Cathedral. The lights on the 

bridge also provide leading lines (see Rule #7).

19. Use Layering for Depth and Dimension

Layering is looking for elements that stack from the front to the back of your image. 

Layering adds depth and dimension.

Layering includes adding a foreground element to a landscape. Rather than the scene being 

on the same flat plane, a foreground element leads the viewer into the scene. Rocks or flowers 

are natural foreground elements.

Layers should be visually distinct in colour or light. This helps avoid mergers and lets the 

eye easily distinguish the layers.

Photographers travel from far and wide to capture the layers of the Smokey Mountains.

20. Avoid Mergers

Mergers happen when elements in an image overlap in a way that makes it difficult for our 

eyes to separate. Our 3D eyes separate out things separated by distance. But in a 2D 

photograph, the objects pancake especially if they are similar in colour or shading.

Watch for background distractions. It’s easy to overlook a tree branch that appears to 

be coming out of someone’s head. Or people look like they have extra limbs.

The rope behind this Cuban boxer creates a merger and is distracting (left). I had to 

remove it in post-processing (right). Notice where I’ve cropped the boxer’s 

arms (see Rule #21).

To create a clear composition, make sure your main subject has space around it. 

If objects or people overlap, step to the left or right. Changing the angle even slightly 

can often get rid of mergers.

21. Check the Edges for Distractions

Finally, before snapping a photograph, scan the edges of your frame. We’re often so 

focused on our main subject that we forget to look at the entire frame.

Look for trapped space. Trapped space happens when an object and the edge of the frame 

intersect to create an odd shape of light.

Also, look to see how objects or people are cut off by the edge of the frame.

Some photographers live by the rule: “Include everything or include nothing.” This means 

that rather than cutting an object or person off at the edge of the frame, it’s better to cut it 

out completely.

Other photographers are ok with cutting off an object or person as long as the crop looks 

natural.

Portrait photographers try not to cut people off at the joints.

The edges of this image are messy. For instance, there is trapped space in the upper 

right corner. A foot is cut off in the bottom right.

I can crop in tighter in post-processing and avoid mergers and messy edges. This is 

also an example of movement left to right (see Rule #14).

Compositional choices make the difference between a snapshot and a great photograph. 

Following these photography composition rules is a great way to make more impactful images.

But there is no one right way of seeing the world. Once you master the rules of photographic 

composition, it’s time to bend or break them.

Use these photography composition rules as guides to help you decide what to include in your 

image and how to place the elements.

 

 

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What Is Shallow Depth of Field (And How to Use It!)

Tags: Photography for Beginners,  Newbie Photography

By Jenn Mishra 

We spend a lot of time as photographers trying to get our images in focus. When an image 

comes out blurry, we hit the delete button so fast that we barely look at the composition.

But not all images need to be sharp from front to back. Sometimes, an image is more beautiful 

if some parts of it are softly out-of-focus. An image can have impact if the focus is “shallow”.

In this article, I’ll let you in on the secrets of shallow depth of field (DoF). I’ll help you 

achieve the look and give you ideas on when to use it in your photography.

Wildflowers in field using shallow depth of field. Settings: 333mm, 

1/400@f5.6. ISO160. 

Photo by Jenn Mishra  

 

What Is Shallow Depth of Field?

In photography, depth of field describes how much of the image is in focus.

A deep depth of field (also called “wide” or “large”) means that most of the image is in 

focus. 

This is often the goal of landscape photography.

Shallow depth of field (also called “small” or “narrow”) means that only a part of the 

image is 

in focus. The background and sometimes the foreground is blurred. Shallow depth of 

field works in portrait, nature, and travel photography.

The out-of-focus part may be only slightly blurred or be completely lacking detail.

Portrait with hotel lobby background blurred. Settings: 50mm, 

1/160@f2.2, ISO100. 

Photo by Jenn Mishra

How Do You Get a Shallow Depth of Field?

There’s a lot of optical physics behind a shallow depth of field. But in this article, 

I’m going to keep the discussion practical.

In general, your depth of field will be shallow when using a wide aperture. 

This means setting your f-stop to a small number. On some lenses, the widest 

aperture is f1.4. On others, the widest aperture setting is f5.6. Using  

aperture priority mode may be a good idea when you’re trying for a shallow 

depth of field.

Aperture size isn’t the only thing affecting depth of field. Focal length is 

also important. 

Lenses with a longer focal length generally will have a shallower depth of 

field. Your camera sensor size will also make a difference. Cameras with larger 

sensors (full-frame) will create a shallower depth of field than crop sensors.

But creating a narrow depth of field isn’t all about equipment, it’s also about 

relative position.

Depth of field will change depending on how close you are to your subject and 

how far your subject is from the background.

If you’re not getting a shallow depth of field, step closer. If that doesn’t work, 

try moving your subject further from the what’s behind. There needs to be some 

distance.

Notice how the cloth becomes more blurry with distance from the focal point. Settings: 126mm, 1/800@f11. ISO400. Photo by Jenn Mishra

How to Use Shallow Depth of Field

Let me turn to how to use shallow depth of field to make your photography pop.

Here are the top reasons for using a small depth of field.

To Simplify the Background

One of the main reasons to use a shallow depth of field is to simplify a busy scene.  

Portrait and nature photographers use this to create a clean backdrop.

This portrait was taken in front of a busy store front. Shallow depth of field 

hides the uninspiring background. Settings: 50mm, 1/2000@f1.4. ISO100. 

Photo by Jenn Mishra

You may want to remove all detail leaving only color or you may only want to 

de-emphasize the environment.

In travel photography and photojournalism, subjects are often photographed in 

context. We want to know where the person is or where the action is taking 

place.

But we want the context to be secondary. Blurring the environment allows the 

viewer to see the context without distracting from the main story.

Venice as background to this gondoliere. Settings: 240mm, 1/500@f8.0. ISO640. Photo by Jenn Mishra

Different apertures will produce more or less blur. Generally, shooting wide open at f2.8 

or f1.4 will create the most blur. If there is too much blur or you want a bit more detail, 

select a small aperture like f5.6 or f8.0.

A shallow depth of field creates separation and allows your subject to pop off the 

background.

To Guide the Eye

A viewer will naturally look at the most in-focus part of your image first. Knowing 

this, you can guide your viewer’s eye exactly where you want.

In a busy scene, you can select one focus point. One person or object becomes 

the subject.  

Selective focus is important when you have many points of interest.

Also, you can emphasize part of a scene or a feature. For instance, the eyes are 

the most important part of a portrait. Making the eyes the focal point and letting 

the image blur ensures the eyes will be the focus.

Shallow depth of field ensures you’ll look at this Indian man’s face first. 

Settings: 89mm, 1/100@f5.6. ISO500. Photo by Jenn Mishra

We can also highlight relationships between subjects in an image.

When using a shallow DoF, everything on one plane will be in focus. It doesn’t 

matter how far apart the subjects are horizontally. You can cleverly use this to 

emphasize a relationship. 

Two subjects on the same plane will pop out of an otherwise blurry scene.

With many subjects in the image, shallow depth of field allows you to prioritize 

subjects.

Eye and watch are in focus. Settings: 50mm, 1/1000@f1.4. ISO100. 

Photo by Jenn Mishra

To Draw the Eye Away

The flip side to guiding the eye towards a focal point is drawing the eye away. Blur can 

de-emphasize a defect or anything that could distract from your main subject. Whether 

this is a crack in a wall or a busy crowd.

One little-known use of a shallow depth of field is to remove visual barriers from your 

image. Visual barriers like fencing or mesh, get between us and our photographic 

subject.

This bird is behind mesh fencing in a zoo. A shallow depth of field makes the mesh disappear. Settings: 251mm, 1/400@f5.6. ISO1600. Photo by Jenn Mishra

This is the same principle as simplifying a busy scene, but it has to do with the 

foreground.

Wide apertures are effective if you’re shooting through a busy foreground. A 

narrow DoF turns it into a soft blur.

You can even use shallow depth of field to obscure a person’s identity. Other 

elements of the scene can be in focus, but the person’s face blurs.

This is a compromise for parents who don’t want to show their children’s faces 

on social media. A family scene can still be shared, but with the child obscured.

To Create an Effect

Using a shallow depth of field softens the scene and creates a mood.

Which mood depends on your subject and how you use the blur. Soft edges can 

create a romantic or nostalgic look. Or by obscuring details, the effect can be 

mysterious.

Taking away details creates an impressionistic scene. Take away even more detail 

and you can create an abstract image. We might only see an edge or part of an 

object. What’s left of the subject blurs into an abstract.

Creating an effect includes shaping the bokeh. Bokeh is the shape of the out of 

focus light.

 The shape is usually round because that is the shape of your aperture. But you can 

change that by placing a bokeh filter in front of your lens.

To Layer and Frame

Blurring both your foreground and background creates a frame around your subject. 

Even mundane environments can be nice with a bit of blur.

Shallow depth of field adds dimension, but it also separates layers. This is important 

when creating 2D images from a 3D world. Layers that our eyes detect don’t always 

come across in the scene.

Shallow depth of field adds frame. Settings: 50mm, 1/2000@f1.8. ISO100. 

Photo by Jenn Mishra

Tips for Creating Shallow Depth of Field

Learning to control depth of field in my photography took some practice. If you’re 

not getting the results you’re looking for, here are a few tips:

Try a different lens – Lenses vary in how well they create shallow depth of field. 

Focal length and aperture affect depth of field, but some lenses just seem to create a 

nicer blur.

Move closer – Changing your relationship to your subject can make a big difference 

in the depth of field.  

Move subject away from the background – If you’re not getting a shallow depth 

of field in your images, make sure there is actually depth to your field. Create 

distance between your subject and the background. Creating depth of field is all 

about depth relationships. 

1. Use a depth of field calculator – Depth of field calculators. 
2. Increase shutter speed –  Try increasing shutter speed. 

 

Photographing spoons macro. Settings: 90mm, 2.5sec.@f18. ISO400. 

Photo by Jenn Mishra

 

 

An image with a shallow depth of field will look partially out of focus. The 

subject will be in focus, but the background and maybe the foreground will be 

blurred. How much blur is up to the photographer. 

Photographing with a shallow depth of field allows you to control what is in 

focus and where your viewer looks. Soft focus is pleasing in many images and 

simplifies the scene. 

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 # Photo, Images, People

Wildlife Photography: How to Take Great Pictures of Animals

By David Shaw  

Slowly, cautiously, I lay down on my stomach on the damp tundra. My long lens reached out in front of me as I wriggled slowly forward toward my unsuspecting quarry. Closer, closer I crawled, until the composition finally resembled what I wanted.
I peered through my viewfinder, adjusted, and began to click the shutter.

In Alaska, Arctic Ground Squirrels are very common.

The snap of the shutter rang through the quiet like a gunshot and the animal looked up, fixing me with an intense stare. Then, with a sudden burst of speed, the ground squirrel turned, and scurried back into its burrow.
Not all great wildlife photography is of predators or even large animals. Some of the most compelling images are those of small creatures: birds, insects, or as in the case above, ground squirrels.
Even creating images of common animals in your backyard, or local parks, is a great way to learn the necessary skills for animal photography.

This post will go through a few things you should consider as you begin making images of wild animals. 

Equipment

A 70-200mm lens was more than enough to capture this image of King Penguins

emerging from the Southern Ocean. 

When I think about wildlife photography techniques, there are a few things that stand out. Surprisingly, the first that come to mind have nothing to do with equipment. However, your gear does play an important role. Your kit for wildlife does not need to be huge, but a few things will prove useful:

1. Camera- obviously
2. Telephoto- a long lens is a near-necessity in wildlife photography, and lenses from 200mm to 600mm are standard.
3. A wide angle – this one may come as a surprise, but I’ve made some of my favorite animal images with a wide angle
4. Tripod

What brand, sensor size, and type of camera you choose is completely up to you. Many cameras, even some advanced point and shoots, will work great for wildlife.
But don’t let you gear hold you back. Be creative and shoot with what you have. You don’t always need a big telephoto lens, as my penguin photo above shows.

Respect the Wildlife, the Environment, and Others

Showing interactions between wildlife species is a great way to create an interesting image.

Your absolute top priority as a wildlife photographer is to do no harm to the creatures and the environment you photograph.
Animals should always have a route of escape; don’t corner them. Pay attention to their behavior. 

If an animal begins to look agitated, back off.
Whenever an animal flees, it means you got too close, and that animal had to use precious energy to escape. Every time that happens, it is additional stress for them, so don’t cause it.

Practicing with common animals will mean you are ready when the real 

excitement starts,  like this image of two bears fighting in Katmai  

National Park, Alaska.

Follow the rules of the places we are photographing. Stay on trails, and respect other users. More than once in my career, I have watched oblivious, or disrespectful photographers rudely step in front of others to make a shot, or tromp off a trail into a closed area. Please don’t be that guy.
Eventually, if we don’t police ourselves, someone is going to start policing and restricting us. Your long lens, not matter how big, does not grant you an exception to the rules.

Be a Naturalist

Research informed me that to photograph early-season coastal Brown Bears in southeast Alaska, I’d need to be there in late April.

The most important skill of a good wildlife photographer has nothing to do with cameras or technique: Be A Naturalist. Get to know the animals you want to photograph.
Find out where they live, what time of year they are present there, what they eat, and how they interact with their environment.
Not only will this knowledge help you find wildlife, it will also help you make better images.
You’ll know the story you want to tell, and quickly move beyond animal portraiture, and toward compelling, story-telling images of wildlife and their environment.

Get Low

On the photo workshops and tours I lead, the most frequently made mistake by my students is also one of the easiest to fix. (Assuming, of course, they don’t mind getting their knees a little dirty.) Get low!
Images of wildlife are almost always best when made from the eye level (or lower) of the animal you are photographing. This might mean having to go as low as laying flat on your stomach!

Images made from above lack a connection to the animal. I always encourage photographers to get down on their knees, or better yet, lay down. They’re all surprised by how much a lower perspective can improve their photography.

Go Long

A long lens let me isolate the pattern of this sleepy King Penguin.

There is little question that a long lens is a vital part of any wildlife photographer’s equipment. A telephoto lens plays a couple of important roles, the first is the magnification.
A lens like a 500mm, will make the animal appear much closer, and take up a larger portion of the frame. A long lens also allows you to cut out distracting elements from your frame. You can take a narrow slice of the scene in front of you, isolate the best parts and cut out the rest.

A telephoto also compresses your depth of field (DOF). The DOF is the amount of the image that is in focus from front to back in the frame. Long lenses are particularly good at blurring foregrounds and backgrounds. This makes your subject stand out from their surroundings.
Just as the magnification of long lenses allows you to isolate the best part of your scene from side to side and top to bottom, a shallow DOF allows you to isolate the best part from front to back.

Go Short

Long lenses are an indispensable part of a wildlife photographer’s equipment, but not every wildlife picture has to be made with a long lens. Wide angle lenses can actually make great photos, under the right circumstances.
I was photographing on South Georgia Island a few years back, creating images of a few nesting Gentoo Penguins. I was laying on my stomach with a long lens, going for that low perspective I mentioned earlier, when out of the sky above me, a skua descended and alighted just a foot in front of me.
The bird, a scavenger, was curious about me (perhaps hoping I was carrion), and kept inching forward, reaching out with its beak toward the lens of my camera. I slowly grabbed behind me for my second body, which was equipped with a wide angle zoom I’d been using for some landscapes.
Slowly, I maneuvered the camera to my eye and snapped two photos of the Skua. My motion and the noise of the camera made the bird realize that I wasn’t dead or dying after all and it took to the air. But I managed to get two pictures first!

Similar to the image above, this Caracara was curious about me as I lay on the 

ground photographing the landscape.

The wide shot I created is much better than anything I could have created with a long lens under those circumstances. I was able to show some interesting behaviour, and the bird’s habitat, complete with nesting penguins in the background.
Those aspects are all important, and tell the viewer something about the wildlife and how they live.

Get Close

Just like my Skua image above, getting close to animals is a great way to help your audience connect to them. You can get close by using a long lens, or by getting close yourself.
Long lenses, as I noted above, are great for making an animal appear closer. And when it comes to large, dangerous, or delicate wildlife, this should be the only way you approach them.
However you do it, getting close to animals (without disturbing them) will offer a connection. Details will emerge like the textures in fur or feathers, eyes appear to glitter, and your viewers will begin to relate to the animal in the image.

How to get close is another issue entirely, but the best way is the simplest: be patient. Simply placing yourself in a likely area and waiting, is a tried and true method.
I’ve spent hours sitting quietly next to ponds waiting for waterfowl to paddle past, and I’ve sat on mountain ridges as a herd of caribou moved across the valley below. Though simple, this isn’t the same as easy. It’s hard to be patient.
A discussion of other methods for getting close to wildlife warrant their own articles. That said, blinds are a useful tool, and even vehicles, in areas where animals are accustomed to them, can be a great way to get close.
I was shocked on a recent safari in Botswana how close vehicles could approach wildlife without disturbing them. Of course if I’d set foot out of the Land Cruiser, the animals would have either spooked, or you know, eaten me.

Get Sharp

To make a sharp image of wildlife with a long lens, you need a fast shutter speed. A general rule of thumb is to set your shutter speed at least as fast as the length of your lens.
If you are shooting with a 500mm lens, you need at least a shutter speed of 1/500th second to create a sharp image. But really, if you are going for sharpness, the faster your shutter speed the better.
Even applying the rule of thumb above, using some lens support will help you achieve the sharpness you want. When possible, use a tripod. When you can’t, brace off something instead. A tree, a car, even a rock might work. Or you can lay down on the ground (getting that low angle) and use your pack to support the lens.
Most lenses are sharpest a stop or two down from wide open. That means if your fastest aperture is f4, you’ll get a sharper image around f8 than you will wide open.

Get Blurred

A pan blur of flying Sandhill Cranes.

Animals seem in constant motion. Birds fly by, caribou run, and elephants swirl around water holes. Images that show some of that movement in the form of a motion blur, can be very effective and compelling.

A stationary blur allowed the bear to remain sharp while the waterfall blurred to a 

flowing texture.

Creating a good motion blur requires some experimentation. Start by slowing your shutter speed. For a long lens, a shutter speed of around 1/60th second is often more than enough to show sufficient motion blur in fast-moving animals.
Start there, then adjust up or down until you get the amount of blur you want.

Late evening in Africa meant very low light. Fortunately the slow shutter 

speed worked very well as this herd of elephants came into a water hole.

There are two methods to create these kinds of shots:

1. Steady Camera, Moving Wildlife – In this type of image, the background and surroundings should be sharp, as your subject, the animal, is blurred. A too-blurred subject will almost disappear in the frame, while an image not blurred enough will simply look out of focus. It’s a balancing act, and a tricky method to get right.
2. Pan Blurs – A panning blur is when you move your camera to stay even with moving wildlife. This creates an image in which both the background and the moving parts of the animal are blurred. The best of these retain focus on the eye and head of the wildlife, creating a sharp subject area in an otherwise motion-blurred image. These can be extremely effective and beautiful shots, when done correctly.

Pro-Tip: Focus on the Eyes!

The eyes are the first thing we look at, so sharpness there is doubly important. If I hadn’t caught the eyes of this lion in focus, this image would not have been successful.

Tell a Story

Caribou migrating across the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 

in Alaska is one of the iconic stories of wildlife.

In just about every kind of photography, the best images are those that tell a story. In wildlife photography, those stories can be dramatic, like predation in action. But they can also be simple. 

An image of an animal within its habitat is one way, or a simple interaction between two individuals is another.
Think about the species you are photographing. How or where does it live? What does it do to survive? Then consider how your image can tell that story.

A photo of a Black-browed Albatross in front of early sunlight, sea haze, and 

a storm-tossed ocean proves that you don’t need to be close to create a quality 

image of wildlife.

Wildlife photographers put a lot of effort into getting close. We buy long lenses, or sit for hours in trees waiting for the right opportunity.
But a close image is not always a great image. Nor is a distant animal a poor shot. What matters, close or far, is the story, the relationship, and the way your viewer relates to the subject.

Show how animals relate to one another! Here three lions interact in Botswana.

If you put all these things together, from equipment to camera settings, perspective to story-telling, you’ll start creating great wildlife photos.
Above all, make your wildlife photographs thoughtful. Think about your creative choices and use them to tell the story of the animal. If you do that, you will have much greater success, and create much better images.

 

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Prime vs Zoom Lens – Which One Do You Need?

Tags: Photography for Beginners, Newbie Photographer

By Josh Dunlop  

What are the differences between a prime lens and a zoom lens?

Prime lenses have a fixed focal length, meaning that you can’t zoom it at all. This, but they 

do have distinct advantages, which we’ll explain later.

Zoom lenses allow you to change how close you want to get to a subject while keeping 

your physical distance. But this feature comes at a price though: quality and aperture.

So, which is best… prime vs zoom? This post should clear up any misconceptions you 

have about either and help you to find the right option for you.

Photo by Ian Panelo 

 

Prime Lenses

So what is a prime lens exactly? Do prime lenses zoom? As I stated above, 

prime lenses have 

a constant focal length. In other words, they don’t zoom. And like any other 

piece of equipment, it has its advantages and disadvantages.

Prime lenses (photo by Frank R)

One issue with using primes is that you may not be able to get the photo framed as 

you’d like it. 

But at the same time, they make you experiment more. They force you to think of 

a different way around taking a photo, one you may have missed otherwise.

There are two distinct reasons why people buy prime lenses, though: quality and 

aperture.

Quality

The quality of the prime lens is often vastly superior to that of a zoom as it doesn’t 

have as many moving parts.

Furthermore, primes also have fewer optical elements inside. That means there 

are lesser 

chances of abnormalities to occur. And as a result, it is better at producing sharper images.

There used to be a considerable difference between prime and zoom lenses because the 

technology wasn’t as good.

But now you can get zoom lenses that are just as good as some primes. But they come 

at a price.

I paid almost the same amount of money on my 24-70mm f/2.8 as on my 35mm 

f/1.4. The quality of this versatile zoom lens is excellent but still isn’t quite as good 

as the f/1.4 prime.

Even when you’re investing a lot of money into a zoom lens, you’re still making 

a compromise.

You can see how sharp the image is below – it’s hard to believe that I shot this 

at f/1.4, the widest aperture I have.

In contrast, zoom lenses would have a bit more trouble producing an image as 

sharp as the one above.

Aperture

Primes have a lot less moving parts, so they’re not constricted by the zooming 

action. Therefore, they often have wider apertures than zoom lenses.

The main advantage of having a wide aperture is that you can take photos in 

low light. The wider aperture allows more light into the camera.

The wide opening makes it ideal for shooting indoors: in a bar, a club, or in a 

dimly lit room – somewhere where you don’t want to push your ISO.

The prime option that I mentioned above allows four times as much light into 

the lens than the zoom. An aperture of f/1.4 is four times larger than f/2.8. Keep in 

mind that f/2.8 is very 

good for a zoom lens.

We also have the advantage of producing a shallow depth of field which has a 

whole range of creative uses. Portrait photographers usually much prefer primes 

because of this. A soft, creamy background is often precisely what people like to 

see in portraits.

I shot this photo below at f/1.4, producing beautiful bokeh. Since zoom lenses can 

only go up to f/2.8 at most, they are not capable of producing background blur as 

well as primes.

Price

Another significant advantage of most prime lenses is that you can buy them for 

a low price. 

For instance, you can get a 50mm f/1.8 ranges from around $110-$220. For that 

price, you’ll see a dramatic increase in quality over your kit lens. You’ll also gain the 

ability to play around  with depth of field a lot more.

 

But it’s also worth noting that primes can get more expensive as the focal lengths 

increase. 

While you can get a 50mm for a few hundred dollars, you may have to shell out 

thousands for a 500mm.

Photo by Dominika Roseclay

Special Primes

Some specific lens constructions would be impossible to adapt to a zoom lens. 

One of them is tilt-shift lenses.

A tilt-shift allows you to manipulate your perspective by shifting parts of the 

lens. You can also modify your focal plane’s direction by tilting some of the 

elements. The effect it creates results in a unique, “mini-world” look.

These lenses are the workhorses of professional interior and architecture 

photographers. But they are also used in portraiture and event photography sometimes.

Another type of specialised primes is the defocus-controllable lens. This useful 

tool allows the photographer to alter the form and amount of background blur 

without actually changing the aperture. It’s the hidden gem of portrait photographers.

Super telephotos are also rare to find in zoom format. There are some 

excellent 150-600mm options out there, but that’s where it stops. Focal lengths 

of 800mm and above (with astronomical prices) are exclusively primes.

Then, of course, there are fisheye lenses that rarely don’t have zoom counterparts. 

There’s only one I know of, the Canon 8-15mm. There are some great cheap 

fisheyes, though, such as the Rokinon 8mm.

Zoom Lenses

Zoom lenses are perfect for beginners because of their variable focal lengths. In 

other words, they let you zoom in and out of a scene as opposed to primes.

A 24-70mm lens (photo by Danny Fengh)

Zoom lenses are a lot more complicated, and the prices vary a lot more, depending on 

what the lens does.

It’s a common misconception for beginners to think that an 18-250mm 

should cost more than a 24-70mm zoom lens because it has a longer focal length. 

That’s not true because it does so at a price.

When it comes to zoom lenses, you do get what you pay for. It would be hard 

to compare the two options that I just mentioned because they have different purposes.

So what are zoom lenses good for?

An 18-250mm is for the hobbyist. Often someone who doesn’t want to carry 

around multiple lenses – perhaps someone who travels a lot.

A 24-70mm is for a much more serious shooter. Often someone who 

understands the compromises made when building a lens with a much longer 

zoom range. But, at the same time, they need to be able to change the way 

they’re framing a photo freely. You can’t do this with a prime.

Quality

The overall image quality of zoom lenses is catching up with that of prime lens 

options, but I reckon there’s still a long way to go.

I notice that my zoom isn’t as sharp as my prime. But I knew that when I bought 

it and I’m still delighted with the results. You could call it a happy compromise.

One thing I have noticed from using both types of lenses is that the photos appear a 

lot softer when the aperture is all the way open, and the pictures look better at a 

stop or two narrower.

This noticeable with zoom lenses, but that’s just part of the compromise.

There is one thing to keep in mind, though. An expensive zoom can easily surpass 

a cheap prime in image quality, even though there are exceptions to this 

(like the Canon 50mm).  Zooms are less sharp because of optical errors coming from 

their complex nature. Expensive 

unique glass elements and coatings correct some of these errors. As a result, you’ll 

see a drastic increase in quality.

So, there is quite a considerable quality overlap between the two. There are 

websites out there that will show you sharpness samples and MTF charts. They can 

give you a general idea of how a particular lens performs.

But if you’re planning on getting a new lens, I advise getting your hands on it and 

have a quick test. There’s a lot more to it than sharpness and aperture.

Photo by Ekrulila

Aperture

Because the aperture is f/2.8 throughout the 24-70mm zoom range, I always know 

what the parameters are. However, cheaper lenses often lack this feature.

A more inexpensive zoom, such as a Canon 18-55mm kit lens, will have an aperture 

of f/3.5 when it’s zoomed all the way out at 18mm. But it slowly narrows the 

aperture to f/5.6 as you zoom in, letting in less than half the amount of light. We call 

these variable aperture lenses.

To reach f/2.8 throughout the entire range is an achievement not very common 

with crop sensor lenses. But all three large brands now offer f/2.8 standard zooms 

as part of their advanced crop sensor systems. They are quite expensive, though, 

even nearing their full-frame counterparts.

Some zooms go beyond the notorious f/2.8 frontier. A few years ago, 

photographers praised Sigma for introducing an 18-35mm f/1.8 and a 

50-100mm f/1.8 for crop sensor cameras. 

These have since become very popular in the mirrorless videographer community, 

but also among photographers. They are relatively affordable, especially for what 

they offer.

Not long ago, Canon introduced a 28-70mm f/2 to go with the new RF system. 

It’s a beast of a lens for sure, at a beast of a price. But some professionals love it 

for its image quality and large aperture.

Photo by Creative Bheja

Price

Quality zoom lenses can cost a lot of money, but they do reach a limit. A good zoom 

can only do so much before the lens maker has to stop making compromises and 

start making a new version for a different focal range.

When you start buying lenses, it’s often a cheaper and more sensible option 

to purchase a zoom. You can do more with it.