The decision as to what focal length you select for a photograph should not just be about encompassing more of the subject with a wide angle lens or getting closer with a telephoto. It is a creative decision based on the fact that lenses control perspective and also, linked with the aperture, dictate how much is in focus in front of and behind the point of focus – the depth of field.
The majority of the pictures in this book have been taken on DSLR cameras with APS-C sensors and the focal length stated in the captions applies to those, except where it is stated that the picture has been shot on film. To find the equivalent APS-C digital angle of view for the film images, divide the focal length by 1.5.
WIDE-ANGLE LENS
This is an example of a wide-angle lens at work. It has enabled me to get very close and look right into the ears of wheat in the foreground while still showing that this is a vast field of grain. Stopping down the aperture to f16 has kept the picture sharp from the foreground back to infinity. 1/250 second at f16, 24mm, 100 ISO film. JG
TELEPHOTO LENS
This is an example of a telephoto lens helping me to interpret the hunting scene the way I felt it looked. The long focal length has compressed the perspective, making the rear riders appear closer to those in the foreground than was the case. Shooting with a wide aperture has made the leading rider and dogs sharp, separating them from the out-of-focus background. 1/350 second at f3.5, 400mm, 400 ISO film. JG
CLOSE-UP PHOTOGRAPHY
This is a genre that some photographers get hooked on and it particularly attracts people with a scientific bent, because it is all about making discoveries. Most new-generation cameras will enable you to see your object at a ratio of 1:1 – that is, the object at its real size. If your lens won’t focus this close, you can buy either a macro lens or a close-up filter to attach to your existing lens.
AUTUMN LEAF
Close ups focus our attention on something that we don’t usually notice, in this case the beautiful structure of this leaf. Many modern cameras are able to get this close without a macro lens. 1/15 second at f11, 55mm macro, 200 ISO. GH
THE MACRO LENS
This is a demonstration of how I photographed the autumn leaf, using a 55mm macro lens. The selected portion of the leaf is life size, and it is backlit by a lightbox – a great method of shooting translucent objects. GH
POCKET WATCH
I shot this pocket watch using backlight from a window and my 55mm macro lens, with the camera on a tripod to prevent any camera movement. As we get closer to a subject we have an increasingly shallow depth of field, which means that on a picture such as this the lens must be stopped right down to a small aperture to maintain sharp detail over the area of interest. That requires a slow shutter speed to achieve a normal exposure, hence the tripod. 1 second at f16, 55mm macro, 200 ISO. GH
WHITE BALANCE
The white balance (WB) technology in digital cameras was developed to make every colour picture you shoot look as if it has been taken in neutral white light without a colour cast.
If you set the WB to Auto that’s exactly what the camera will do. However, this means that you will lose the golden cast of sunset light and the blue glow of dawn, and that’s certainly not desirable.
Today, we consider white balance adjustment in the camera as not particularly important, because it is so easy to adjust the colours in the camera or on the computer. We generally leave the WB set on Daylight and fine tune on the computer later. However, if you wish to match your WB to the light as you go along, here are your options.
Incandescent
Your normal household tungsten light is classed as incandescent. It is much warmer (yellow/orange) than daylight and requires the camera to add blue to balance it back to neutral. This gives a more neutral colour balance than Auto, which often tends to be too warm. Incandescent bulbs are being phased out, replaced by low-energy bulbs. The light from these bulbs is in a variety of tones of white, so you need to do a test shot to check the colour balance. One of the fluorescent settings may work best.
Fluorescent
When you are shooting in fluorescent light, one of the fluorescent settings will possibly give a better colour rendition than the Auto WB. Fluorescent tubes and low-energy bulbs come in a variety of colour temperatures. The Fluorescent WB setting usually gives you two or three choices; do a test shot with each and choose the best one for the light you are shooting in.
Direct sunlight
Like daylight-balanced colour film, this setting gives a neutral colour balance in direct sunlight in the middle of the day.
Flash
The light from a flash tends to be slightly cooler than daylight, so this WB setting warms up the light a little.
Cloudy
On overcast days the light is cooler. This setting warms it up slightly to match direct sunlight.
Shade
Light in the shade is much cooler than bright sunlight, because shade light is mainly indirect blue sky light. This setting warms the light to that of direct sunlight.
QUICK TIP
It’s worth playing around with each of the WB presets to see the effect they have on a single light source. Choose a subject and take a picture of it with each WB setting, then repeat with another subject in a different light source. Note which setting gives the most neutral balance and which one could be used for an effect.
THE WHITE BALANCE MENU
Choose the appropriate setting to match the light you are shooting in, or use Daylight and correct any colour cast with image-editing software.
DAYLIGHT WB
The musicians were shot in a subway lit by incandescent light, with the WB set on Daylight. As you can see, the light has photographed with an orange cast. 1/20 second at f5.6, 38mm, 400 ISO. GH
INCANDESCENT WB
Using the Incandescent WB setting has neutralized the