Will an ultra-wide lens improve my landscape photography, or just add distortion?
Asked 3/15/2011
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2 answers
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I shoot landscapes with a Nikon D90 and the 18-70mm DX lens, including seascapes, skyscapes, and cityscapes. I'm considering a Nikon 10-24mm DX ultra-wide zoom, but I've heard mixed advice.
Some people say ultra-wide lenses are not really about simply fitting more into the frame, but about emphasizing a subject in the foreground and changing the relationship between near and far objects. My main goal is often to include more of the scene, so I'm unsure whether an ultra-wide lens would genuinely help my style or whether I'd end up with a specialized lens whose edge distortion I dislike.
For landscape photography, is an ultra-wide lens a good choice when the goal is to capture more of the scene? Or is it mainly useful only when you want strong foreground emphasis and exaggerated perspective?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
17
Yes and No. That's the only true answer.
A lens has to be adapted to your vision and subject. Landscape is a very broad category and I know fine-art landscape photographers who mainly shoot with wide lenses and others mainly with telephoto lenses (ex: 70-200mm).
The angle-of-view of ultra-wide lenses really emphasizes the foreground. Moving back with a longer lens is not equivalent (as someone suggested) as it changes the relationship between of things at different depths.
In some locations you end up very close to the scenic vistas (beaches, nature trails) and there are interesting foreground details which deserve emphasis (flowers, seashells, moss, etc) in which case a wide-angle be easier to compose with. Other locations, the interesting things are far and without a long lens is becomes difficult to make an interesting shot.
Regardless of what angle-of-view your lens is, you have to be able to fill the frame with interesting things. Jay Maisel says 'Everything in your frame helps you or hurts you'. If I can crop an image without changing the aspect ratio of my frame, I consider that I failed to take the best shot possible.
Take the shots from you gallery for example and imagine if there was more to the sides and above or below. Would the shot be more interesting? Or would people start wondering what its about?
SUBJECTIVE PART NOW :)
Honestly, I consider myself a wide-angle shooter, most of my photos are taken wide but I also know that it is much harder to make a wide shot work. That does not mean, I should just shoot with a longer lens because what I see in a scene is how things combine and contrast, some people see details more and that is simply a different way of seeing.
Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1620
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—and no. Ultra-wide lenses can be excellent for landscapes, but they are not automatically “better” for every landscape scene.
Their main strength is a very wide angle of view plus exaggerated perspective: they make nearby foreground elements feel prominent while pushing distant scenery farther back. That can be great for beaches, trails, rocks, flowers, or other foreground details that help lead into the scene. In that situation, an ultra-wide can definitely enhance your landscape work.
But not all landscapes benefit from that look. Sometimes the interesting parts are far away, and a longer lens is better for isolating distant features. Many landscape photographers use everything from ultra-wide to telephoto depending on the scene.
So if your goal is only “fit more in,” an ultra-wide may help, but composition matters more than coverage. If you dislike stretched edges or perspective exaggeration, you may find it limiting rather than liberating.
Best advice: try one first if possible—rent or borrow an ultra-wide and see whether it matches how you naturally compose. If it helps you include meaningful foreground and create depth, it’s a useful tool; if not, your current lens or even a telephoto may suit your landscape style better.
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