12/19/2012

The Beauty of Taking pictures At 24mm

By Amy Renfrey


Have you ever questioned what is so extraordinary about taking pictures in 24mm? Or, have you ever thought about what focal length is good for landscape scenes is but never been completely sure what it is? The truth is that there are many angles you can quite easily shoot at. Each time you change focal length in or out, you will be altering the overall look and feel of your photo. Let's look more intimately at the 24mm approach. Why is it so enjoyable?

There are many wonderful things about shooting at 24mm. I use a Canon lens at 24mm for landscapes. The best 24mm lens is one that will be likely to continually supply you with an enough range or width. Any Canon 24mm lens (or Nikon 24mm lens) tends to get rid of the dreaded "warp" that comes with subjects photographed too close with the ultra wide lenses. If you are unfamiliar with what this means, simply head to the Internet and search for a few wide angle pictures of tall buildings taken up close with lenses less than 17mm. In some landscape photography situations it can work well, and in others it does not. Sometimes, when you photograph at an ultra wide viewpoint, the landscape you are shooting can look like it's bending in the center. If this takes place, then why not try shooting at 24mm?

When photographing landscape photos we want to strive for "large", but not "bending" in the middle, as some ultra wide angle lenses can produce. This is where the magnificent 24mm focal length comes in. It creates a large scene without looking unnatural or over widening effect at the center of the photo. Not only is it a wonderful overall length to take photos at, but you may shoot at 24mm to produce panoramas. In other words 24mm makes for a beautiful individual image AND it can be an ideal shooting measurement to stitch several single photos jointly to create a panorama.

You see if you took a handful of pictures captured at 17mm or less, and stitched them as one, you may indeed see an awkward bulge. This is what occurs when ultra wide images are stitched to make an individual panorama. Unless you are trying to create a fisheye effect it will not work well. When shooting with 24mm this dreadful outcome does not happen. We are left with a wide angle perfect for for an individual photo and just right to generate a series of images for a panorama.

To get a good idea of the excellence of the typical 24mm wide angle lens, ask yourself does the photo have a practical perspective? For example, do you notice any unnatural warping or bulging in the horizon line or the length of the forefront? No, we can't. That is usually a sign that the 24mm focal length is just right for the purpose.

Is this 24mm lens usually "wide enough"? Yes it is. And the beauty about this focal length is that we can bring three single images at 24mm and make a gorgeous panoramic scene. Some lenses that are ultra wide, such as the 17mm or less, can bulge a panorama too much.

You can take a succession of pictures taken from the same perspective and using a tripod to make sure good results. Then use Panorama Maker Pro 6 photo editing software to merge or stitch the pictures together into a single frame. You will find that 24mm is ideal because it does not bulge the panorama in the heart as a 17mm series of photos would.

Once you stitch your 24mm photo sequence together then examine if the image is effective because of the extra scenery at the ouuter areas. The answer is going to be relative because it has to do more with individual fondness and the intention of the photographer.

Once you have stitched a series of 24mm photos together to craft a sole panorama, sit back, and take a good look at it. You will find that it looks like a realistic scene.




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