{"id":57,"date":"2012-04-19T00:11:38","date_gmt":"2012-04-19T00:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.oscarc.net\/?p=57"},"modified":"2018-01-28T08:02:37","modified_gmt":"2018-01-28T08:02:37","slug":"better-cosplay-photos-field-of-view","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.oscarc.net\/index.php\/2012\/04\/19\/better-cosplay-photos-field-of-view\/","title":{"rendered":"Better Cosplay Photos: Field-of-View"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most basic decisions when taking a shot is how close to stand to the model.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
200mm narrow shot of L as Hermione. Photo by OscarC Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you’re using a prime (fixed-length) lens, the decision is straightforward — stand at the distance required to get the framing you want. If you want to zoom in, walk closer; if you want to zoom out, walk away.<\/p>\n

If you’re using a zoom lens, the decision is more complicated. If you want to zoom in, you can either zoom in with the lens, or you can keep the lens as-is and walk closer. Likewise, if you want to zoom out, you can either walk further away, or zoom out with the lens.<\/p>\n

You may be asking, “Does it really matter how I zoom in and out?”. The answer is yes, it matters a lot, and that is the subject of this post.<\/p>\n

To illustrate why it matters, I took the two photos below. In both,\u00a0the model was standing in the same spot, and both were shot with the same camera, lens, and settings. Neither photo has been retouched. The only difference in how these two were taken is that the one on\u00a0top was shot on the wide-angle end of\u00a0a zoom lens (24mm), and the one on the bottom was shot on the zoomed-in (telephoto) end of the same lens (105mm).<\/p>\n

In both photos, I wanted Caroline, the model, to\u00a0fill the shot. To accomplish this, when I was shooting on the wide-angle end, I was standing very close to the model, and when I was shooting on the telephoto end, I was standing far away. In other words, in the top one, I zoomed in closer with my feet, while in the bottom one, I zoomed in closer with the lens.<\/p>\n

\"Wide-angle<\/p>\n

\"Telephoto<\/p>\n

As these photos show, it matters very much whether you zoom in with your lens or your feet. There are quite a few differences between the two photos. Among them are:<\/p>\n