CS 39J > Schedule & Notes > Session 5 Detailed Notes

Question: What is the difference between wide-angle, normal, and telephoto lenses?

Shapes are different with a telephoto lens compared to a wide-angle.

PERSPECTIVE changes when you move around.

Perspective is how the 3-d world looks in our 2-d viewpoint.

We’re used to perspective in our daily lives—closer objects appear larger, but we know they’re the same size.

When do you want to use each type of lens?

Comes down to what type of look you want.

Background changes—telephoto shows less of background, wide-angle shows more.

Distortion of foreground objects—wide angle causes more distortion.

When you’re close up, parallel lines converge rapidly.

When you’re far away, parallel lines converge very slowly.

Telephoto lenses can make subjects appear flat.

A telephoto lens can show features more accurately, since they are not distorted by perspective.

Discussed student photos

Same settings, different focus distance = difference in resulting photo

Blurring the background can make the photo more interesting because the background is less distracting.

Assignment: try photographing the same scene with differing vantage points. Move closer and zoom out. Move farther away and zoom in. Try to keep the subject the same size in the image—just vary the zoom and subject to camera distance.