Practical Photography

Focal point

When taking a photograph a lot can be determined by the use of lens and composition of the image.
Depending on the amount of space and the size of the lens the image can become distorted,if you don’t have a lot of space you may need to use a 25mm lens but this can make a subject look top heavy and ‘bulgy’, this is obviously very unflattering to the subject. If you do have to use a smaller lens try to focus on the mid rif of the subject this helps to balance things out.
It is estimated that the human eye has roughly the equvalent range as a 50mm lens and for this reason it is often used as a portrait lens using a 50mm lens can dramaticaly reduce distortion although stepping back and giving yourself more space can produce a much more flattering image especially in portrait photography. When you put a 50mm lens on a digital camera the effect is equivelant to a 75mm lens, this effect is much more flatering and when the subject is reletavily straight on to the camera gives a nice natural focal effect, without distortion.
Personally I prefer to use alonger lens, this gives the subject room to move around and the field of view narrows down eliminating any distortion, althought you do need more room.
I prefer to go for lenses around 150mm to 200mm as it gives a better depth of field, there is room for movement and less distortion in the subject although you do have to allow a lot of space to achieve the best results.
When going for a close up (head and shoulders portrait) I would usually switch to a 300mm lens the added length gives a lot more detail into the subject although be aware that the background will blur even if it is only a metre behind.
By understanding the basics of focal points, what a wide angled lens can do and whata short focal lense is capable of you can start getting Creative! You might want to distort some images and play around with your own positioning.