
Macro photography is often characterised by a very narrow depth of field, creating a lot of background defocus (blurred background). Just to give you an idea, this level of magnification should allow you to get close enough to a 50 cent coin so it fills the frame, and still focus on it correctly.Īs with all lenses, the closer you focus, the narrower the depth of field becomes in real terms. A lens with a 1:1 magnification ratio or greater is clearly a macro lens. How close? (Magification ratios explained)Ī 1:1 magnification means that a lens can focus on something so close, its image on the film/sensor is the same size as the subject itself, so you can imagine that's probably about as close to the lens as the lens is long (depending on the lens design). (Although, as Roddy points out, this can sometimes get you close to actual macro range: Panasonic TZ5 can capture a 63×47mm area, which gives results similar to lens with 1:3 magnification on APS-C DSLR - image quality aside)Ī macro lens is capable of focusing on things that are really close. On compact cameras, macro means "setting where you can focus a bit closer". ( Tamron AF28-200mm F/3.8-5.6 XR Di Aspherical (IF) Macro has 1:4, which means on APS-C body the smallest area you'll focus on is 88×60 mm.) Mostly due to marketing reasons, term macro is now used for lenses with 1:2 or even lower magnification. Also, macro lenses tend to have non-rotating and non-moving front elements which is useful since you put them very close to the thing you're shooting. Other properties of macro lenses include that they have fixed focal lengths, usually very low distortion (see distortion figures of Canon EF 100mm macro at for example).

With 1:1 magnification on APS-C sensor (22×15 mm), you can fill whole picture with area of this size. A telephoto lens, however, simplifies the background by condensing elements in the frame.True macro lens gives you a 1:1 magnification - that is a ratio of size of the subject and its image on the sensor.

Not only is it more in focus, which provides more competition for the center of attention, but it also shows more real estate. But in true portrait situations, all of that background is usually a distraction. This is sometimes preferable, particularly in journalistic settings where providing some context to the subject may be necessary. With a wide-angle lens, much more of the background becomes visible in the composition. But the big difference between the two-aside from the proportions of the facial features outlined above-is how much background is evident in the frame.
Camera lens distortion big nose free#
With a telephoto lens, the photographer is free to stand much farther back and still fill the frame the same way. With a wide-angle lens, a photographer has to stand very close to the subject in order to fill the frame with the face. Space limitations-and needing to stand within speaking distance of the subject-generally limit that range to a maximum of about 200mm on a full-frame 35mm format camera. So, a good rule of thumb is to use the longest lens possible in order to minimize the distortion of facial features. A distorted exaggeration is unnatural in a way features viewed normally simply aren’t. It’s also generally more in line with the way we see and remember faces. Great portrait photographers know that minimizing features in relation to the size of the head is a great way to make people appear more attractive in pictures. Very few people look good like this I’ve never met one.

It will exaggerate the nose in particular, as well as the eyes and mouth, and make them disproportionally large compared to the rest of the head and, if it’s visible in the frame, their body as well. Assuming the photographer is positioned at a distance that renders the face a consistent same size in the viewfinder, a wide-angle lens is going to create a distorted appearance. That’s quite a statement, but what exactly constitutes “better” in terms of a person’s face in a portrait? For one thing, it’s about the proportions of the features-such as nose, eyes, ears and mouth-in relation to the overall size and shape of the face and head. But do we know exactly why these lenses are considered ideal for portraits? Here’s a look at the primary reasons why it’s usually best to choose medium telephoto lenses for portrait photography. We’ve all heard of portrait lenses, right? And we maybe even know that lenses with a minimum focal length of approximately 70mm constitute these portrait lenses with popular portrait-specific focal lengths including 85mm, 105mm, 135mm and longer.
