How to Use Wide Angle Lenses - Beginner Explained

The BEST explanation of wide angle lenses! Well, I hope so, anyway :)

If you're new to wide angle lenses, you might not realize that they're actually somewhat difficult to use. They shrink the background and give the foreground strange proportions; they leave a lot of empty space in your photo. And, they include EVERYTHING in front of you - which is not always a good thing!

In short, it's very easy to get bad pictures with a wide angle lens.

But, at the end of the day, wide angle lenses are just another tool for your photography. Used right, you can get awesome pictures with a wide angle. Some foregrounds are meant to be exaggerated! And some scenes really don't have any distractions that harm your photo.

Hopefully this video gives you a good idea of where to start.

~Spencer

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This video is not sponsored! You can support Photography Life and Spencer Cox Photography by buying anything through my affiliate links!

#WideAngleLens #LandscapePhotography #Camera

[diomarmuhlmann]

Very happy to find your channel! Congratulations! I'm 52 years old and I have a lot of trouble using my Canon EF 16-35. Basically, natural and scenic places are a must for a non-urban photographer. Sorry for my English, I'm from Brazil.

[bradleyanderson]

Haven't watched any of your other videos but just subscribed. Really well paced and professionally presented.

[IvanKam]

My goodness I love this video!! I think I subbed right after your intro - I knew this was going to be good. Extremely informative and will be very helpful in my quest of learning as much as possible about photography/videography. Exactly what I was looking for, and I am definitely checking out your other videos. Thanks for sharing!

[FrankSchulenburg]

You're spot on: this is one of the best explanations of wide angle lenses. Well done!

[robari]

Excellent presentation, amongst the BEST in YouTube when you combine your clear easy to understand explanations of complex subjects with excellent and beautiful video production and photographic materials. You just gained another subscriber! Thank you.

[Noojtxeeg]

YouTube needs more YouTubers like you and less influencers who are essentially extended salespersons.

[cynthiaguertin]

Came for the explanation of wide angles lenses, stayed for the nostalgic walk-through of what looks to be Peek-a-boo. Thanks for the clear explanation.

[markymark]

I usually do not comment, but this is some very thought out and competent content. Kudos!

[ProfessorDeke]

Sometimes it is simply the brilliance of common sense that makes articles and/or videos from Photography Life so helpful. This is such a video, and one in which subject and guide (Spencer) engage, inform, articulate, and illuminate. This video “captures it all” in exemplary manner.

[fAcademy]

GREAT job on this video! Your tips are spot on and your video has a great flow. Perfectly delivered as well!

[greenchillify]

A great video to watch again having just purchased a wide angle lens and finding out the struggle of actually using it effectively

[Revolution-tlwo]

Really awesome video. The fact you shot it in a setting where you would use a WA lens, and did the video with a WA lens, really helps visually communicate what you're talking about. I'd love to see videos on things you can do with WA lenses besides landscapes though, esp. with crop sensor cameras.

[STF_RZ]

This video helped me to prioritise my purchase: the wide lens will wait 👍😀.

[IBGNW]

Photography life has the best learning content for photography that I have found. I learn the basic from your website and still going on. Now this video also point out my mistake with wide angle since I never found myself pleased with landscape photo that I took using my 13mm

[khanscombe]

Awesome. I'm getting to like wide angle for outside, I used to mainly use indoors tight spaces or up close personal. I lived worked and school in SLC so it never seized to amaze me of how much natural beauty we have only footsteps away in the Salt Lake Valley . Butterfield Canyon, Kennecott Mine or Donut Falls and so on.

[wissem_nasraoui]

I like the way you have explained things, very simple, and informative,

[grephusingati]

I am overwhelmed Spencer...your simple explanations and practical experiments compiled with your physics .Thanks

[richhughes]

I saw this on PetaPixel. This is well presented information. You are articulate and the video is interesting. Thank you.

[stefansmuts]

Great video Spencer! Keep them coming! Cant wait for the next one!

[seantomlinson]

Excellent job. And a fun place to go to show us how they can work. I'm enjoying these please keep it up.