Stop making these four mistakes with your wide-angle lenses

Wide-angle lenses are a must if you’re into landscape photography. But while they can help you create stunning photos, they also come with a set of challenges. In his recent video, Alister Benn shares four most common mistakes photographers make when using wide-angle lenses. He offers valuable advice on these common pitfalls and how to overcome them.

1. Beware of vignetting

Wide-angle lenses and filters can be a match made in heaven for capturing expansive landscapes. However, Alister warns of vignetting, a darkening effect in the corners of your image. This often occurs when using certain filters with wide-angle lenses because the wide field of view of the lens struggles to accommodate the entire filter.

The good news is that newer filter designs minimize this issue by allowing the filter to sit closer to the front element of the lens. Additionally, probably every editing software offers tools to remove vignetting in post-processing.

2. Don’t get too high on your tripod

While tripods are essential for sharp wide-angle shots, Alister advises against using them at their maximum height. This can lead to a detached and small-looking foreground while the background appears distant and compressed.

Alister suggests lowering your tripod to incorporate interesting foreground elements and create a more intimate connection with the scene. This will help draw the viewer into the image and create a more balanced composition.

3. Master weird scale relationships

Wide-angle lenses have a way of bending the rules of perspective. Alister explains that getting too close to your subject with a wide-angle lens can distort the scale of objects in your frame (here’s an example with faces). The foreground becomes exaggerated while the background shrinks, creating a weird and unnatural look.

To avoid this, Alister recommends maintaining a good distance from your subject and using compositional techniques to guide the viewer’s eye. Leading lines, negative space, and framing elements can all help create a sense of depth and a more natural-looking scale relationship within your image.

4. Uneven polarization can ruin your shot

Polarizing filters are fantastic for reducing glare and enhancing colors in landscapes. However, Alister cautions against using polarizers with wide-angle lenses, especially when the sun is positioned off-center in the frame. This can cause uneven polarization, resulting in blotchy skies with a dark patch around the sun’s location.

Alister suggests using a polarizer sparingly with wide-angle lenses and only when the sun is directly behind you. If uneven polarization does occur, some editing software can help minimize the effect. Still, it’s often preferable to avoid it altogether by skipping the polarizer or using a different lens.

Remember that mistakes are a part of the learning process, and you’ve probably made all of these (I know I have). But Alister’s valuable insights will help you understand your gear better and unlock the full potential of your wide-angle lens.

[STOP making these 4 WIDE ANGLE photography MISTAKES – they drive me crazy! | Alister Benn]