There are as many ways to portray the world as there are photographers who inhabit it, but when it comes to choosing a lens to do so, the options are not so varied. From telephoto lenses to capture what is far away, to wide angles to portray large portions of reality, there are not so many options available when it comes to immortalizing the reality that surrounds you.
But, not all lenses capture reality like the time, there is a type of lens that distorts it: the fisheye.
Fisheye lenses break the norm and the photographs taken with them surprise and captivate the viewer, transporting them to a world where nothing is what it seems.
In today’s article you will learn everything you need to know about this peculiar type of lens so that you can go out and portray reality like you have never done before.
Fisheye Lens: What is that?
A fisheye lens is an extremely wide lens, so wide that it will allow you to cover an angle of view of 180 degrees. This means that if you use one of these lenses, almost nothing will be out of the frame in your photos. This is possible thanks to its minimum focal length: between 8 and 16 mm and the shape of its front lens.
But is it a lot of 180 degrees of vision? If you take into account that the human eye has a field of vision of approximately 180 degrees, the answer is yes. In fact, it will be impossible for you to get a lens for your camera that exceeds such viewing angles. That is why the photographs taken with a wide angle are so particular and striking.
The main characteristic of this type of lens is the distortion they produce throughout the entire scene: straight lines will become curved and such distortion will increase as they move away from the center of the image. This distortion is what differentiates them from a super wide angle, since, not being “fisheye” they do not distort the lines so exaggeratedly.
Focal length, viewing angle, depth of field are some of the concepts that you will need to know in order to fully understand the entire article, which is why, if you have no idea what they mean, I recommend that you read the following articles: “Everything What You Need to Know About the Focal Length of Your Lens” and “How to Capture Splendid Compositions Thanks to the Focal Length of your Lens”.
If you know them or have already read them, get ready to enter the world of fisheye lenses.
Advantage
- Allows you to take pictures out of the ordinary.
- If handled well, its effect can be truly amazing.
- Great depth of field.
- Extreme angle of view (180 degrees) thanks to its extremely short focal length (8 to 15 mm)
- They allow an extreme sense of place, that is, being inside the photograph.
Disadvantages
- These types of lenses do not usually come stabilized.
- Nor do they usually have a focus motor, at least the cheapest ones.
- Its effect is so particular that its use is too specific or limited.
- Although its distortion may be the advantage for which you are inclined to buy it, it can also be the reason why you end up stopping using it.
- Composing with this type of lens is much more complicated due to the large number of elements that fit within its frame.
Optimal Applications
Although this type of objective can be used in almost any situation, its use will not be optimal in all of them. That is why I could tell you that its use is rather of the “creative” type, that is, it will depend on your creative capacity.
So when is its use appropriate?
Like what happens with wide angle lenses, “fisheye” maximize their potential in two types of photographs: interiors and landscapes, after all, a fisheye lens is nothing more than a wide angle end that does not have any internal element (glass) that compensates for distortions.
1- Architecture, interiors and exteriors: the angle of view of these lenses will allow you to capture almost the entirety of, say, a room in a single shot. Have you tried to photograph an environment? If you have done it without a wide angle or fisheye lens, surely much of it has not “entered” your photograph. It is in this type of situation, in which it is required that, in a single photograph, an entire interior be captured, where the fisheye lenses gain prominence over the rest.
2 – Landscapes: In this type of photography in particular, the use of a fisheye can also give you a lot of satisfaction, as long as you manage to control the distortions that are generated. Keep in mind that any line, even the horizon line, will be distorted as it gets closer to the edges of the frame. Take advantage of all the elements present in the scene such as trees, rivers, the horizon, geometric patterns, etc. so as to draw the viewer’s attention. In landscape photography, the fisheye effect will not be as noticeable as if you use it in situations where the elements are closer to the foreground.
Although these situations that I have just mentioned are optimal for the use of a fisheye lens, this does not mean that it will be enough for you to place it on your camera and shoot to achieve amazing photographs. Given the great distortion they generate, you must choose the appropriate position in order to obtain the best results.
It also doesn’t mean that you can’t use it in other situations, remember that the limit of an objective is given by your ability to take it to the limit thanks to your creativity. The fate of your photos is always in your hands.
brands and prices
These types of lenses, despite not being essential in every photographer’s backpack, are an excellent option for you to achieve impressive photographs. The question is, are they available for all cameras? They are very expensive?
I have prepared a list of 10 “fisheye” objectives for you to take into account:
The list that I have just shown you is only for the purpose of giving you an idea of the range of prices and variety of lenses that are available for the main brands. However, there are many objectives that I have not listed and that are surely worth considering. In addition, there are converters that, although they will not allow you to achieve the sharpness that you will be able to obtain with a stand-alone lens, they will allow you to take photos with the fisheye effect.
Do you want to know which of the fisheye lenses you just saw I recommend? Take a look at the following article and you will know: “Second Brands? No… 13 Prime Goals!”
How to get the most out of it?
- Keep in mind that the closer to the center the subject of your photographs is, the less distortion it will suffer. Keep this in mind when composing your photos and when deciding how to give your subjects prominence. Work your close-ups well and take advantage of the fact that the background will be very distorted.
- If you want to minimize the distortion of some line present in your frame, such as the horizon in a landscape, try to place it in the middle of the frame. The only lines that appear “straight” using a fisheye lens, is if you place them in the center, the rest of them will be distorted and more so, as you move away from the center.
- The further away you are from your motifs, the greater the distortion of your motifs. If you want to enhance this effect, try moving a few steps away so as to increase the circular distortion around the center of the lens. Why do I say circular? Because the fisheye lens creates images around the center giving a sensation of circularity.
- On the contrary, if you want to reduce the effect, what you should do is get closer to your subjects, in this way, the fisheye will work more like a wide angle lens. If you want to photograph a subject and make it appear as undistorted as possible, get close to it and place it in the center of the scene.
Below you will find many examples of the tricks that I just told you about in order to get the most out of your fisheye lens.
8 tricks and tips to portray the world from a fisheye
Fisheye lenses are really difficult to handle, or better said, they are easy to use but it is not easy to get the best results. Thanks to their exaggerated angle of view, their infinite depth of field and the distortions they generate, composing a photograph will be a challenge.
Anyway, don’t worry, with a little care and reading the following tips and tricks, you won’t have any problems doing it.
1. Work your funds: Remember that the depth of field of this type of lens is very large, that is, almost all the elements present in the scene, whether in the foreground or in the farthest, will be in focus. This is why you cannot stop working on the backgrounds in each of your photographs, and even less so if you take them with a wide angle.
2. Check all the elements of the frame: By having such a wide angle of vision, it is possible that if you do not take your time to review everything before the shot, you may include elements that you would not have wanted beforehand or that one that, if you wanted it to come out, ends up being cut off. or too distorted (too close to the edges). It’s easy to, for example, jump your feet or part of the tripod if you don’t.
3. The center minimizes distortion: As I told you before, if you want to minimize the fisheye effect on a certain subject, the best way to do it is by approaching it and taking the picture from a slightly elevated angle. This will position the subject as close to the center of the frame as possible, minimizing foreground distortion.
4. Play with the lines: dare to work the lines present in the scene in order to enhance the distortion while guiding the viewer’s gaze throughout your photographs. The further from the center, the lines tend to curve more, and the closer to the center, the less.
5. Use it in portraits: While I don’t recommend taking very formal portraits with these types of lenses, feel free to do so in any other situation where you want to shoot one of your subjects. The results you will get will be surprising and very strange.
6. Change perspective: Shooting looking straight up with another type of lens can be a bit boring, but if you put a fisheye lens in front of your camera, the results will amaze you. The buildings will close in front of the viewer, as well as the trees and everything that you put in front of it or rather, above it.
7. Take care of the horizon: Unless you want a completely distorted landscape, I recommend that if you include the horizon (or horizontal midline) in your photos, place it in the midline of the frame. In this way, the horizon will go straight while everything above or below it does not.
8. Indoors, don’t hesitate: the…