Lesson #12: Zoom Lenses


When using zoom lenses, especially those with a greater range, sometimes it's difficult to know just how much to zoom in on your subject. The 'right' amount is very subjective, and it depends on the artistic style of the image that you're trying to produce.

If you're goal is to show the details of a scene, then zooming in all the way and filling the frame with your subject might be a good method towards creating an image that shows a small sample of the scene. Even just showing part of a subject can have a strong effect, because it allows your viewers to use their imaginations to mentally picture the rest of the scene.

On the other hand, if your goal is to show how your subject relates to its environment, then zooming out a bit so that you include some surrounding elements might be a good way to create an image that has a sense of place.

When taking photos with zoom lenses, remember to apply the same compositional and creative methods that you would with any other type of shot.

Optical Zoom vs Digital zoom: Optical zoom refers to zooming with the actual lens that's on the camera, while digital zoom digitally crops and enlarges the image by using the camera's built in software. Images shot with digital zoom tend to have a pixelated appearance, because you're actually losing image quality. Since the camera is cropping the image, you're only using part of the sensor to capture the image.

You'll generally get sharper images from using the optical zoom (the lens itself) and if you need to enlarge the image, it's usually better to use dedicated photo software.