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Lens
> Telephoto
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ABOVE: This Pizza Hut is a LONG way
from Texaco (3 blocks). But with a
telephoto lens, they seem close.
BELOW: If you are doing a story about
parking congestion , you'd shoot with
a telephoto setting. As you can see,
everything looks compressed and crowded.
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Wide
angle lens settings and telephoto lens settings have
very different characteristics. These characteristics
can be used to convey meaning, mood and emotion. So
it is important that you learn the differences.
We will start with telephoto lens settings....
Telephoto:
Telephoto (also called "zoomed in"
or "long focal length") lens settings
have a couple interesting characteristics.
First, telephoto settings compress distance.
So things that are far apart in real life SEEM closer
together when viewed through a telephoto lens setting.
In the top image, notice how close together Pizza Hut
and McDonalds seem when shot with a telephoto setting.
Even the truck and van—that are 100 feet apart—seem
to be touching.
This
"trick" can be used to your advantage. If
you are doing a video about traffic congestion, shooting
cars with a telephoto lens will make a mildly congested
scene look like gridlock. Similarly, if you are doing
a piece about the big increase in college enrollment,
using a telephoto lens to shoot students walking on
campus will make the university appear very crowded.
The
lens is a powerful thing. Make sure you use your powers
for good.
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