Project Focal lengths

The angle of view:

Focal lengths and different viewpoints I photographed this statue using a telephoto lens at its longest zoom, then changed focal length to the wide angle setting and walked in a straight line up to the subject and framed it the same way as before.

Focal length: 200mm

Focal length: 18mm

There is clearly a difference between the 2 images. In the first the statue takes a more dominant position in the frame and is the focal point of the image. In the second wide angle shot the statue is less dominant with a wider perspective of the whole view being seen.

Focal lengths with a zoom lens:

This exercise helps to appreciate the simplest effect of changing from one length to another, which is the amount of view you can take in.

Focal length: 34mm 

Focal length: 65mm 

Focal length: 135mm 

Focal length: 200mm

As expected, shooting at a smaller focal length shows a much wider scene and objects appear smaller. Perspective is also affected, with objects further away seeming smaller in relation to objects in the foreground. Conversely, shooting at longer focal lengths shows a narrower field of view with objects appearing much larger. The perspective is also affected with distant objects appearing closer to those in the foreground than is the case.