The Problem with Using Wide-Angle Lenses for Close-ups
You may have heard that lenses in the 70mm range are best for portraits because the longer focal lengths compress features like noses while shorter focal lengths tend to exaggerate them. With my self-portrait project, I take quite a few arm’s length portraits, and unfortunately none of my long lenses will focus within that range, so I very frequently use focal lengths like 31mm and 43mm for my self-portraits. I see this rule in effect all the time: the wrong angle with the FA 31mm will make my forehead look huge, or my cheek, or my chin (I’m not even going to consider my nose for now). You really learn how important angles are with taking portraits when you work with these lenses at such close distances.
But what I hadn’t realized explicitly was how this works with macros as well. I had taken a pretty cute picture of the dogs sleeping the other day, so for my self-portrait I wanted to do a shot of me with my finger pressed to my lips in the universal “Sssssh” sign. I pulled out my flash and the DA 35mm Macro lens, took a test shot or two, and took the shots I thought I wanted.
Except, upon viewing them later on the computer screen, I could see that they were NOT what I wanted – unless I wanted my finger to look ridiculously stumpy and fat (which it kind of is, but not THIS bad).
See for yourself:
Scary, isn’t it? I ended up going with one of my test shots instead, taken with the same lens but from a good deal further back:
January 21st, 20106:02 pm at
Every once in a while, when I get the composition just right, I really like a portrait from my DA21mm. But most of the time, it’s just big nose city. And I hate big nose city, because I live there most of the time. You commented on the 35mm; do you find that the 43 does better for arm’s-length portraits? My FA 50mm works, but at arm’s length it usually feels pretty tight to me, still.