A Beginner's Guide to Using Telephoto Lenses

One of the most exciting things about moving into dedicated photo equipment is the ability to use more specialized focal lengths, with telephoto lenses being one of the best way to expand your creative options. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to use a telephoto lens and give you a variety of helpful tips for getting the best possible photos. 

Coming to you from Photo Genius, this awesome video tutorial will show you how to better use telephoto lenses. A telephoto lens' utility goes far beyond simply being able to photograph more distant objects. Using things like compression, you gain tremendous creative capabilities that simply are not possible with something like a phone camera. But with those extra capabilities come some new requirements for things like technique. For example, any camera movements are more exaggerated when using a longer focal length, and as such, you want to give more careful consideration to your camera-holding technique, and you want to stick with faster shutter speeds. A good general rule is the reciprocal shutter speed rule, which states that to prevent camera movement blur (not necessarily subject motion blur), your shutter speed should be no slower than the reciprocal of your focal length. For example, if you are shooting at 200mm, your shutter speed should be no slower than 1/200 s. If you are using a high-resolution sensor, it helps to make it the reciprocal of twice the focal length. Check out the video above for a lot of helpful advice! 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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