7 Telephoto Lens Mistakes to Avoid for Better Landscape Photography

Using a telephoto lens is one of the most powerful tools for capturing landscape photography. It enables you to explore perspectives far beyond what classic wide-angle shots can achieve, allowing for creative and compelling compositions. However, using a telephoto lens can be tricky, especially if you’re just getting started. In this article, I share my top seven mistakes to avoid when using a telephoto lens, along with some technical advice and creative tips to enhance your photography.

1. Not Paying Attention to Shutter Speed

Selecting the correct shutter speed is crucial when using a telephoto lens for landscape photography. Telephoto lenses magnify distant objects, making even minor camera shakes more noticeable compared to wide-angle lenses. My general rule of thumb (which is a bit overkill) is to use a shutter speed that is twice the focal length of your lens. For instance, if you’re shooting at 400mm, a shutter speed of 1/800 of a second is recommended when hand-holding the camera. This ensures sharp images, but depending on your steadiness and the environmental conditions, you might be able to go as low as 1/400 of a second. Don’t forget to activate your camera’s in-body image stabilization (IBIS) and lens stabilization, which may allow for even slower shutter speeds.

If you're using a tripod, longer exposures are possible. Just remember to turn off stabilization and use a timer release or self-timer to avoid any blur from pressing the shutter. Even the smallest movement can impact the sharpness of a 400mm shot with a slow shutter speed.

2. Struggling to Find Your Subject

One common challenge with telephoto lenses is finding your subject, especially when transitioning from a wide-angle perspective. It’s often less obvious where to focus your attention when zoomed in. To tackle this, start by taking in the landscape without your camera. Let your eyes wander and identify elements that catch your interest. Once you’re ready, use the widest focal length on your zoom lens, like 70mm on a 70-200mm lens or 100mm on a 100-400mm lens. It’s easier to scan the landscape at the wider end before gradually zooming in to refine your composition.

When you’ve identified your subject, slowly zoom in and see how the composition evolves. Look around the edges to see what kind of distractions you are adding or excluding in the scene. If you need to fine-tune your framing, consider using a tripod, which allows for a more deliberate approach.

3. Not Stabilizing for Long Exposures

When shooting long exposures with a telephoto lens, proper stabilization is essential. A sturdy tripod is a must, and if you’re using a large lens, a lens collar will help maintain the center of gravity. Mounting a heavy lens on the camera without a collar can lead to instability, especially during windy conditions. In such cases, find natural cover like rocks or trees to shield your setup, or lower the tripod closer to the ground. If all else fails, you can use your jacket to block the wind.

4. Misjudging Focus

Focusing with a telephoto lens can range from simple to complex, depending on the scene. If you're photographing a distant subject, everything in the frame will generally be on the same plane of focus at infinity, making it easy to achieve sharpness across the image. Aperture settings are less critical in these situations.

However, if you’re capturing a scene with multiple elements at different distances—like waves crashing at various points—you’ll need to consider using a higher aperture to increase the depth of field. An aperture of f/11 or higher might be necessary, but be cautious not to exceed f/16, as lens diffraction can soften the image. It’s wise to test your specific lens to find the optimal aperture.

As for where to focus, prioritize the subject that’s most important to the viewer. For moving subjects like waves, I use autofocus with a spot meter to track the focal point, typically somewhere toward the center of the frame. If the scene requires sharpness across the entire frame, consider focus stacking—taking multiple shots at different focus points and blending them in post-processing. This technique is best used with static objects rather than anything in motion.

Creatively, you can use out-of-focus areas to enhance your composition. Try using some bushes or foreground elements to help frame your subject. Alternatively, sometimes having an out-of-focus background can help to isolate the subject. It really depends on the look you want to go for.

5. Sticking to the Obvious Instead of Getting Creative

It’s easy to focus on the most obvious subjects, but don’t be afraid to explore the scene and step out of your comfort zone. While capturing clear subjects by zooming in is perfectly fine, some of the most compelling images come from experimenting with textures, lines, shapes, and unconventional angles. For instance, while photographing in New York City, I initially aimed to capture classic night cityscapes. But by looking for interesting patterns or using odd angles, you could transform familiar scenes into something entirely different. Don’t hesitate to explore your creativity with telephoto lenses and see what kind of interesting stories you can tell with it.

6. Zooming in Without Considering Composition

A common mistake that I was very guilty of when first picking up my 70-200mm lens was zooming straight to the maximum focal length without considering how it impacted the composition. While you may have the ability to zoom in to 200mm or 400mm, sometimes this can be too close for the scene. Many of my best telephoto images are captured at the lower end of the zoom range, around 100mm or 150mm. Pay attention to the edges of your photo and the breathing room around your subject. Creating minimalism in your composition might require more space than you initially thought.

One technique is to set up your desired composition and then slightly zoom out to give yourself cropping room. This allows you to adjust the aspect ratio or experiment with different crops during post-processing.

7. Staying Stationary and Not Changing Your Perspective

Finally, don’t make the mistake of staying in one spot with your telephoto lens. While it’s tempting to stay put and rely on the lens’s zoom capabilities, moving around can significantly change your perspective and improve your composition. Just as you would with a wide-angle lens, explore the scene, change your position, and see how it affects the overall shot. If part of your scene is obstructed or could be improved from a different angle, don’t hesitate to move. Whether it’s walking further down a trail or driving to a different viewpoint, changing your location can lead to more dynamic and compelling images.

I really hope these tips were helpful for you. If you enjoyed them, you can check out my website for more tutorials and workshops!