Your method for matching lens to landscape composition

[Bill_1856]

Hmmm

Put in the first lens, see the ground glass…if it sucks, change it for another lens.

Sounds right to me.

[Drew Bedo]

The ground glass is truth.

If the view on the gg doesn't match your creative vision you must change the lens or change your position.


shooting a scene with the intention to crop to your desired compositionis also a valid technique, as is stiching multiple shots.


No system or application beats experience. Know your gear. Know what it is capable of (and what the limitations are) and visualize the images your kit can capture well.

[John Kasaian]

With a 10", 14" & 19" lens in the kit, I've got a one in three chance of nailing it first time around, but thinking to myself wide, normal or long? Increases the odds I'll pick the correct focal length for what I'm after
When I only had one lens, this was no problem!

[E. von Hoegh]

Chicken or the egg? Could someone suggest key words to put in the search engine in order to find pet methods of matching lens to the shot composed in your mind.

Does one use their legs to zoom to a point selected by ... what? ... degrees, two right angled "L" composition aids, the Force young Skywalker, a coin toss?

This is a serious question: my wife and neighbors cast unfriendly looks when I'm out in the yard practicing with these L's. But the L's permit me to frame the shot's boundaries, and a compass reading on the boundaries gives the angle, and the angle can be matched to the lens. This seems the quickest, accurate way of getting the image on the ground glass.

Another method I've been using that is fast is to hold a tape measure out in front of me (both hands extended) with my thumbs on the boundaries of my composition i.e. the L and R vertices of a triangle (the third vertice being my eyes). I've marked the lens's length of the opposite side on the tape measure.

(The tape measure doubles when measuring reciprocity correction due to bellows extension)

I look at the scene. Then I choose the lens to match what I want on the film. Sometimes I move. Sometimes I have only the one lens with me, in which case I choose the scene to match the equipment I have, moving if neccesary.

[ROL]

Method, shmethod.

IMO, composition/viewing/framing devices indicate a distinct lack of experience and/or aesthetics (i.e., "seeing") of landscape composition.

[Frank Petronio]

Agree w ROL

[Vaughn]

Method, shmethod.

IMO, composition/viewing/framing devices indicate a distinct lack of experience and/or aesthetics (i.e., "seeing") of landscape composition.

How about photographing the scene with a digital camera, then checking the composition on the screen...

[Andrew O'Neill]

Card board with a 4x5 cut out. Can't beat that.

[DrTang]

first..I find something I want to photograph... then I walk forward and back..sometimes closing one eye..until I get the perspective I want - that is where I plant my tripod

next..I put on a lens that will capture the amount of scene I want to photograph - I try to not move forward, for instance if I don't have a long enough lens...this would only mess up the perspective

I used to walk around with a cropping deal ..but I can do it just as well without

[mdm]

If you only use 1 lens then you get pretty good at just looking and knowing what works for you, and where you need to put the camera. You dont have to go out with an arsenal ready to make every possible picture.