Best Lens Focal Lengths for Landscape Photography
Wide angles for great vistas. Wide-angle landscape lenses offer the widest possible view of a scene, allowing you to take in a larger amount of detail, especially in landscape photography. Wide-angle lenses are typically available in focal lengths from 16-35mm, although there are a variety of other lenses available with slightly different ranges. These lenses are especially useful for capturing vast expanses of scenery as they can fit a lot of into one photo.
Normal lenses for expansive scenes. Normal lenses are those in the range of 35-70mm and they provide an ideal and natural perspective for most scenarios. This is because they are similar to how the human eye naturally perceives a scene. They are also suitable for showing the details of a scenery, but from a slightly further distance compared to the wide-angle lenses.
Telephoto lenses for compositions. Telephoto lenses are those in the 70-200mm range and they are useful for creating large distance between the foreground and background in a photo. This allows you to really emphasize and highlight the elements you want to focus on. In landscape photography, telephoto lenses are also useful for compressing different elements within a frame, allowing you to create a sense of depth and composition.
Zoom lenses for versatility. Zoom lenses are those with a variable focal length range, which means you can adjust the focal length to suit the composition of each specific shot. If you’re into landscape photography, having a zoom lens can be particularly useful as it provides a lot of versatility. A great example is an 18-200mm lens, which would suit a variety of shooting scenarios.
Ultimately, the best focal length for your landscape photography depends on what kind of scene you’re trying to capture and the composition you’re looking to create. Different lenses have their own benefits and drawbacks, so it’s important to experiment with various lenses and focal lengths to find the one that works best for you.
