One of the questions I get asked frequently is if I have a wide angle lens. Yes, I do. I have a lens that is as wide as one can go before it becomes a fisheye view. The better question is whether I know when to NOT use the UWA (Ultra Wide Angle) lens. When there is an upgraded secondary bath/power room that deserves to be in the gallery, the only way to make the image is with the UWA lens. Using it for every room “to make the home look huge” is problematic. Objects around the edges and close to the lens become freakishly distorted. I can recall a refrigerator that looked eight feet wide and a sofa with an arm that a St Bernard could sleep on. Buyers are not happy to find that the “massive” home they expected to see in person turns out to be “cozy”.

Selecting the best composition and the most appropriate lens are part of the skills that I bring as a professional photographer. There is no formula that I can plug numbers into and have it spell out what vantage point to choose and which lens to grab for the best results. It’s a matter of lots of experience and training. Many times it’s much better to use several tighter photos than one all encompassing image. In the age of people wishing to use ever smaller displays, the wide shot is a wasted opportunity if it’s used too much.

©2015, Kenneth Brown. All rights reserved.