In the continuing evolution of Inline Design Photo there is a new toy in the toy box.
I have added an ultra-wide angle lens specifically for pet photography. The ultra-wide lens is not a flattering choice for portraits of people. Yielding an overly large nose, smallish eyes and tiny ears. Not a good look for any man, woman or child. However the result is completely different when the subject is a dog. The same distortion that looks garish on a person looks cute on a puppy.
What really sells this lens is when you get a curious pet leaning in to check out that weird clicking box. The shape of the lens makes the pet, the subject, appear larger and conversely it makes the background images (trees, rocks, bushes) appear smaller.
What I am really looking forward too is combining this lens with artificial light. Some of my clients prefer naturally lit pet portraits while others embrace dramatic artificial lighting. I really think those clients are really going to beam with the addition of the ultra-wide angle lens. Beam. See what I did there?
The first 3 images shown below are examples of ultra-wide angles and the last image uses artificial light. I think I will go into more detail about the differences between natural and artificial light in a future post.
Remember with good pet photography, your pet is the hero. Now there are many ways to achieve that end. And by no means is that achieved with a single lens, a single light setup or a single location. The ultra-wide lens is a tool and as much as any good tradesperson can tell you, there’s a tool for every task. There will be times when I will not be able to use that lens. A particularly nervous rescue is not going to like me getting up close with an ultra-wide lens. For him or her I might have to slap on a telephoto lens and back up.
The look as much as I enjoy it is not for everyone and there will be some parents who will prefer to go another way. 2020 is all about options, exploration and continued growth.