THE WORLD SEEN FROM A “FISH EYE”

There are so many ways to portray the world as photographers who inhabit it, but when choosing a goal to do so, the options are not so varied. From telephoto lenses to capture what is remote, to angular to portray large portions of reality, there are not so many options available when immortalizing the reality around you. But, not all objectives capture reality as time, there is a type of objective that distorts it: fisheye. Fisheye lenses break the norm and the photographs taken with them surprise and captivate the viewer, moving him to a world where nothing is as it seems. In today's article you will learn everything you need to know about this peculiar type of objectives so that you can go out and portray reality as you never did.

FISHEYE TARGET: WHAT IS THAT?

A fisheye lens is an extremely angular lens, so much so that it will allow you to cover a viewing angle of 180 degrees. This means that if you use one of these lenses, almost nothing will be left out of the frame in your photographs. This is possible thanks to its minimum focal length: between 8 and 16 mm and the shape of its front lens. But is it many 180 degrees of vision? If you take into account that the human eye has a field of vision of approximately 180 degrees, the answer is yes. In fact, it will be impossible for you to achieve a lens for your camera that exceeds such viewing angles. That is why photographs taken at a wide angle are so unique and striking. This type of objective has as main characteristic the distortion that they produce throughout the entire scene: straight lines will become curves and such distortion will increase as they move away from the center of the image. This distortion is what differentiates them from a super wide angle, since, since they are not “fisheye” they do not distort the lines so exaggeratedly.

Reality through a fisheye

Focal length, viewing angle, depth of field are some of the concepts you will need to know in order to fully understand the entire article, which is why, if you have no idea what they mean, I recommend you read the following articles: “ Everything What you need to know about the Focal Distance of Your Objective ”and“ How to Capture Splendid Compositions Thanks to the Focal Distance of your Objective ”. If you know them or have already read them, get ready to enter the world of fisheye goals. Advantage

Allows you to take unusual pictures.
If it is well managed, its effect can be really amazing.
Great depth of field
Extreme viewing angle (180 degrees) thanks to its extremely short focal length (8 to 15 mm)
They allow an extreme sense of place, that is, being in the picture.

Disadvantages

These types of objectives do not usually come stabilized.
Nor do they usually have a focus engine, at least the cheapest ones.
Its effect is so particular that its use is too specific or limited.
While its distortion may be the advantage for which you are inclined to buy it, it can also be the reason why you end up using it.
Composing with this type of objectives is much more complicated due to the large number of elements that fit within its frame.

Curved lens

OPTIMAL APPLICATIONS

This type of objectives, although it can be used in almost any situation, not in all of them will be optimal use. That is why I could tell you that its use is rather of the "creative" type, that is, it will depend on your creative ability. So when is its use convenient? Like what happens with wide-angle lenses, "fisheye" maximizes their potential in two types of photographs: interiors and landscapes, after all, a fisheye lens is nothing but a wide angle end that has no internal element (crystal) that compensates for distortions. 1- Architecture, Interior and exterior: the angle of vision of these objectives will allow you to capture almost all of, for example, a room in a single shot. Have you tried photographing an environment? If you have done it without a wide-angle lens or fisheye, surely a large part of it has not "entered" into your picture. It is in this type of situations, in which it is required that, in a single photograph, an entire interior be captured, where the fisheye objectives gain prominence over the rest.

The fisheye inside a cathedral

2 - Landscapes: in this type of photographs in particular, the use of a fisheye can also give you many satisfactions, as long as you manage to control the distortions that will be generated. Keep in mind that every line, including the horizon, will distort as it approaches the edges of the frame. Take advantage of all the elements present in the scene such as trees, rivers, the horizon, geometric patterns, etc. so as to get the attention of the viewer. In landscape photography, the fisheye effect will not be noticed as much as if you use it in situations where the elements are closer to the foreground.

Distorted landscape

Although these situations that I have just mentioned are the best for the use of a fisheye lens, this does not mean that it will be enough to place it on your camera and shoot to achieve amazing photographs. Given the great distortion they generate, you must choose the right position so that you get the best results. Nor does it mean that you cannot use it in other situations, remember that the limit of an objective is given by your ability to take it to the limit of your creativity. The fate of your photos is always in your hands.

BRANDS AND PRICES

These types of lenses, despite not being an essential in every photographer's backpack, are an excellent option for you to achieve stunning photographs. The question is, are they available for all cameras? They are very expensive? I have prepared a list of 10 “Fisheye” Objectives for you to consider:

The list that I just showed you is only for the purpose that you can get an idea of ??the price range and variety of objectives that are available for the main brands. Anyway, there are many objectives that I have not listed and that are surely worth taking into account. In addition, there are converters that, although they will not allow you to achieve the sharpness that you can obtain with an autonomous lens, they will allow you to take pictures with the fisheye effect. Do you want to know which of the fisheye lenses you just saw I recommend? Check out the following article and you'll know: “ Second marks? No ... 13 First Objectives! "

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF IT?

Keep in mind that, when the motive of your photographs is closer to the center, the less distortion it will suffer. Keep this in mind when composing your photographs and when deciding how to give prominence to your motives . Work your close-ups well and take advantage that the background will be very distorted.
If you want to minimize the distortion of any line present in your frame, such as the horizon in a landscape, try to place it in the middle of the frame. The only lines that appear “straight” using a fisheye lens, is if you place them in the center, the rest of these will be distorted and even more, as you move away from the center.
The further you move away from your motives, the greater the distortion of these. If you want to enhance this effect, try moving away a few steps to increase the circular distortion around the center of the lens. Why do I say circular? Because the fisheye lens creates images around the center giving a sense of circularity.
On the contrary, if what you want is to reduce the effect, what you should do is approach your subjects, in this way, the fisheye will work more like a wide angle lens. If you want to photograph a subject and that it comes out as distorted as possible, approach it and place it in the center of the scene.

Get distorted

Below you will find many examples of the tricks that I just told you so that you can get the most out of your fisheye lens.

8 TIPS AND TRICKS TO PORTRAY THE WORLD FROM A FISHEYE

Fisheye lenses are really difficult to handle, or rather, they are easy to use but it is not easy to get the best results. Thanks to its exaggerated angle of vision, its infinite depth of field and the distortions they generate, managing to compose a photograph will be a challenge. Anyway, do not worry, with a little care and reading the following tips and tricks, you will not have problems to do so. 1. Work your funds: remember that the depth of field of this type of objectives is very large, that is, that almost all the elements present in the scene, either in the foregrounds or in the most distant ones will be focused. This is why you can not stop working the funds in each of your photographs and even less if you take them with a wide angle.

Extreme depth of field

2. Review all the elements of the frame : by having such a large viewing angle, it is possible that if you do not take your time to review all before the shot, you may include elements that you would not have wanted beforehand or that one that if you wanted it to come out, end up being cut or too distorted (very close to the edges). It's easy, for example, to jump your feet or part of the tripod if you don't.

Verify all the elements present in the scene

3. The center minimizes distortion: as I mentioned earlier, if you want to minimize the fisheye effect on a certain subject, the best way to do this is by approaching it and taking the picture from a slightly high angle. In this way, the subject will be located as close to the center of the frame as possible, minimizing the distortion of the foreground.

The subject, to the center.

4. Play with the lines: encourage yourself to work the lines present in the scene so as to enhance the distortion while guiding the viewer's gaze across your photographs. The farther they are from the center, the lines tend to bend more, and the closer to the center, the less.

Make up the lines

5. Use it in portraits: although I do not recommend that you take very formal portraits with this type of lens, feel completely free to do so in any other situation where you want to portray one of your models. The results you will get will be surprising and very strange.

Use it in your portraits

6. Change the perspective: Shooting looking up with another type of lens can be a bit boring, but if you put a fisheye lens in front of your camera, the results will surprise you. The buildings will close in front of the viewer, as will the trees and everything you put ahead or rather, above.

Look up

7. Take care of the horizon: unless you want to get a completely distorted landscape, I recommend that, if you include the horizon (or horizontal midline) in your photos, place it in the midline of the frame. In this way, the horizon will go straight as long as everything that is above or below it is not.

Work your horizons

8. Indoors, do not hesitate: the results you can get if you use a fisheye lens to take pictures indoors will be spectacular. Given the proximity of all the elements to the camera, the effect that gives name to this lens will be enhanced, so it will only subtract that you choose a good location and that you can thus achieve stunning photographs.

Exploit the interiors and symmetries

AND WHAT EFFECT IS OBTAINED WHEN RECORDING VIDEOS?

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video can save me thousands. That is why I leave you a video below so you can see, with your own eyes, how is the video recording when using a fisheye lens (in this case, a Nikkor lens of 15 mm focal length): The range of possibilities you can achieve thanks to a fisheye lens is very varied, you just have to know how to work with it. What are you waiting to amaze everyone with your fisheye?

Get ready to leave everyone speechless