28.08.2015

Taking a Closer Look at the Telephoto Lenses

28.08.2015

Taking a Closer Look at the Telephoto Lenses

This is the fourth installment of the eight-part series of posts on Manfrotto’s KLYP System.  Here are links to previous posts:

Part 1: Overview of Attachment Lenses

Part 2: Taking a closer look at the Fisheye Lens

Part 3: Taking a closer look at the Wide Angle Lens

This post will be taking a closer look at both of Manfrotto’s Telephoto lenses that come bundled with the Manfrotto KLYP System – 1.5X and 3X.

Most Tele Lenses Suck.  Not This One.

I have used almost every attachment lens on the market today, and I’ve only found a couple of them that I like.  This is one of them.  Both the 1.5X and the 3X are surprisingly sharp and deliver flattering results and both of them are worth getting and regularly using.  Don’t waste your money on the other (generally cheaper) options.  They suck!

Perfect for Portraits

Both of these KLYP telephotos are just perfect for portraiture.  Remember this, the iPhone comes packaged with the 35mm equivalent of a 30mm lens.  That’s a wide-angle lens and a wide-angle lens is the last sort of lens you would use for portraiture.  Why?  Because by its very nature, it accentuates the distance from the foreground to the background making objects look smaller or further away.  Remember, a wide-angle lens exaggerates elements closest to the front of the lens (i.e. the face).  So, to get a normal, flattering looking facial portrait, you need to shoot from about an arms-length away, and then crop the shot in a photo app.

With both the KLYP telephotos, you’re able to get ‘close’ to the subjects you’re shooting because longer lenses (telephoto lenses) compress the distance from the foreground to the background, making objects look closer or larger.

Family Gallery

These are three of my favorite photo subjects: my wife (Shannon), and my two daughters (Emma and Audrey).  They are and will always be my luminaries.  It’s important for me, even when I’m playing around and shooting happy snaps of special memories and moments, that I make all three look as good as I possibly can.  There is no better way to make a portrait look natural, genuine, and relaxed than to shoot that portrait with a telephoto lens.  Check out these family photos and you can see exactly what I mean:

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Telephotos Reduce Light Reaching the Sensor

Another key thing to keep in mind is that telephoto lenses reduce the amount of light reaching the sensor.  To properly use a mobile tele attachment lens, you need to be shooting either in bright light WITHOUT a tripod, or shooting in lowlight WITH a tripod.  Steady as she goes.

My Favorite Pieces of Glass in the KLYP System

Because of my natural propensity to shoot mobile portraits, the tele lenses are my two favorites in the KLYP system.  I love them.  I could (and often do 🙂 shoot mobile portraits all day long with these two lenses.  They allow me to keep a healthy distance from the subject I’m shooting (strangers and/or acquaintances might get perturbed when you’re in their personal space).  These two products get a big ‘thumbs up’ from me.  Go Manfrotto!

Well, now it’s your turn.  Get out there and shoot. Tag your photos with the hashtag #frottoshoot and let me see what you get.

Jack Hollingsworth

Jack Hollingsworth is a world-renowned travel, portrait, stock and iPhone photographer.  His love for mobile photography is infectious.  Since his conversion to mobile at the Crane Hotel on the island of Barbados in 2011, he has traveled to over 20 countries and shot over 400,000 images with his iPhone.  He’s a regular contributor to the Camera+ blog (SnapSnapSnap.photos) and he is currently authoring a book on iPhone Photography (eBook and print).  Jack is a popular keynote speaker at mobile photography conferences and events and his approach to mobile is principally photographic in nature.  He lives in Austin, Texas with his soul mate and two beautiful teenage daughters.

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