I love shooting on wide lenses. Due to the nature of a wide lens you have to be very close to your subject to fill the frame. This closeness, where I’m usually 1-3 feet away translates in each image that cant be reproduced by cropping-in with a telephoto lens.
It also has an effect on my subject. At this close range I’m very much in their space. It forces them to have more of an intimate interaction and become comfortable with me rather than the stand-offish nature of standing back shooting with a longer lens.
Another characteristic of wide lenses is that they extenuate and warp the features of what ever is closest to the lens. I like having my sitters reach out, have there feet closer or have me shoot up at them and let these features become almost cartoonish.
Here are some of my favorite images from recent shoots that demonstrate this connection.
