Two Approaches to Shooting a Scene With Long Lenses

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One of my favorite parts about using DLSR and mirrorless cameras is the ability to use long lenses. There's just an awesome feeling that goes with looking at something far away through a 300mm lens. The long lenses serve more than one purpose, however. Most photographers buy telephoto lenses because they want to be able to photograph subjects that are at a great distance. That's the most common reason for using long lenses. While these lenses will help you "get close" to those faraway subjects, using them has its challenges. Long lenses aren't very forgiving when it comes to camera shake and even the slightest movement will cause motion blur in the photo, so low light situations can cause problems. A tripod is therefore necessary every time you take a long lens outdoors for shooting subjects at a distance. It might not be the most comfortable piece of equipment to carry, but you'll appreciate the results.

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The second approach to using a telephoto lens, one that many beginners don't really think about, is using it for close-ups. Most telephoto lenses will let you get close enough to shoot details. However, just as low light may cause probelms with distant subjects, shooting closeups with a long lens in low light can be challenging, particularly if you're not shooting with a fast lens. Again, that annoying tripod you hate to carry will save the day if you remember to pack it.

Here's photography master Joe McNally explaining how he shoots with long lenses.

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