How to choose the right lens for pet photos?

Pet photography is an interesting photography field worth shooting. However, a big challenge for photographers is what lens to use. For dogs, cats, feathered animals and other animals, the choice of lens may be different.

First, basic knowledge: focal length, depth of field, aperture

All lenses have different focal lengths and F values.

The focal length is the distance between the lens and its focal point, which will affect the viewing angle. For example, the focal length of a 16mm lens will display a wider picture than that of a 200mm lens.

F value, also called aperture, tells you how wide the aperture can be opened. A larger aperture (a smaller number) allows more light to enter and produces a shallower depth of field.

Depth of field is a combination of several important aspects. The focal length and aperture are related to the distance between the camera and the subject, including the distance between the subject and the background. Simply put, the depth of field defines the focus range of an image.

The depth of the scene means that the background is blurred, which helps to separate the subject from the background. In most cases, this is the appearance required for pet portraits.

Focal length and aperture will help you build your style and also help you adapt to shooting conditions. So the lens you choose will help you develop and shape your photography style.

When deciding your pet photography style, please consider the following questions:

Are you a photographer who likes shallow depth of field?

Do you like macro pet portraits?

Do you prefer the cat in the photo with wide depth of field?

Second, focus on pet photography: manual or automatic?

Pet photography, it is recommended to use autofocus lens. Animals move quickly, and sometimes they have spontaneous and unstable behaviors. Capturing actions manually can be difficult. Therefore, if you want to film the pet's movements, it is very important to focus quickly.

It can also be in AF/MF.

Switch between modes. The faster the lens switching speed, the greater the flexibility in the shooting process. Some lenses don't have on-off buttons. On the contrary, when you start to adjust the manual focus, they will automatically switch to manual focus.

image stabilization

Some lenses also provide image stabilization, which is a system inside the lens, and can shoot in a dark environment without motion blur.

Thirdly, choose the appropriate focal length for pet photography.

Standard lens: 35-70mm

A standard lens, also known as an ordinary lens, can produce an image that is closest to what the human eye sees. The image looks natural to the viewer, and the diagonal viewing angle of the standard lens is about 50 to 55 degrees.

These lenses are the easiest to use because you don't consider distortion. Many pet photographers choose the standard lens because it is easy to use.

Standard lenses also tend to have large apertures, which makes them very suitable for low light and shallow depth of field.

Wide angle lens: 16-35mm

Wide-angle lens, as its name implies, has a wider field of vision than ordinary lens. You can gain super creativity and try to change the angle and perspective.

The wide-angle lens distorts the viewing angle and produces a cool effect. You can see the wide-angle lens commonly used by large dogs, which can focus on larger photos.

However, wide-angle lenses may be more difficult to use due to the amount of distortion. Curved surfaces or round glass can capture such a wide field of vision. This will produce an unusual appearance when the main body is not at the right angle.

This appearance is not suitable for all types of photos. You can correct this distortion a little during post-processing.

The focal length of a wide-angle lens is very short. Therefore, they will not produce background blur like standard lenses and telephoto lenses. Therefore, they are not the best choice for smooth and dreamy pet photos.

Telephoto lens: 70-300mm

The telephoto lens has a long focal length, which makes it easier to shoot distant objects and becomes the absolute first choice for pet photographers!

Photographers can sit far away when taking pictures without disturbing pets. The telephoto lens can also be used for pet action photography, which can better fill the picture with distant themes during the activity.

Telephoto lenses range from fixed focal length to zoom focal length, and fixed focal length is usually sharper than zoom.

4. Fixed focus lens and zoom lens are used for pet photography.

Pet photographers should look for versatility when choosing lenses. There is not much time to switch shots during shooting, especially when taking candid photos and capturing important moments.

If you only want to buy one lens, please choose a telephoto lens with a wider focal length range. A good example of a budget telephoto lens is 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3.

Fixed focus lens has many advantages over zoom lens. They have better optical quality, larger aperture and faster autofocus, and are not as expensive as large aperture telephoto lenses. However, the fixed-focus lens cannot cover all situations, and a series of different focal lengths will be needed to replace the telephoto lens.

Five, special lens for pet photography

In addition to your daily shots, there are special shots that can produce remarkable results.

For example, Lensbaby burnside has a rotating background, and the fisheye lens has a super curved glass plate that can distort everything.

Another kind of special lens is the shift lens. The optical element of the lens can be tilted or moved relative to the image sensor. You can tilt up and down, or you can move left and right independently.

You can also try to use a macro lens to enhance creativity. Macro lens is very suitable for shooting small objects at close range. As a pet photographer, you can capture many details with ultra-clear focal length.

A great advantage of macro lens is that its focusing limit is very close to the glass, and it can capture interesting shots of dogs or cats close to the lens glass!

For the retro look, please try the classic analog lens, which will add a unique personality to your image, which can help you create a personal style. You can get an adapter to connect the analog lens with the digital camera.

6. What is the best beginner's lens for pet photography?

For a beginner in pet photography, the following lens is recommended.

35mm wide-angle substitute: Nikon Canon Sony

50 mm 1.8 fixed-focus lens: Nikon | Canon | Sony

Universal 18- 135mm travel zoom: Nikon | Canon | Sony

70-300mm zoom telephoto lens: Nikon | Canon | Sony

These lenses can handle animals more easily and capture interesting perspectives.