Zoom Photography Tips: Let’s Master It

A Monitor and Camera Lens For Zoom Photography

In photography, there are many techniques you can learn to produce a wide variety of interesting photos and images. One of them is zoom photography, also known as zoom blur or zoom burst. To be able to produce photos with this technique, there are a few tips that you can follow below. 

What is Zoom in Photography?

The term zoom has often been heard by many people. In the world of photography, ‘zoom in’ means to make the subject of a photo appear larger without having to zoom out of the lens. While the term ‘zoom out’ has the opposite meaning; which makes the subject of the photo appear smaller.

Zoom lenses can help a photographer to do just that. This type of lens can help photographers to adjust the lens’s focal length easily without having to change the prime lenses.

A lens with large focal lengths will provide a narrow angle of view so that an object at a distance will appear larger in the photo. On the other hand, a lens with small focal lengths provides a wider angle of view and causes the object to be captured in a smaller portion in the photo.

On some types of cameras such as mirrorless or DSLR cameras, photographers can zoom by rotating the lens ring.

Along with the development of technology, cameras have various zoom capabilities and not all types of zoom have the same properties

Let’s Get To Know What is Zoom Photography

Zooming is a photo technique that is useful for giving the impression of motion by changing the focal length of the lens at the time of exposure (shooting). Of course, changing the focal length can only be done with a zoom lens for example our lens 18-55.

Photo effects that use zooming techniques will get photos that seem to move towards a point. The results of zooming photos are a little bit different from photos using techniques to make bokeh photos. Although both of these techniques focus on objects and the background that looks blurry.

To get the impression of motion/zooming, we must pay attention to the speed of hand movement when changing the focal length at the time of exposure (when the camera takes a photo).

When shooting using this one technique, at the same time as the exposure process, the focus point of the lens is changed by pulling the zoom lens in or out (for the type of zoom that is pulled) or by shifting the focal point of the lens to the left or right.

Place the main subject in the center of the photo. In this section, the sharpness of the image is relatively better than other parts to be used as a Point of Interest. Zoom photography technique can still be done in low light areas because one way of shooting zooming shutter speed is not recommended for more than 1/30s.

Read also: Flat Lay Photography Technique for Minimalist Photo

Types of Zoom in Photography

There are two types of zoom in photography; optical and digital zoom. A camera can have both types of zoom. The way these two types of zoom work are very different. Here is an explanation of both.

1. Digital Zoom

As the name implies, digital zoom is a zoom that uses digital manipulation. This process is similar to when you want to enlarge an image on a computer using image editing software; You will drag the edges of the image to make it bigger.

The results of the two processes will be relatively the same; the image will be cracked and the image quality will be very poor depending on how much you zoom with the digital method.

Of course, in most cases this is something you don’t want. You will get better results if you use image editing software in the post-production process.

2. Optical Zoom

This is the type of zoom you want to get from your camera. By using a zoom or telephoto lens, you will easily change the focal length of your camera to get a zoom effect.

You may ask, ‘how much zoom effect do I need?’. Generally, the power of 10x zoom is very sufficient for daily photography use. However, for those of you who need more, especially to do challenging types of photography, you may need the power of the 20x zoom.

What are the Types of Zoom Lenses?

You can find many different types of lenses that you can use to get the zoom effect.

1. Parfocal Lenses

A parfocal lens, also known as a true zoom lens, is a type of zoom lens that maintains its focus at any available focal length.

2. Varifocal Lenses

Unlike a parfocal lens, a varifocal lens is a type of zoom lens that loses focus when you change the focal length. This type of lens requires the help of a cameraman to adjust the focus again. This varifocal lens is what you often find as a consumer.

3. Telescopic Lenses

This type of zoom lens offers a larger focal length range than parfocal and varifocal lenses.

4. Wide-Angle Lenses

This type of zoom lens has the power of a telescopic lens and can produce a wider image than traditional lenses.

Tips For Zoom Photography

There are several tips that you can follow to produce quality zoom photography photos, such as:

1. Handle Your Shutter with Care

One thing that a beginner photographer often ignores is the use of the shutter button. Not infrequently someone who uses the camera will press the shutter button very strongly.

In fact, when you press the button, the camera will get a little shake which will then affect the image. This will be very pronounced when you use the long exposure setting; longer exposure requires higher camera stability as well.

Therefore, start learning to press the shutter button more gently. Alternatively, you can also use a tool that can help you take a picture without having to press the button.

2. Pay Attention to Your Camera Zoom Limits

Each zoom lens has its own focal length limit. For example, you will find focal length limits at 75 – 200mm or 75 – 300mm.

In that case, make sure you use the highest focus distance limit. If your zoom lens limit is 200mm, then as much as possible use a maximum of 180. If your zoom lens has a limit of 300mm, then use a maximum of 280mm.

Of course this is not always absolute. It’s a good idea to experiment with your lenses yourself and discover the limits of your own lenses.

3. Minimize Your Camera ISO

Using ISO can help you to get clear images in low-light places. However, using ISO can make your images appear grainy. This is of course not ideal with the use of a zoom lens because overuse of a zoom lens can sometimes create the same effect.

Also Read: How to Take Sharp Photos in Low Light

As a solution, you can use the flash feature on your camera. Or, you can move to a place where you can get a sufficient light source to capture your subject.

4. Focus On One Aspect

One of the advantages of using a zoom lens is that you can focus on the details of your subject. For example, when taking a portrait photo, you can focus on one aspect of your subject such as the eyes, nose, lips, and so on.

Emphasizing this one aspect can also show how delicate your subject is because people can see things that the normal human eye cannot.

5. Learn Zoom Effect

The zoom effect is an effect on an image that makes it appear as if the subject in the photo is moving.

How can you do that? You simply mount your camera on a tripod, use a slow shutter speed, and start taking pictures. During this shooting process, zoom in and zoom out occasionally.

Since in the process you will come into contact with the camera several times, make sure you do not shake or touch the camera which can cause the camera to shake which can then result in a blurry image.

That’s the guide on zoom photography that you can follow. Zoom photography is a field of photography that can help you see things in new ways. By making use of a zoom or telephoto lens, you can capture details of the subject of your image that you might never have imagined before.

To be able to do it well, make sure you know in advance the difference between optical and digital zoom. The type of zoom you want is optical. With optical zoom, you can still maintain the maximum resolution of your lens while zooming in on the subject of your photo.

So, will you try this zoom photography technique by following these tips? If you need any post-production job, you can try professional photo retouching services from Dropicts. We are ready to help you to fix and improve your photos. Just go to our website for more information.

If you have any questions about this, don’t be shy to leave a comment! Also, share this information with all of your friends. So more people will know this useful information.

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