Car Photography: Choosing the right lens

Last time I talked about the differences between small-format and medium-format cameras. Today I will talk about choosing lenses for your DSLR.
This is a tutorial that I wanted to write a year ago, however circumstances led me to putting it off until now.

Above we have two of my 3-piece essential kit: my “pancake” lenses. They are compact, lightweight, prime lenses. The lens on the left is a 20mm ultrawide, the one on the right is a 50mm, and the other part of the trio was used to take this photo and is a comparatively large 100mm macro.

Prime vs Zoom:
The camera above was my old D600 that I sold to my mom. As you can see it looks massive and weighs a tonne. It won’t sit on a gorilla-pod (small table-top tripod) because it is too heavy and can’t sit without drooping.
Enough about the camera, let’s look at the lens. It is a 28-85mm zoom lens. Zoom - my lenses are Prime.
A Prime lens is one with only one focal length, for example 50mm. A Zoom lens covers many focal lengths, therefore it zooms.
Because Prime lenses are only one focal length, they are smaller, sharper and they help compose a photo better.
If you look at the zoom lens you will see a series of numbers - these aren’t how much you’re zooming, they are common focal lengths; the idea of a zoom lens is to replace many prime lenses. This is good for cutting costs, but because of the moving parts and the curvature of the optics inside, the focal lengths at either end (28 and 85) often suffer and photos can end up looking weak/blurry.
-Instead of standing in one position and using the zoom lens to zoom in and out, zoom to a number on the lens (e.g 35 or 50) and compose the photo at that length.

Prime lenses can get annoying because you will often be switching lenses depending on the situation, however knowing your subject makes the decision that much easier. As I stated in my last post, choose a wide lens for round cars, and standard lenses for square cars. There are a few exceptions to this rule, such as taking a photo in an open area.
Prime lenses will often get you amazing results since they are made to a specific focal length, therefore you understand the lens and get a feel for how to compose photos. Get used to a 50mm lens, for example, and you can tell a good photo when you can see one and know how to exclude/include elements for that perfect shot.

Next I will compare an ultra-wide angle lens to a standard lens.

Wide and Ultra-wide Lenses:
These are best used when you get really close to your subject, as they will stretch and warp the subject and make it appear more curved.
They are also good when shooting the interior of a car since they can fit everything in, and give the illusion of space.
They can be used like normal lenses (standing at normal height, a few metres away), however they get everything in the photo and are therefore best used in open areas for this reason - see the third photo above, it looks like my car is parked in the middle of a field. Not being level with the ground/horizon often leads to a fish-eye effect which isn’t always wanted.
They are very good at low angle shots, but once again they often warp the horizon if pointed upward.
Very good for night photos where you want to see the car and the stars above.

Standard Lenses:
These are good for cars that are either square, or just not round. I used a 50mm lens here, however I personally think a 35mm does a better job since you don’t have to stand as far back when taking photos - imagine being at a car show or car meet with many people walking around and many obstacles.
They are good for doing small aspect of the interior - think of Speedhunters showing the gear knob or the speedometer - since they can’t fit everything in.
They are good for showing natural curves, shapes and objects.
They have a shorter depth-of-field (how much is in focus) so are better suited to taking photos of badges or small parts (notice how the brake calipers are sharp while the background is blurry in the last photo).

The photo above exaggerates the proportions of the car using an ultra-wide, while the photo below shows the car more naturally with a standard lens. Notice the size of the front wheel, and how much is in focus. Also note how stretched the rear wheel arch is, and the angle of the doors.

Look how cute the Starlet looks, and how round the Cobra is.

To conclude:
-Prime lenses take better photos (get a 35mm).
-Don’t stick to one lens.
-Take the ultra-wide to the classic car show.
-Take the standard lens to the Volvo 240 meet.
-If you have a zoom lens, stop at the numbers marked on top - don’t zoom in/out with it.

This content was originally posted by a Car Throttle user on our Community platform and was not commissioned or created by the CT editorial team.