Wide angle lenses - tips for good Photography

Currently my widest angle lens is 18mm and I use it mostly for landscape shots and when I am forced to stand too close to the subject and want to get more of them, or the background, into the frame. I don't tend to use it for deliberate distortion effects but may do if the right subject comes along.

The first picture is of Buckstone Edge. With the wide angle I was able to include the grass in the foreground which I also lightened by 'dodging' in photoshop to add depth to the image. Depth is a perspective advantage of wide angled lenses. It also fitted with the sunshine and shadow weather. The second is of Talacre Lighthouse. The wide angle makes the lighthouse appear to lean backwards but I chose not to correct it as the effect added to the height of this sad derelict building. The last shot is of Eliseg's Pillar and although I have partly corrected it, there is still a slipping away on the right due to the distortion of a wide angled lens. In all three images getting a lower perspective added to the wide angled effect. If you photograph people with a wide angled lens up close from a  low or high point of view then either their feet or their heads look disproportionally big! Try it and see.

Distortion increases towards the edges which can be a problem when photographing buildings and people at the edge of the frame. Convergence of lines is also a greater issue with wide angle lenses, bit all can be either corrected or reduced afterwards with the right software and willingness to learn how to use it. An extremely wide angled lens is also called a 'fish-eye' because the distortion is so great but sometimes this effect can work to the advantage of the photographer with the right subject and situation.