Photography tips

Focal length

Mount Pilatus massif in Central Switzerland surrounded by fog in the evening light

Key tips

  1. Use a fast shutter speed or a stable base when shooting at a long focal length of 400 mm to prevent motion blur.
  2. Select a medium aperture at high focal lengths to capture the subject clearly.
  3. Use a fast shutter speed with long focal lengths to prevent motion blur caused by the magnification.

Photographs on this topic

23 photographs with tips

The exact camera settings for each shot are shown below it - a starting point for recreating the look yourself. Click through to a photograph for detailed photography tips on that specific shot, under "Photography tips for this image".

All subjects Mountains Architecture City Landscape Pilatus Lucerne Lake Lucerne Central Switzerland
Bürgenstock Hotels on the cliff above Lake Lucerne in a winter landscape 400 mm · f/25 · 1/125 s · ISO 800 Close-up of wooden stairs in a dark interior 100 mm · f/6.3 · 1/100 s · ISO 800 A wooden jetty leads into the foggy Lake Sempach with reeds on the right side. 26 mm · f/5.6 · 1/80 s · ISO 250 The snow-covered summit of Mount Rigi with a transmission tower rising above a dense layer of fog. 270 mm · f/18 · 1/320 s · ISO 320 View of the snow-covered Rigi summit with transmitter tower above a layer of fog 400 mm · f/8 · 1/400 s · ISO 100 Snow-covered hills in Central Switzerland above a sea of fog 400 mm · f/8 · 1/800 s · ISO 100 Snow-covered wooded hilltop rising above a dense layer of fog in Central Switzerland. 400 mm · f/8 · 1/800 s · ISO 100 Side view of a raven's head with a small piece of food in its beak against a blurred water background. 400 mm · f/8 · 1/500 s · ISO 1600 Detailed view of the stone main portal featuring the Last Judgment at Bern Minster by night 22 mm · f/18 · 5 s · ISO 400 Portrait of a brown bear in front of a concrete wall in the Bern Bear Park. 400 mm · f/6.3 · 1/640 s · ISO 6400 Side view of a brown bear at the Bear Park in Bern 400 mm · f/6.3 · 1/500 s · ISO 6400 Portrait of a brown bear at the Bern Bear Park 400 mm · f/6.3 · 1/500 s · ISO 6400 Brown bear in front of a wall at the Bern Bear Park 400 mm · f/6.3 · 1/500 s · ISO 6400 A resting brown bear in the Bear Pit in Bern 400 mm · f/6.3 · 1/400 s · ISO 6400 Portrait of a brown bear at the Bern Bear Park 400 mm · f/6.3 · 1/400 s · ISO 6400 A brown bear resting in the Bern Bear Pit behind branches 400 mm · f/6.3 · 1/500 s · ISO 6400 A resting brown bear behind branches in the Bern Bear Pit 246 mm · f/6.3 · 1/640 s · ISO 6400 The tower of the Bern Minster behind bare branches 128 mm · f/16 · 1/40 s · ISO 400 View of the Bern Minster over the roofs of the old town of Bern 110 mm · f/5.6 · 1/500 s · ISO 250 View of the Bern Minster tower above the old town of Bern 163 mm · f/5.6 · 1/500 s · ISO 400 View over the rooftops of Bern towards the dome of the Federal Palace 100 mm · f/10 · 1/1600 s · ISO 400 Aerial view of the Zytglogge clock tower and the rooftops of Bern's old town 110 mm · f/10 · 1/1000 s · ISO 400 View of the Bern Minster tower from a narrow street in the old town of Bern 70 mm · f/6.3 · 1/400 s · ISO 100

Related topics

  • Mountains
  • Architecture
  • City
  • Landscape
  • Light
  • Camera settings
  • Perspective
  • Composition
  • Pilatus
  • Lucerne
  • Lake Lucerne
  • Central Switzerland
  • Evening light
  • Fog
  • Sunset
  • Night
  • Snow
  • Blue hour
  • Rain
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