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

20 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
A ship sailing on Lake Lucerne during an orange sunset 45 mm · f/16 · 1/100 s · ISO 250 The low sun in a reddish coloured sky over Lucerne. 400 mm · f/8 · 1/400 s · ISO 400 Night view of Lake Lucerne from above with light trails from ships and city lighting. 12 mm · f/4 · 1.6 s · ISO 1000 Side view of the paddle steamer Gallia on Lake Lucerne with a forested shoreline in the background 270 mm · f/13 · 1/160 s · ISO 200 Close-up of white cherry blossoms with a bee in Central Switzerland 150 mm · f/16 · 1/320 s · ISO 400 A passenger boat and a small motorboat on the blue shimmering Lake Lucerne. 259 mm · f/8 · 1/640 s · ISO 100 View from above between rooftops over Lake Lucerne with the Stanserhorn in the background 141 mm · f/6.3 · 1/800 s · ISO 100 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 Snow-covered wooded hilltop rising above a dense layer of fog in Central Switzerland. 400 mm · f/8 · 1/800 s · ISO 100 The sloped roof of the Water Tower in Lucerne with the snowy peak of Mount Pilatus in the background during daylight. 300 mm · f/8 · 1/125 s · ISO 400 A white swan in the water at the shore of Lake Sempach during sunset. 30 mm · f/6.3 · 1/80 s · ISO 640 Sailboats on Lake Lucerne with the city of Lucerne in the background at sunset. 200 mm · f/8 · 1/125 s · ISO 800 Sailboats on Lake Lucerne at sunset in front of the Lucerne coastline 100 mm · f/5.6 · 1/400 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 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 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 Portrait of a brown bear behind bare branches 400 mm · f/6.3 · 1/500 s · ISO 6400

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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