Photography tips

Using a wide angle creatively

View of the Chapel Bridge and Water Tower in Lucerne with Mount Pilatus in the background under a cloudy evening sky.

Key tips

  1. Select an ultra-wide angle lens with a 12 mm focal length to effectively frame the vast sky and cloud formations.
  2. Use an ultra-wide angle of 12 mm to capture a vast landscape, such as Lake Lucerne and the Pilatus massif, in its entirety.
  3. Use a wide angle lens to frame your main subject between foreground elements.

Photographs on this topic

131 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 City Architecture Mountains Landscape Lucerne Pilatus Lake Lucerne Central Switzerland
View from the Pilatus mountain massif over Lake Lucerne and surrounding mountains in sunny weather 12 mm · f/16 · 1/500 s · ISO 500 View from the rocky edge of Mount Pilatus over Lake Lucerne and surrounding mountains 12 mm · f/16 · 1/400 s · ISO 500 Steep wooden staircase on Mount Pilatus overlooking Lake Lucerne and Central Switzerland 12 mm · f/16 · 1/250 s · ISO 500 Hiking trail on Mount Pilatus with a view of Lake Lucerne and the surrounding area 12 mm · f/18 · 1/250 s · ISO 500 Group of alphorn players in traditional Swiss costume on a terrace at Mount Pilatus 16 mm · f/18 · 1/400 s · ISO 500 Mount Pilatus above Lake Lucerne at sunset 20 mm · f/4 · 1/1250 s · ISO 200 Aerial view of the Pilatus summit area overlooking Lake Lucerne 21 mm · f/9 · 1/200 s · ISO 200 View of the green mountain ridge and steep rock faces of Mount Pilatus in Central Switzerland 12 mm · f/9 · 1/500 s · ISO 500 Alpine flowers in the foreground with Hotel Pilatus-Kulm and the mountain summit under a clear sky. 12 mm · f/18 · 1/80 s · ISO 200 Mountain station and Hotel Pilatus Kulm in front of a steep cliff with meadow in the foreground 12 mm · f/18 · 1/160 s · ISO 200 View of the Pilatus Kulm mountain station with yellow flowers in the foreground 12 mm · f/18 · 1/125 s · ISO 200 View of the Pilatus mountain station under a clear blue sky 12 mm · f/18 · 1/200 s · ISO 200 The illuminated Hotel Pilatus-Kulm set against a starry night sky in Central Switzerland. 15 mm · f/4.5 · 13 s · ISO 10000 Night view of the Pilatus summit and hotel building under a starry sky. 15 mm · f/4.5 · 13 s · ISO 10000 Night view of the summit area of Mount Pilatus with illuminated buildings under a starry sky with the Milky Way 20 mm · f/5 · 13 s · ISO 6400 Night view of the Hotel Pilatus Kulm against a starry sky with the Milky Way 22 mm · f/5.6 · 15 s · ISO 6400 Starry sky with the Milky Way over the dark outline of Mount Pilatus 12 mm · f/2 · 15 s · ISO 3200 Hotel Bellevue on Mount Pilatus at night with starry sky 12 mm · f/2 · 15 s · ISO 3200 Wooden railing on Mount Pilatus in front of the evening horizon 15 mm · f/18 · 1/40 s · ISO 25600 View of the rugged Pilatus summit at sunset with colored sky 21 mm · f/22 · 1/80 s · ISO 8000 View of the Hotel Bellevue and the rock formations of Mount Pilatus at sunset 24 mm · f/22 · 1/60 s · ISO 2500 Aerial view of the hotel buildings at Pilatus Kulm during an orange sunset. 24 mm · f/10 · 1/80 s · ISO 320 Aerial view of the buildings on Pilatus Kulm at sunset 15 mm · f/10 · 1/80 s · ISO 2000 Aerial view of the summit buildings on Mount Pilatus during golden sunset 15 mm · f/10 · 1/80 s · ISO 400

Related topics

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