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

22 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
Sun setting behind mountains over Lake Lucerne with cloudy sky 12 mm · f/22 · 1/60 s · ISO 1000 View across Lake Lucerne towards Mount Pilatus at sunset 12 mm · f/16 · 1/60 s · ISO 640 View of Lake Lucerne and Mount Pilatus with illuminated villages at night 12 mm · f/2 · 1.6 s · ISO 200 Sun flare behind a dark stone element at Lake Lucerne overlooking the Alps 25 mm · f/22 · 1/250 s · ISO 200 View across Lake Lucerne towards the snow-capped Mount Pilatus during sunset. 20 mm · f/20 · 1/100 s · ISO 500 View over Lake Lucerne towards Mount Pilatus at sunset 15 mm · f/6.3 · 1/500 s · ISO 100 Daisies in green grass overlooking Lake Lucerne and the mountains near Lucerne 17 mm · f/22 · 1/50 s · ISO 100 View from the lakeshore towards Lake Lucerne and the city of Lucerne at sunset 15 mm · f/4.5 · 1/320 s · ISO 100 View of Lake Lucerne and the city of Lucerne in the golden light of dusk 15 mm · f/4.5 · 1/400 s · ISO 100 Pink flowers in the foreground and view across Lake Lucerne to Mount Pilatus in Lucerne 24 mm · f/16 · 1/60 s · ISO 125 Silhouettes of sailboats on Lake Lucerne with Mount Pilatus at sunset 15 mm · f/22 · 1/2 s · ISO 800 View of Lake Lucerne and Mount Pilatus at dusk with a thin crescent moon in the sky. 15 mm · f/22 · 10 s · ISO 800 View across Lake Lucerne towards Mount Pilatus at sunset 15 mm · f/4.5 · 1/125 s · ISO 100 View across Lake Lucerne with Mount Pilatus in the background at sunset 15 mm · f/5.6 · 1/200 s · ISO 100 Sailboats on Lake Lucerne with Mount Pilatus in the background at sunset 15 mm · f/4.5 · 1/640 s · ISO 100 View from the Bürgenstock over Lake Lucerne and Mount Pilatus 15 mm · f/8 · 1/500 s · ISO 100 Wide angle view of Lake Lucerne from an elevated perspective at Bürgenstock 15 mm · f/4.5 · 1/800 s · ISO 100 Close-up of a duck on the shore with autumn-colored tree and lake in the background 18 mm · f/5 · 1/125 s · ISO 100 Aerial view of Lake Lucerne with Mount Pilatus in the background 22 mm · f/9 · 1/1250 s · ISO 400 Panoramic mountain view of Lake Lucerne with Mount Pilatus in the background 15 mm · f/9 · 1/1250 s · ISO 400 Reeds on the shore of Lake Lucerne looking towards the snow-capped Pilatus mountain 18 mm · f/22 · 1/250 s · ISO 400 View through a steel pier in Lake Lucerne towards Mount Pilatus at sunset 22 mm · f/22 · 1.6 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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