The photography workbench · 11
A different lens.
A different point of view.
Compare focal lengths from 16 to 200 mm with photographic scenes. Keep the camera fixed to explore framing, or move it to keep the subject the same size.
Explore all 15 tools ↗Zoom, or take a few steps.
Framing · distance · perspectiveLoading the photographic scene…
- Your camera distance
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- Horizontal angle of view
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- Frame width at subject
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- Background / subject scale
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AI-generated portrait and garden, projected as flat layers. A common 3:2 crop is used for every sensor. Depth of field and lens distortion are held out of this comparison.
The camera’s position sets the perspective.
At a fixed position, changing focal length changes the framing and magnification. The proportions between the subject and background stay the same. Move farther away while using a longer lens to keep the subject’s size, and the background appears larger relative to the subject.
This pinhole model assigns the portrait a height of about 1.7 m and places the garden on a separate plane. It illustrates relative scale, not three-dimensional facial distortion or the behavior of a specific lens. Explore focus separately in the bokeh simulator.
Further reading: Nikon’s focal-length explanation.