Comparing a Telephoto vs. Macro Lens

You'll find in photography there's a lot of overlap in how we approach our subject matter, using a telephoto lens versus a macro lens, for example. If I'm shooting with a 200mm telephoto lens and shooting with a 200mm macro lens, there are points, like you can see in these photos, where they actually look the same. They're kind of the same subject matter, same focal length, I'm getting the same compression, but we reach a point to where those two lenses start to show their specialties in how they create visually our subject matter. For example, in using a telephoto lens, I can be taking a close-up shot of this particular subject, and then I can get as close as I can to it, within not three or four feet, and that's it, that's as far as that lens will get to me. So, I can only shoot that subject to a point to where I'm only seeing a certain area. If I want to get closer, then I got to enter into the macro world, and when I go into the macro world, now I can get within inches of my subject matter, and I can really start to feel the textures and the details of that subject matter in ways that a telephoto lens won't allow us. We can get close with a subject, with a telephone lens, bringing something further away in close, but we only get to that point, and then it's the macro world. And we get to the macro world, look what we can see in the macro world, and how it just changes going from one lens to another, and everything in the world starts to change visually for us. Right, so we've come across this wonderful, large hibiscus plant, and, in looking at it, this is as close as I can get with an 80 to 200mm lens. This is as close as I can get, and so when I take a shot, and I come in, I'm getting kind of a full framed shot, but the problem is, is that what I'm really attracted to is that center of this plant, that's going to be bathed in this gorgeous purple-red color. The only way to do that is to go macro. I've got to get a little bit closer to the shot. I'm going to move in closer now with the macro, and you're really going to see an incredible difference in how I photograph this hibiscus plant. All right, so I've moved in very closely to this hibiscus plant. You can see the difference now that I'm getting between the telephoto 200mm lens and this macro shot, and it's considerably different, but, boy, has the intensity and the drama in this shot changed to a point to where now it's kind of becoming an abstract, and I'm not seeing the whole flower, which is as close as I could get with the telephoto. Now I'm inside the flower, and I'm seeing things that you really didn't notice particularly instantly when you were looking through the telephoto. Now I'm seeing it right here as a close-up, and it's making a really cool, cool shot. So, the lights changed, you know, just in the last couple of minutes, the sun's come up and the plants that were bathed in shadow, which we like to be here for, because early morning there's less wind, and so it's a good time to come if you're going to shoot things, close-ups and macro. But the problem was, a little bit of a breeze did kick up, and when that breeze kicked up, my plant was moving just enough, and it doesn't have to be much, the slightest bit, and I can't get a sharp photo. So, things have changed, and the sun now has come up. It's bathing this particular plant in good sunlight. Now, I can raise my shutter speed to stop the action, still have a moderate amount of depth of field, and I can get a sharp shot. And again, it's critical if I were with a longer lens, and I was moving back, I could get the whole flower in shot, and use a higher shutter speed, because there's more surface area, there's more light, but now that I'm in close, and I've got this telephoto, almost like a close-up on a long gun, I don't have much room for error. So, in order to get a sharp picture, I've moved to the sun. I'm able to get this shot now with a faster shutter speed, even staying at a lower ISO, see she's still blowing, but even now I'm shooting at 1/250 of a second, on a tripod, wait for it to settle, and I can get a sharp shot, makes all the difference in the world.