It’s Time to Move Mountains… With Your Camera Zoom

When you zoom in with your camera, the stuff in your frame gets bigger. And when you zoom out, the stuff in your frame gets smaller.
Now you’re thinking, “Yes. Thank you, Einstein.”
But you may not always be aware of how far you’re zooming when you take a photo… and what it does to your background.
Take a look at these photos of my friend at Oregon’s Cannon Beach. She didn’t move from her spot while I took these — but keep your eye on that big rock in the background…




That’s the famous “Haystack Rock” blurred out behind her, and with each shot, it appears to get bigger and bigger.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the power to move boulders with my mind. But I CAN make the background appear larger or smaller, depending on where I stand and how far I zoom.
If you want to include more of the background, get closer to your subject and “zoom out,” or use a wider angle.

And if you want something in your background to appear really big, move farther from your subject and zoom in.

This trick applies to portraits, flowers, still lifes, landscapes… you name it.
By paying attention to how far you’re zooming and how far you’re standing from your subject, you can virtually “move mountains” and ultimately have more control over the look and feel of your shot.
We’ll practice this together next month in Miami. In the meantime, give it a try and see what you come up with!
[Editor’s Note: Learn more about how you can turn your pictures into cash in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel. Sign up here today and we’ll send you a new report, Selling Photos for Cash: A Quick-Start Guide, completely FREE.]