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TELEPHOTO LENS DEFINITION
What is a Telephoto Lens Shot?
A telephoto lens shot has a specific lens with a focal length that keeps set at about 70mm or higher. The telephoto lens shot is well known for having an exceptionally narrower field of view, often implemented for shots that are set up to capture far-away from the action, resulting in the distant subjects appearing closer than they actually are when observed in frame. The telephoto lens is also well-known for compressing space, squeezing it in tightly until it significantly narrows the distance that can be perceived between the background and foreground of an image.
To further explore what this technique has to offer, check out our entire guide on the telephoto lens shot, full of examples and breakdowns.
TELEPHOTO EXAMPLE
Telephoto Lens Shot Examples
Telephoto camera lenses define the telephoto lens shot. Similar to a telescope, the lens magnifies distant images too far for the human eye to make out, all without having to physically move the camera closer. But before we get more specific, let’s first check out a selection of recognizable telephoto lens shots for a better sense of their uses across films.
Sharply focuses on subject
Creates depth
Flattens space
Camera acts as distant observer
Uses
What does a telephoto lens shot do?
The telephoto lens shot can be a helpful assistant in capturing a variety of differing tones in film. It can observe a character experiencing intoxicating highs or profound lows, the central quality simply being that it imparts a feeling of observance from a meaningful distance. Yet, this doesn’t necessarily mean the audience feels distanced from the emotions a character in the shot is experiencing. Let’s jump into some specific examples.
Isolation
A telephoto lens shot can spotlight a character in contrast to their busy surroundings, thus signaling to us where they should focus their attention.
Surveillance
If the theme of a film is voyeurism, the telephoto lens can have the result of making us feel like we're watching a top-secret moment from a distance.
Action
The telephoto lens shot is commonly used for capturing high-octane sports or action moments, tracking fast paced motion from a distance.
Mystery
A telephoto lens might be used at such a distance that we can make out a character's movements, but not their face, shrouding them in mystery.
Qualities
Wide Lens vs Telephoto Lens
Let’s compare the telephoto lens with another often-used lens that has a distinctly separate purpose, the wide angle lens. Unlike the telephoto lens, the wide angle lens yields a focal length just around 24mm to 35mm, which makes the shot’s field of view expand significantly.
This means that while the telephoto lens shot compresses space from a distance to draw it into the frame closer, the wide angle lens shot makes a large background landscape feel even further away by widening its scope of view. However, these lenses do have a bit of a crossover in that they can both be used to make a subject in the foreground appear larger and more central to a shot.
Case Study
Shot listing a telephoto lens shot
Next, we’ll take some advice from a professional Hollywood filmmaker by investigating how they use a telephoto lens shot in a scene. In The Killer, after minutes and minutes of screen time waiting, the target finally arrives and our hero assassin takes aim.
Click the shot list below to absorb the full effect of the scene, and ask yourself how the constant cutting between The Killer and his target increases the tension and inevitability of the moment.
As you can see by now, the telephoto lens shot can be used to hit all the right feels, no matter the distance.
But what more can it do?
Let’s now examine what happens when we take this highly useful shot and pair it together with other filmmaking techniques.
Unexpected combos
How can you combine a telephoto lens shot with other camera techniques?
How to pair a telephoto lens shot
The telephoto lens shot is a unique cinematic tool in its own right, but as we all know, great filmmaking is a collaboration with a near-endless array of techniques. With this in mind, let’s see what kind of artistic pathways open up when the telephoto lens is applied in conjunction with just a handful of these alternative film techniques:
- Rack Focus: With a rack focus, switching focus between different subjects can result in making the audience hyper-aware of who they should place their attention on moment to moment.
- Handheld: Camera shakiness has the potential to become extremely exaggerated during a handheld and telephoto lens shot combo, striking a sense of manic and chaotic realism that is unparalleled with any other cinematic tool.
- Whip Pan: To emulate the feeling of switching between distant subjects with binoculars or a telescope, the whip pan will create the blur, while the telephoto lens magnifies the distance.
- Crane: If the telephoto lens is capturing distant characters on particularly high grounding, a crane can ascend the camera to match their level.
- Tilt: A tilt down on extremely distant characters with a telephoto lens can make them appear small, emphasizing their vulnerability.
- Trucking: The left or right movement of a trucking shot with a telephoto lens can make distant subjects appear fleeting and insignificant.
Frequently asked questions about the telephoto lens shot
The telephoto lens essentially magnifies subjects that are being shot for a scene from a meaningfully far distance. This results in compressing the shot, not unlike a telescope, so that it feels like the audience is getting a highly detailed look at a faraway occurrence.
The most essential telephoto lens uses are:
- Making far-away subjects appear much closer than they are.
- Creating a surveillance-like observation from a distance.
- Shrouding or highlighting a character’s emotions.
A telephoto lens shot has two distinct qualities. First, the camera must be set at a far enough distance from the shot subject or subjects so that they’re practically, or completely, unseeable to the naked eye. Second, the camera lens being used must have a focal length of around 70mm or higher.
