Almost every good quality camera on the market comes with some type of zoom function. What’s ironic about this gift of modern technology is that camera zoom is almost always used either incorrectly, or not at all. Many beginning photographers consider the zoom to be the far away things functionality and never understand what an impact using it correctly can have on their work. Keeping that in mind, here are some ways to use your zoom the next time you’re out taking pictures.

Crop, Crop, Crop
In a perfect world, software photograhy would never need to come with a “crop” feature. If you don’t know the term “cropping” it refers to removing all of the extra stuff in the image that the photographer should have avoided when shooting the picture. Instead of cropping the junk out after the fact, make liberal use of your camera zoom to frame only the important parts of an image. Think of this like what you would when selecting a picture frame for your photo – you’d simply get a smaller picture frame to remove the extra stuff. Pictures of family get togethers are infamous for this as most photographers don’t fill the frame with the subject and instead take a picture consisting mostly of the background.

Get Back
No camera lens reflects the actual subject with 100% accuracy. With every kind of lens there is a tiny bit of distortion, so this should help guide your decisions with how you use your camera zoom. For example, taking portraits with a zoom lens from a little farther away will give you much better results than putting the camera right in someone’s face. Give it a shot the next time you take portrait-style photographs. Take a few pictures up close then a few with your zoom and see which your subject likes better.

Spy On Your Loved Ones
If you happen to have a powerful camera zoom or great lens, it may be time to try your hand at being sneaky. Naturally its never a good idea to invade the privacy of your friends and family, but candid photographs are some of the best at capturing the people you love as their natural selves. When you are far away with the camera, people tend to be more comfortable and act “normal” so you’ll end up capturing some great images that you would have otherwise missed.

A zoom isn’t just a tool to use when you’re far away. Use it to improve your composition, make your subject comfortable, and steal moments that you could have never captured. A lens that is capable of zooming is a wonderful tool to help you in your quest to become a great photographer, so have fun finding new and creative ways to use it. You will love the results.