How to Use a Fisheye Lens
Have you ever seen one of those photos where everything appears bent or distorted in a circular motion and wondered, "How did they do that?" Well, that's the effect of a fisheye lens. The lens is rather easy to use; find a fisheye that fits your SLR camera and you'll be producing images like these in no time.
Instructions
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Attach the lens to the camera, holding the lens in one hand and the camera body in the other. Most cameras and lenses will have a red dot or some other type of marking. Line these indicators up and twist the lens clockwise until it locks.
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2
Change the camera setting on the dial to aperture priority and set the aperture to f5.6. Aperture priority might appear as the "Av" symbol, which stands for aperture value. Aperture priority forces the camera to measure the amount of available light based on the aperture and locks the camera in to a shutter speed that will produce a balanced image (one that isn't too dark or too light).
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Use the camera's viewfinder. This will provide a good preview of what the final image will look like.
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4
Use distortion to your advantage. If you need to get closer to a subject, do so. It will distort the frame you are about to shoot even more and produce the fisheye effect you are looking for in the first place.
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Take the shot. Shoot the image as if it doesn't need to be cropped. Also, look for absurd distortions; if the audience can't tell a photo was shot with a fisheye lens then ask yourself, "Is this photo worth shooting?"
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Tips & Warnings
Be careful wherever you shoot. In addition to distorting what a photograph looks like, fisheye lenses also distort how the photographer sees things as well distort depth perception. If the photographer is shooting on-coming traffic, the vehicle might look far away but is actually closer than it appears in the lens.
