Tip 16: Change Camera & Lens

Covered lighting the past few chapters - now let's look at cameras and lenses.

You may have used phone apps that emulate old cameras vs just letting you tweak settings like white balance. Though under the hood they also just modify parameters, the experience can be neat.

You can get similar effects in Midjourney by specifying camera or lens types. From my tests, Midjourney supports:

1. Cameras: GoPro, Polaroid
2. Film: 8mm, 16mm, 35mm
3. Lenses: 15mm lens
4. Camera settings: long exposure, double exposure
5. Depth of field & focus: deep vs shallow focus, vanishing point

I really like the double exposure and long exposure looks:

But choose suitable cameras/lenses for your scene - drone view, for example, won't work well for closeups:

Photo	Name	Description	Use Cases
	GoPro	Action camera perspective	Selfies, action shots
	Drone	Drone view from above	Aerial, skyline shots
	Polaroid	Instant camera
	Black and white film	Monochrome photo
	Kodachrome	Kodak's vivid, high-contrast, archival color slide film	Vivid, punchy colors with great longevity
	Shot on 8mm	Portable, easy to use film format with lower resolution	Everyday life, family, travel
	Shot on 16mm	16mm and 35mm mainly used for movies, documentaries, commercials	Movies, documentaries, commercials
	Shot on 35mm	16mm and 35mm mainly used for movies, documentaries, commercials	Movies, documentaries, commercials
	Microscopic	Magnified view	Enlarging small objects
	Fisheye Lens	Extreme wide angle 100-180° for distorted, exaggerated perspective	Capturing whole scenes up close
	Wide Angle	Fit more into frame	Landscapes, fitting more content
	Ultra-Wide Angle	Even wider field of view than wide angle	Landscapes, fitting more content
	Panorama	Wraparound wide format	Landscapes, fitting more content
	Short Exposure	Freezing motion of fast moving subjects	Sports, vehicles, performances needing frozen motion
	Long Exposure	Light trails for motion, mystical moods	Light streaks, night scenes, star trails
	Double Exposure	Overlapping exposures for dense, distorted, hand-drawn effects	Portraits, landscapes - unique environments and moods
	f2.8	Large apertures let in more light for brighter images. f2.8 has high light transmission suitable for low light.	Can create shallow depth of field to blur background and foreground, ideal for portraits or product shots.
	Depth of Field	Range of sharpness - how much is in focus.	Used to describe how much of a photo is sharp.
	Soft Focus	Deliberately softening focus for gentle, dreamy aesthetic via specialized lens filters.	More about evoking emotion vs deep/shallow focus. Gives a soft, almost blurred complexion to create a romantic look.
	Deep Focus	Similar to deep depth of field.	Keeping entire scene sharp by using small aperture. Needs small focal lengths or farther shooting distance.
	Shallow Focus	Artistically isolates subject, popular for portraits.	Blurs background by using large aperture to keep only a plane/subject in focus.
	Vanishing Point	A point infinity used in perspective drawing - parallel lines converge towards it.	Helps create realism and depth.
	Vantage Point	Perspective from a high point looking down diagonally.	Landscapes, fitting more content