Lens help for total newbie

[ThriceBlessed]

This is probably going to seem like a duh, duh, dumb question, but I just purchased my first DSLR today. My battery is still charging. I know nothing! My manual says for certain shots, "if using a zoom lens, use the telephoto end" or "if using a zoom lens, use the wide angle end", etc.

What??? What does it mean by end?

[OsmosisStudios]

Your lens is likely a 18-55mm lens. "wide-angle" simply means the setting (focal length) that shows the greatest amount of the scene. "telephoto" would be the opposite end. Think of it as zooming in (telephoto) and zooming out (wide angle).

Certain things are generally shot best with one or the other. Landscapes, for instance, are usually best shot on the wide-angle. Portraits, however, should be shot on the telephoto end. Of course, these are generalizations and there are always exceptions to the rule, but it works as a rule of thumb

[ThriceBlessed]

thank you, based on what you said I am thinking "end" just refers to the setting of the zoom, not to some kind of attachment or anything, they threw me off not explaining their terminology. I understand a lot of what I am reading in the manual, but I wasn't sure about that.