Lenses and Zooms

Many cameras now come with a zoom lens that goes from wide angle to telephoto. The wide angle is very useful for taking photos in small spaces and the telephoto to take objects or scenes from a distance. It also has the mid range as well.
This is because a zoom lens has many lenses in one! It has wide angle, standard and telephoto. But beware! 
Think about how the lens effects your photo. Different focal lengths alter the perspective of the image. This can be a good or bad thing depending on how you use it.
Wide angle is great for beaches, landscapes, inside rooms etc. but makes close ups of faces look fat with big noses. Use the zoom fascility or telephoto lens for best portrait shots as it gives the most flattering view of the face as well as reducing the field of view so you don't get as much distracting or messy backgrounds behind your subject.