Perspective in photography is a very important composition technique
When you know the principles of perspective in composition you can render the subjects form and shape and give the viewer a sense of space, depth and distance. Without perspective in photography there will be no sense of scale or character in your image. So, how do you show depth and distance in your images? Linear Perspective in photography Converging parallel lines that move away from us appear to converge at the horizon. Sides of roads and the rails of railroads seem to merge together at extreme distance. This is an aspect of the relative size effect. Even though the sides of the roads or the rails are at a fixed distance they will appear smaller and smaller as they get further away from us. When you zoom with a lens but keep the distance from the lens to the subject the same, there will be no change in the perspective. The zooming will only change the size of the subjects in the frame. By using the right combination of distance to the subject as well as the lens focal length, a photographer can create an image that looks deep or shallow. The feeling of depth or shallowness is only an illusion, but it is a very important compositional factor. Height Perspective in photography The place where the base of an object is located on the ground in an image is a clue to its distance from the camera viewpoint. In a landscape scene the ground or ground plane rises toward the horizon. The higher up in the ground area of the picture (up to the horizon) the base of an object is located, the further away it seems from the viewpoint and the greater its height perspective. Overlap Perspective in photography Another way of showing distance in an image is to use overlap perspective. When subjects within the image are on about the same line of sight, those objects closer to the camera overlap more distant objects and partially hide them. It is obvious to the viewer that the partially obstructed objects are behind the unobstructed objects. If these overlaps are repeated within the image, they give the viewer a sense of depth and a perception of the relative distance of the objects. Aerial perspective in photography The farther away from the camera subjects are, the less distinct they become. This is because the air affects the light as it travels from subject to camera sensor. Dust particles and water droplets in the air diffract the light and make the image hazy with lack of contrast. This effect is known as aerial perspective and can be used to make an image seem more three dimensional. How marked the effect is on the image is dependent on the distance. Aerial perspective is more useful when shooting landscapes rather than portraits, but the effect can be seen in any picture where the background is far enough away from the camera. In landscape photography this effect is more distinct in the afternoon when the air has been heated during the day. If you want to avoid the effect in landscape images, shooting at sunrise is recommended. The use of relative or diminishing size Two objects that appear similar except for size are assumed to be at different distances in proportion to their size. The closer we get to the nearer object, the more extreme their relative distances will become, and thus the more extreme their apparent sizes. If we focus on a fence that is receding into the distance, the fence posts nearest us will appear larger than those further away. How do you show scale and proportions in your images? As with depth and distance, the physical size of different subjects can be difficult to tell from a photograph alone. For this reason, it can be helpful to add a scale object that gives the viewer an idea of how big or small the subject is. In order not to ruin a composition a subject of a known size is used to act as a visual comparison. People are frequently used to provide a sense of scale to a building or rock formation. You only understand how impressive the Grand Canyon is when you place a human on the edge of the canyon before you take the image. How do you change the perspective? 1. By moving and changing the viewpoint The focal length and the distance to the subject will create a certain perspective. By changing the focal length and distance to the subject, the perspective can be changed dramatically. The most effective way to alter the perspective in photography is to change the vantage point. It is a fact the most common way to take an image is from about 170 cm above the ground (eye level). If you move to the left or right, kneel down or find a higher point to shoot the image from, the perspective will change. Just a few feet might have great impact on the composition. As soon you have learned about the importance of composition in photography you will start looking for other camera positions. Perspectives are often referred to as eye view (eye height), bird's eye view (high angle shot) and worm's eye view (low angle shot). Eye view is as I already mentioned the most common view because this is the height we are used to look at things from. A portrait shot at eye height feels most natural. Bird's eye view is of natural reason the least use perspective to shoot images at. Looking down at the subject requires in most occasions you have to clime higher up. The exception is in landscape photography where you often can climb to a higher vantage point to get a new perspective. Worm's eye view should be the natural way of shooting images of flower. Despite this we often see flower images shot from above. This way you will easily loose the sense of depth in the image Check out the different types of perspective and you will be amazed of the impact it has on your images. 2. By using lenses with different focal length Depth Distance What the lens allows you to do is framing the shot successfully from a viewpoint that gives you the preferred perspective.
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