“PERSPECTIVE PHOTOS”

PREPARED BY PIXEL

NOOR SUHANA

MUHAMAD HADI AFIF

MUHAMMAD AMIRUL SOLEHIN

What is Perspective in Photography?

• Perspective in photography can be defined as the sense of depth or spatial relationships between objects in the photo, along with their dimensions with respect to the viewpoint (camera lens or the viewer).

Perspective in Photography- Don’t just stand there move your feet!

• Photographers often fall into the bad habit of shooting everything we see from eye-level. We are walking around, something catches our eye, and we take a picture right from where we are standing. If you want to make an immediate impact in your photography, you need to get out of your eye-level (or tripod-level) rut. You need a change in perspective.

• Sure, you can change your composition by zooming in or out with your lens, but if you want to change your perspective, you are going to need to move. Don’t let your feet, or your tripod, root you to the spot: get ready for some bending, turning, walking, and climbing. Start working with perspective in

photography, your images will thank you for it.

Techniques

• i. Blocking, Overlap or Obstruction

When we see an object blocking the view of another object, the first object is nearer to the viewer than the latter.

This clue to our brain regarding distance can be utilized in a photograph to depict the “depth” or distance between the objects also called overlap perspective. If this overlap is repeated

in a same picture the viewer gets a sense of depth among various objects lying in a 3D reality through the perception of the relative distance of objects made by partial blocking

and hiding.

• ii-Relative size

In reality our brain has encodings of “natural” size of different objects like

trees, cars, people and animals. So when we see a person twice as big as building, we cannot rationally conclude that the person is actually twice as big in reality.

Our brain tells us that the building is farther away for a person. Alternatively

when we carefully place different objects at different distances but giving an

illusion that they are in the same plane produces funny images.

• iii. Linear, Rectilinear and Vanishing point

A 2D image is nothing but an illusion of a 3D scene, but nevertheless artists and

photographers utilize this illusion effect as an important compositional factor in

their works.

The human eye judges distance by the way lines and planes converge at an

angle. This is known as linear perspective.

• Lack of Sharpness , Color Quality or Contrast

We are accustomed to our eyes not able to figure out objects in the distant far

off (due to lowering of contrast or scattering of light or both). We can use this information to “create” the effect

of lack of sharpness/contrast by controlling the depth of field.

There are various different factors that contribute to varying atmospheric conditions but the result effect of

reduction of contrast, brightness and saturation can make our eyes believe

that we are looking at something really distant compared to the objects that

are clear, sharp and vibrant color.

• Get Low

Get your camera down towards ground level, and see how it

impacts your perspective. Getting down low allows you to feature the foreground of your

composition, and gives your viewer context for the rest of the

photograph. Use a wide angle lens to feature the foreground,

while pulling the viewer into the image.

• Getting down low can change the way your viewer feels or reacts to your subject. Getting low can make your subject appear taller or more imposing. Subjects viewed from below can look commanding and powerful. Even a simple sunflower can be seen to tower above its surroundings.

• Getting low can also completely disorient your viewer. This near water-

level view becomes a study in color and texture, as the water and the fallen

autumn leaves interact with each other. From eye level, this would simply have been a photograph looking down into a storm gutter. Getting low simplifies the composition and puts the viewer into a different, and unique perspective than

their everyday viewpoint.

• Get Up High or Look Up High

You can get low and look at subjects from their level, but you can also get up high and take in

your subject from above. Getting well above your normal line-of-

sight will certainly give you a new perspective. In the photograph below, the other tourists on the decks below give context to the

passing iceberg, as seen from the cruise ship. This higher-up view

also provides a sense of scale for the large size of the ice berg and

hints at the size of the ship.

• If you do not want to physically get up high, standing and shooting does not mean you only have to shoot straight ahead. Spend some time looking up, and you will find plenty to improve your compositions and your perspective. With very tall subjects, looking up from below will accentuate their height and size. The power and immensity of these redwood trees are best emphasized by looking up, from directly below.

• Go for the Lateral

Finally, do not forget to think laterally. Beyond just changing your stance or your direction of shooting, you also need to remember to move yourself. Talk the time to walk around your subject, to consider the background and foreground. Think

about how all the pieces of your final composition fit together. Your first view and your first angle are often not the best available, but you cannot be sure until you

have taken the time to investigate others. Walking all the way around Buckingham Fountain allowed me to choose this final composition and perspective featuring the downtown Chicago skyline. I also made the choice to position the spray from

the fountain directly in front of a building to make it more visible.

• Moving your feet can change the way that different objects in your photograph interact with each other. While the left photograph of the Wisconsin Capitol in lights was an adequate shot, moving just a few feet to the right and squatting down allowed to feature the lit outline in the foreground with the actual Capitol building in the background. This juxtaposition of elements improves the story-telling ability of the photograph.

After&Before

look at a relatively wide focal 28mm

Focal length than just the coverage of a certain angle of view. There's always distinct effect on the relationship between the objects within a scene.

view at about 50mm

100mm lens200mm the effect increases

even more

After&Before

• Do not fall into the trap of shooting everything you see at eye-level, just as you see it. Take the time to explore your subject, and considering changing your perspective. Get low and see what changes, get up high and explore a new view, or move laterally and watch different interactions occur and disappear between objects.

summary