As defined in the technical aspects of art, 'perspective' is a method of composition which aims to enhance or give a feeling of 3-dimension in the 2 dimension medium of the photograph or painting. Viewed on the 2 dimensional surface of a photograph, perspective is normally depicted by lines which appears to converge at a distance. With perspective, the relative size of subjects in the photograph also gives an impression of depth and distance.

Perspective can also be exaggerated by shooting in wide angle and emphasizing lines of perspective in the composition.


In the photograph above of a tram-bus, notice the horizontal rail of the tram forms a set of perspective lines shooting into the photograph and giving an impression of the length of the tram. By shooting with the lens on wide angle, we have emphasized and exaggerated the perspective convergence of the lines towards the left of the photograph. This technique creates a sense of dynamism and movement in the photograph. By not shooting the length of the tram in entirety, and allowing the lines of perspective to extend beyond the right of the photograph, we have also exaggerated the length of the tram.

In contrast look a the different effect when we allow the lines of perspective to begin from within the photograph and ends within as well - as a shot of the same tram in the photograph below. The tram below seems much shorter than the tram in the photograph above, although they are the same tram and shot with the same lens setting (wide angle).

If I had decided to take the photograph of the tram perpendicular from any of the sides, perspective would have been lost and the photo may not turn up as interesting, dynamic and with depth. Both shot of the tram above emphasized and distorts certain aspects of the subject just by playing with the way the natural lines of perspective runs in the photograph.

Perspective can be combined with lens angle (telephoto 'zoom' or wide angle) to make rows of objects appear to be closer (shot with telephoto) or farther apart (wide angle) than they really are. Generally telephoto lens provides a compression of distance in the perspective point of view and vise versa with the lens set at wide angle.

In the black and white photo on the left, perspective and shadows are combined to create an abstract of the shadows and the concrete railings of the pier that enters from the lower-right of the picture and exits beyond the upper left of the photo. It is a simple subject, but creative use of perspective in the shot has made the composed photo a little more than ordinary.

To create a sense of depth and three dimensionality, use a small aperature (for compact cameras, a 'landscape mode' may be used to achieve the same effect) and focus the camera on an object around two thirds distance into the picture. Angle the camera in such a way that the nearest object that is in the frame of the photograph can be as far away as possible. If necessary, reposition yourself.

The are fomulas to calculate the exact distance to focus to get maximum depth of field but we shall discuss this later. However if you are using a compact camera with a small sensor (typicallly compacts have small sensors) depth of field may not be such a real issue for you as these cameras typically have plenty of depth of field compared to similar aperature settings on a standard 35mm film camera.

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Comments (1)

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written by cameron , March 16, 2010

who cares. just take the picture. it doesnt matter what or how you take it. its not like people are going to be that serious in taking a freaking picture, kay thanks. bye.

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