Manifestation of Perspective in Photographs
Perspective refers to the apparent distortion of proportions and shapes when visually observing objects. We often see photos like this:
Why does everything appear distorted? Our eyes perceive the angular size of an object. If two objects of the same linear size are placed at different distances, the closer object will appear larger to the observer than the farther one.
As an object moves away, it appears smaller and eventually becomes a point on the horizon. For example, when standing on railroad tracks, the tracks near your feet appear at their actual size, while the distant tracks converge into a point. This is how the “converging” tracks on the horizon effect occurs. Conversely, the closer you get to an object, the larger it appears. For example, when taking a portrait at a close distance, you might get a distorted face with an exaggeratedly large nose.
What We See Without a Camera
Even without a camera, we experience perspective distortions, but our brain adjusts them, preventing us from fully perceiving the distortions. Knowing that the walls of a house are straight, we don’t feel their tilt. Moreover, when standing next to the walls, there are no vertical frame edges to reveal how tilted the walls actually are.
The structure of a camera is very similar to our eyes. The camera sensor functions like the retina, and the lens serves as the lens of the eye. Everything we see is reflected on the retina in an inverted form, and our brain corrects the distorted image by flipping it. On a camera sensor, the image is flipped by technical means.
Types of Perspective Distortions in Photographs
Many photographers successfully use perspective distortions to create caricatures, emphasize certain details, or give a specific meaning to the entire photograph. However, distortions can also ruin a photo.
Differences in Object Sizes
Photos where a distant object appears so small that it “fits in the hand” are popular.
Close-up Portraits
However, it’s not advisable to take close-up portraits unless you intend to create a caricature. The dog’s nose is closer to the camera than its eyes and ears. As you get closer to the lens, the nose enlarges faster than the eyes and ears, eventually occupying a large portion of the photo. This results in a significant distortion of proportions.
Full-Body Portrait of a Person
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| Shot taken at chest level. The person’s proportions are correct. | Shot taken from below. The proportions are altered. | Shot taken from above. The proportions are altered. |
Tilted Building Walls
Why do buildings appear tilted? If you position the camera sensor parallel to the building, there will be no perspective distortions. To keep the camera sensor parallel to the building and fit the entire structure in the frame, you either need to move a significant distance away or shoot the building from directly across its center (from a neighboring building or while suspended in the air). In reality, this is difficult to achieve. Therefore, when photographing buildings, we tilt the camera, allowing us to capture the entire structure while standing on the ground near it. But when the camera is tilted, perspective distortions appear:
Click to enlarge the image
Let’s consider some examples. The camera sensor is parallel to the building, shot from below. There are no distortions, but the building doesn’t fit in the frame.
The sensor is tilted, shot from below. The building fits in the frame, but there are perspective distortions.
Shift lenses allow you to maintain parallel lines of buildings by shifting the optical axis of the lens relative to the sensor.
Focal Length and Perspective
Camera lenses are categorized into wide-angle, standard, and telephoto. Wide-angle lenses have a large field of view, making them ideal for capturing landscapes with as many objects in the frame as possible.
They are also indispensable when you cannot move far away from the subject. Telephoto lenses help in photographing distant or hard-to-reach objects. Standard lenses are more versatile.
The larger the field of view of a lens, the shorter its focal length.
Changing the focal length does not affect perspective distortions. The focal length of the lens determines the scene that will fit in the frame. The more we increase the focal length (narrow the angle), the more we bring the subject closer.
If you photograph the same subject with a wide-angle and a telephoto lens, the perspective will change because the photographer will have to move closer or farther from the subject to get a similar composition. Thus, perspective distortions only change with the photographer’s position relative to the subject.
Correcting Perspective Distortions
Perspective distortions, such as tilted buildings in photos, can be easily corrected in many photo editors.
We recommend a simple method for correcting perspective distortions using the Perspecive Pilot program. To correct, you simply need to draw lines that should be vertical or horizontal.
