Perspective in photography is very important, especially in taking photos of landscapes, and sometimes close-ups. The idea with perspective is to put something in the photo that will help the viewer get a better idea of how big the landscape is, or how far something really is from the camera. In the photo above, the man walking the railroad tracks gives you the feeling that the man has already walked a long distance, but still, he has a long ways to go.
Can the eye do this naturally? No, this is something that you can play with in photography. This is because your photos are in 2D, not 3D. You can have a lot of fun with this as you can see.
This kind of photography is limited to your imagination. Try it sometime to help you understand perspective.
With all kidding aside, how do you use perspective in your landscapes? With some landscape photos you need to use perspective so you can tell how big everything is in the photo.
If you did not have the building in the front, you might not know how big the rest of the buildings are, further down the road. Use something in the foreground to give you some idea of size.
Is this a photo of the people, or the building in the background. It’s that building. Everyone in the foreground is looking at the building. How big is this building? You get a great idea of how big it is by having the people in the foreground. Keep that in mind when trying to show size of something.
Trees are especially important to show perspective. Now this tree, you can tell, is just a small tree, maybe 5 inches in height. But, is part of a bigger tree that has fallen.
Some really good photographers “frame” their photos with a natural foreground, such as this photo above. This is just a natural way to use perspective, plus, make a better photo.
These are all great examples of “framing your photo”, but, is also a great example of perspective. The framing in the foreground adds to the dimensions of what you see in the background. Try framing your photos and see if you like them better.
Want to know how big those trees are that you are standing in the midst? Shoot up, get the tree closest to you to be somewhat in the foreground. And now you know why those trees seem so big. Another great example of Perspective.
With the proper placement of your camera, you can use perspective to your advantage to make better photos. Putting a subject in the foreground, gives you a dimension of the whole scene that most people would miss. Also, learn to “frame” your photos. That just makes you look more professional and a nice touch of using perspective as well.
Photography is an art in itself. It has many different categories that a photographer can choose to become good at. You can become a good portrait or wedding photographer, or you could be a master at scenery and landscapes. We recently had a blog on how to take good street photos. In a way, street photography is very close to being a “story telling” category. You will often take photos of people on the street, and sometimes as you look at these photos, you tend to try to figure out what that person is doing on the street. Are they just going to work, are they feeling sad, and you can see the anxiety in their face. So, let’s take a look at taking photos, just to tell a story.
This photo above could be so different, but it tells a story, one that makes you figure out what the child is doing, and picturing in your mind, what kind of mess she has made. You could have taken a photo of just the girl, doing nothing, or just posing for a portrait, or you could have taken a photo of her art. But, when you get a great photo of a child in action, it becomes a “story telling” portrait. Would you hang this on your wall? Absolutely. What is the reaction of the viewer? It’s: “Oh my gosh, this girl is so cute”. And people will love the action or playtime she is involved in.
Want to really capture a mood, or story with a picture, pick something sad. Looking at the picture above, what do you feel? What is going on with this man? Did something happen to him? When you look at a photo, and questions come up as to what has happened or why is this person this way, is a great “story Telling” Photo.
Moody or eerie landscape photos is probably the more popular ways to produce a “story telling” photo. What happened when this photo was taken to create such a mood? Why is the lighting that way? Why is there not more light? Why did the photographer create such a photo? See how it can get your mind wondering why, and what is going on. This type of photo will create the best “story telling” photos.
I think this type of photo of your pet, tells people more of what the character is of your pet. Yes, you can spend hours getting “portrait” type of photos of your pet, but, the type of photos you see, where the pet is engaged in their favorite thing is the perfect type of “telling a Story”.
Look around yourself and find different ideas of how to create a “Photo Story”. Watch and see the reaction of your clients, or friends and neighbors. Photography needs to change from the ordinary. Think about “Telling a Story” with your photos!
Article written by Lanny Cottrell, for 123PhotoGo. Photos compliments of “Unsplash”.
