Super exaggation of perspective

Super Exaggeration of Perspective

The fundamental and underlying ingredient to good composition is a strong graphic design, meaning shapes, and what comprises strong graphic design are bold, artistic, and dramatic lines.

One of the best ways to create strong graphic lines is to use an extreme wide angle lens. For example, in the shot below of the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, I used a 24mm focal length on a 16-35mm lens. For the shot of junker cars on the next page, to exaggerate the front end I shot with a 14mm wide angle lens. The secret to seriously exaggerating perspective, and thereby accentuating the dynamic shapes and lines in the foreground, is to place the camera very close. Most of the time the camera-subject distance should be 2 to 4 feet to create the exaggeration of perspective shown below.

With the cathedral interior image on page 9, I used a 14mm lens positioned about 5 inches from the foreground edge of the holy water. The exceptionally close proximity not only made the water appear to be disproportionately large compared to the background, but the

lines of the vessel are elongated and they add to the exaggeration of perspective.

In my opinion, it is essential that pictures with exaggerated perspectives and bold leading lines have complete depth of field. You can’t make the background completely out of focus anyway because inherent to all wide angle lenses is extensive depth of field. Even if you shoot at f/2.8 and place the camera very close to foreground elements, the background will be defined. It won’t be sharp, but you’ll be able to recognize what’s behind the subject. And that won’t look good, at least to my sense of aesthetics.

Instead, I’d recommend shooting pictures like this at f/22 or f/32. This will insure everything will be as sharp as possible notwithstanding focus stacking. If you have the time and the inclination to do focus stacking, you can shoot at f/8 (the sharpest aperture on the lens) and then in post-processing combine the series of images for maximum resolution.

When you place foreground elements so close to the camera position, the question that always comes up is, “Where is the best place to focus?”

Note the focal length you are using for the shot -- say 24mm. Divide that by 3, which is 8, and that’s how many feet from the camera you should focus. If you have a 14mm lens, then you’d focus about 5 feet from the camera. This distance doesn’t have to be ultra precise, but using this simple guideline will give you maximum sharpness given the focal length of the lens, the foreground-to-subject distance, and the lens aperture.

The image at right taken, at Deadvlei in Namibia, was made with Canon’s 11-24mm wide angle lens. The foreground branch was about 6 inches from the lens. Dividing 11 by 3 means I focused about 3 1/2 to 4 feet into the frame. I used f/22 and notice how the distant dunes are sharp.

Improving your composition

For photographers who struggle with composition, wide angle lenses can help. Given the extensive depth of field they offer, a wide angle shot usually consists of two parts: foreground and background. I think of it as two subjects. What you must look for, then, is first a compelling foreground and, second, a background that is either unobtrusive or complimentary. In the cathedral interior, below, the holy water is the foreground and the far side of the building is the background. Focusing your attention on finding subjects that fit this formula can help you find strong compositions. Artistically isolating parts of a scene with a camera lens is what photography is all about. When using a wide angle lens, first search for anything that looks like it would be a strong foreground. Then look for a background that compliments the foreground. This is the mental exercise I use to help me find good compositions. §

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