How do we get background appear closer?

[Gautam Mehta]

Well, I have seen somewhere that a person sitting in the park and a building behind him. But the same scene is shot in different settings. The building is far off but coz of some special settings in the last image it appears like the builiding is just behind him. Is this possible? If yes then what is this setting called and how can we use it?

 

[RickWells]

Without seeing the pictures, it's hard to say for sure, but in general, images taken with a telephoto will appear to compress distances in the manner you mention. So the photographer would be further away from the subject, use a long lens to capture the subject, and buildings in the backgroung would appear to be closer than they really are.

 

[spt_gb]

and you change it by changing focal length and distance to your subject.

Use a wide angle lens and you'll need to get close to your subject to fill the frame. Buildings in the background will appear far away.

Use a telephoto lens and you'll need to stand a long way from your subject to fill the frame. Buildings in the background will appear much closer.

The change in perspective is due to the change in relative distance between you, the subject and the buildings.

 

[Gautam Mehta]

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So this is all the trick of lenses. No set feature in th camera?

 

[Gautam Mehta]

--
I will also try to find the pictures and post it over here.

 

[ElFenix]

it's not really a trick of the lenses, it's the fact that there is relatively more distance between you and the subject, and relatively less distance between the subject and background, when you stand further from the subject. you could do it with a wide angle lens, but your subject would look very small.

 

[Ken Phillips]

The focal length of the lens only controls the angle of view. Whether you shoot with 12mm, 100mm, or 600mm, the perspective from a given point is the same!

But a long lens will certainly facilitate this sort of shot, along with a greater distance to your primary subject.
KP

--



http://www.ahomls.com/photo.htm
http://www.phillipsphotographer.com
Voted Best of the City 2004 by Cincinnati Magazine
I don't believe in fate, but I do believe in f/8!

'The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.', H. L. Mencken

 

[spt_gb]

"The change in perspective is due to the change in relative distance between you, the subject and the buildings."

Changing the focal length changes the distance needed to frame the subject, which is where it has an effect, but it was clearly stated that distance was the key.

The focal length of the lens only controls the angle of view. Whether
you shoot with 12mm, 100mm, or 600mm, the perspective from a given
point is the same!
But a long lens will certainly facilitate this sort of shot, along
with a greater distance to your primary subject.
KP

--



http://www.ahomls.com/photo.htm
http://www.phillipsphotographer.com
Voted Best of the City 2004 by Cincinnati Magazine
I don't believe in fate, but I do believe in f/8!
'The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to
rule it.', H. L. Mencken

 

[sean000]

Here is a good illustration:

http://www.photozone.de/focal-length-and-perspective

Basically you use a wider angle and shoot closer to the subject if you want the background to seem far away. You use a telephoto from a farther distance to your subject if you want to bring the background closer.

Sean

 

[sherwoodpete]

Here is a good illustration:

http://www.photozone.de/focal-length-and-perspective

Basically you use a wider angle and shoot closer to the subject if
you want the background to seem far away. You use a telephoto from a
farther distance to your subject if you want to bring the background
closer.

Sean

Yes, it's a good example, and if you read the text, it is explained properly.

But at first glance, the labels underneath the pictures seem to suggest that the lenses (17, 35, 50, 100 mm) are creating the effect. I feel it should be emphasised that the distance to the subject has changed for each shot, the photographer has moved.
Regards,
Peter

 

[jpmalohesr]

regards

jim

 

[sean000]

Yes, it's a good example, and if you read the text, it is explained
properly.

But at first glance, the labels underneath the pictures seem to
suggest that the lenses (17, 35, 50, 100 mm) are creating the effect.
I feel it should be emphasised that the distance to the subject has
changed for each shot, the photographer has moved.
Regards,
Peter

Good point... as we know not everyone reads thoroughly ;-)

There are also plenty of examples on the Web that illustrate the fact that it isn't the focal length, but the distance to subject. Of course if you want your subject to fill the frame you will need to use a longer lens the farther away you move... unless you shoot wide and then crop. Either way you'll get the same image, but cropping robs you of some resolution.

Sean

 

[BG454]

No!
Please read and understand the previous posts in this thread.

Perspective has nothing to do with the lens. It is solely controlled by the viewpoint.
--

To Err is Human, To really foul things up you need a computer.

 

[threean2]

Stay far back and zoom in. This will make distance objects appear to be closer to the nearer to you subject.

 

[threean2]

Lets say you want to photograph a statue that's 10 feet away from you. Using a wide angle, and small aperture, lets say f16, you will have a large depth of field so everything in back of the statue will be in focus.

Now step back 50 feet, keep your Aperture at 16 but zoom in to duplicate the size of the statue picture you previously took. In this second shot everything in back of the statue will appear closer to the statue.

 

[John Sheehy]

Either way you'll get the same image, but cropping
robs you of some resolution.

... and makes for a noisier image.

--
John

 

[jpmalohesr]

"Telephoto and other long-focal-length lenses are best known for making distant objects appear magnified. This effect is similar to moving closer to the object, but is not the same, since perspective is a function solely of viewing location. Two images taken from the same location, one with a wide angle lens and the other with a telephoto lens, will show identical perspective, in that near and far objects appear the same relative size to each other. Comparing magnification by using a long lens to magnification by moving closer, however, the telephoto shot appears to compress the distance between objects due to the perspective from the more distant location. Long lenses thus give a photographer an alternative to the type of perspective distortion exhibited by shorter focal length lenses where (when the photographer stands closer to the given subject) different portions of a subject in a photograph can appear out of proportion to each other."

Here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephoto_lens

Respectfully

Jim

 

[Dave Martin]

It is very simple; a long focal length lens makes far away subject appear larger than a short focal length lens. That's why they are called "telephoto".

Focal length F, magnification m (relative size of the subject in the viewfinder), and distance D, are mathematically related.

F=Dm/(1+m)

So (for the same subject size in the viewfinder) when someone says "it only depends on distance" it's no different from saying "it only depends on focal length."

Here's a photographic example showing the effects of focal length and f-stop on background: note the subject is the same size in both images.



Dave