e. Perspective composed of strong lines which give a great sense of
depth in a picture is called "strong perspective".
It is most easily
achieved with wide angle lenses and subjects which contain a lot of explicit
leading lines and depth clues. Perspective which de-emphasizes the depth in
a picture is called "weak perspective."
It is achieved, not too
surprisingly, by using longer focal length lenses and avoiding lines which
indicate depth.
Closely related to perspective is overlap.
This is one of the oldest
methods in existence to indicate depth, having been in use since before the
ancient Egyptians.
It is also very powerful.
When one object overlaps
another, it is an almost inescapable conclusion that it is nearer the
viewer. This may seem obvious to the point of insulting your intelligence,
but its use should not be sneered at just because of that. It is a valid
technique which, as with all techniques, should be used consciously and with
thought.
2.
"Aerial perspective" is a term you might come across in photo texts.
It isn't perspective like we've been discussing, but refers to the effects
of atmospheric haze in giving clues to the depth in a scene. Remember in
Lesson 2 when you learned that a blue filter would accentuate haze?
You
were promised that you'd find out in this lesson why you might want to do
that, and here it is. Very distant objects usually look much less distinct
and somewhat lighter in tone than nearby objects. This is mainly due to the
obscuring effects of haze.
In deserts and at high altitudes, two places
where there is relatively little haze, distant objects seem misleadingly
near because we expect them to look less sharp and distinct than they are.
The effect carries through in photographs.
A distant mountain, with its
colors muted, its details partly obscured, and a lighter overall tone, will
appear much farther away than another mountain which is sharply defined and
with contrasting tones, even though the two are actually the same distance.
Using a blue filter, which emphasizes haze, can actually increase the
apparent distance of an object.
3.
The play of light and shadow on an object can give great clues about
its shape in the third dimension.
"Flat" light, which has no defined
direction, is very poor at making a three-dimensional object look that way.
But light which has a definite direction, casting shadows and creating
highlights, can make the same object seem to jump out of the plane of the
paper and seem much more real. In order to do this, the light should strike
the subject at an angle. If the subject is strongly backlit or front lit,
the effect is reduced because neither type produces shadows across the
surface of the subject. To be most effective, the light should strike the
subject obliquely.
Learning Event 3:
USE ADVANCED COMPOSITIONAL TECHNIQUES
1.
In a way, everything that has been discussed so far relates closely to
compositional technique, but there are some practical applications of
composition techniques which can be used effectively to help your pictures
become more interesting and communicative.
These make use of the basic
principles to suit the photographer's purpose.
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