Photography

Basic Photography, Perspective Distortion, Distance of Subject

If the subject is located far from the camera position, the normal tendency for a photographer is to "zoom-in" or use the telephoto end of a zoom lens if it is available, rather than moving closer to the subject. Of course there is nothing wrong with this method, in fact telephoto lenses are made precisely for this reason. The same goes to using Wide Angle lenses to capture more of the view of a scene rather than moving away from it.

The use of telephoto and wide angle lenses, however, have significant effects on the proportion of the background to the subject. This is called Perspective Distortion and it affects both the wide angle and telephoto lenses.

Using telephoto lenses causes a Telephoto Perspective Distortion. It is not the lens that causes this distortion but this distortion only happens as a result of using lenses with long focal distances. If the distance of the subject from the camera is big enough, the use of a telephoto lens to make them appear closer will cause the objects that are near the subject to look bigger than normal as though they are on the same distance as the subject. This makes them appear to be side by side with each other or closely piled up.

A Wide Angle Perspective Distortion results when you use a wide angle lens to widen your view of a scene. This distortion is caused by the short distance between the camera and the subject and the compressed scene behind the subject will tend to make the background objects to look smaller than normal. The closer the subject is from the camera, the more this distortion becomes evident. A typical case would be using a wide angle lens on a closeup portrait of a very near subject. Parts of the subject that are nearest the camera like the nose, will appear unnaturally larger as if it has swollen.

Depending on the situation, these distortions can be disastrous to your photos as it can cause abnormal proportions to the objects or it can drive away the attention of the viewer to the wrong places in the photograph. On the other hand if properly controlled and utilized, these distortions can help you create a more artistic dimension to your pictures.