Smartphone photography – A critical analysis of perspective in photography

Using Smartphone photography, anyone can snap a photo but creating an innovative, unique, and appealing scene requires knowledge of camera, position, and composition techniques. One of the best ways to create a realistic representation of the photo is perspective. Using different perspectives in photography one can create a sense of depth and add drama hence making it visually appealing and engaging for the viewers.

Let’s analyse critically how perspective improves photography and discuss some ideas for enhancing the photos. Below I am sharing some of my photographs that I found appealing based on the photography principles we covered this week.

Change Focal Lengths to shift the perspective and scale of the picture

Focal length can also change the perspective and scale of the picture. A lens with a shorter focal length expands perspective giving the appearance of more space between the element in the image. Telephoto lenses tend to pile elements in the frame together to compress perfective. For great details, we need faster shutter speeds. Using these techniques, the photo shown below gives a beautiful and intense vision of a pink rose.

Include a person in your image to show a sense of depth

If your image is demonstrating some depth or height, it’s always a great idea to add a human. That will give a dimension and a simple image will turn into a lively scene. Apart from the stunning and breath-taking view that you are capturing your image will become visual storytelling. Imagine the below picture without a human standing at the edge of height, can is it still be so adventurous and eye-catching?

Overlapping perspective

Capturing layers of objects that overlap each other add depth to the image. It gives a broader view to the viewer of all the objects in one frame. While implementing other composition techniques the image can turn into a more cinematic view. See the beautiful view of a small village, trees, road track, residential houses, and the huge mountains covered in greenery. All these natural beauties capture in one shot. Is not it so mesmerizing?

Use leading lines

One of the most powerful ways to engage the viewer is by making good use of the lines in the scene. This can be done by capturing tracks, roads, or pathways. The combination of forethought diverts the attention and creates an appealing impact, and instantly boosts the illusion of depth.

Experiment with Perspective to Shift the focus 

Perspective in photography can be illustrated as the spatial awareness between objects within the scene we are capturing. Using perspective in photos we can conjure a sense of scale and depth. This can be done simply by amending the camera’s angle and the photographer’s position. We can create a new and unique perspective for a more attractive image.

Embrace negative space

When we are capturing a subject that has a large view it will include the ‘’negative space’’ as well. Negative space is defined as the space and elements around our subject. While capturing a good image we need to make sure whether it makes your photo more attractive, or not? For instance, in my photo below, I capture my subject that is the ‘’ Historical Badshahi Mosque ‘’ however the natural beauty around it the sky and green grass makes it further appealing.

References:

CHIN, J. (2021). Basic Photography 101: Understanding Focal Length in Camera Lenses. https://www.masterclass.com/. Retrieved 26 November 2021, from https://www.masterclass.com/articles/basic-photography-101-guide-to-understanding-focal-length#how-does-focal-length-affect-an-image.

Crozier, N. (2021). Week 12: Smartphone photography – EDCI 337: Interactive and Multimedia Learning. Edtechuvic.ca. Retrieved 25 November 2021, from https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2021/11/22/week-12-smartphone-photography/.