I

IMAGE CONSTRUCTION: PERSPECTIVE

Strictly speaking, perspective refers to the illusion
of three dimensional space created in a two dimen-
sional image by lines converging toward a single
point, and the apparent decrease in the size of
objects that occupy space further from the camera.
In classical perspective, the size of an object is in a
more or less standard hierarchy of depiction, from
those in the foreground to those meant to be in the
midground and background of a painting; in other
words, in a traditional painted or drawn scene the
viewer can perceive those things that are ‘‘closer’’
by the size relationships presented among all
objects in a scene. In a photograph, however, the
size of objects in the foreground and background
of a photograph can change greatly with variances
in distance between camera and subject. As the
camera moves in close, the subject appears larger
in the image while the objects in the background
remain about the same size. As the camera is drawn
away, the subject appears smaller or the same size
as the objects in the background.
In photographs, there is not only the illusion of
depth, but there are also different kinds of depth
established by the type of lens on the camera and
the distortions created by the lens and camera
angle. Changing a lens without changing the cam-
era-to-subject distance will not affect single point

perspective, because the sizes of all objects in the

image will change by the same amount. But the

lens will change the perspective on how much

space there seems to be between the objects from

foreground to background. A long focal length or

telephoto lens compresses the space in perspective

andmakesobjectsinfrontof,orbehindeach

other, seem closer together. A classic example is

when shot from behind through a telephoto lens,

the pitcher in a baseball game appears reduced in

size relative to the distance the viewer ‘‘knows’’

separates him from the batter and catcher and

which normally would cause the pitcher to loom

larger than those at home plate, even as the dis-

tancebetweenthepitcherandhomeplateappears

greatly truncated.

A wide-angle lens has the opposite effect of

making objects seem farther apart than they really

are. This effect should be familiar by the warning

placed on the slightly convex mirrors used as rear-

view mirrors in automobiles: ‘‘Caution: objects

are closer than they appear.’’ A wide-angle lens

will also distort the shape of objects by making

them seem to stretch out away from the center of

the image. Vertical elements may lean to the side,

or spherical shapes may appear to be elliptical,

especially near the corners of the frame. This dis-