A Guide to Perspective Photography

Perspective photography: explanation and tips

Do you also sometimes see photographers lying on the ground, standing on a small ladder or trying different vantage points for the ultimate photo? Then they are probably searching for photography in the right perspective. In other words: perspective photography.

Perspective is extremely important for almost every type of photography. Your viewpoint determines a large part of the atmosphere in your photo. Where you as a photographer stand is therefore very important. For example, if you photograph from above or below and place certain objects larger in the foreground, you create a unique perspective photo.

What perspective photography exactly entails, you can read in this blog. We not only show you fun examples for inspiration, but also help you get started with the right equipment and settings.

Photography in the right perspective

Every photo has perspective. Yet in some cases, you can even see perspective photography as a unique style. Perspective photos are images in which the perspective plays an important role. This is caused, for example, by a part of the photo standing out more, appearing more impressive or, on the contrary, more insignificant.

In the images below you can see examples of remarkable photography with the correct perspective, or at least the perspective that suits the photographer’s vision. And that results in very unique images!

Types of perspective photography

As you can see, special perspective can make something interesting out of all kinds of photos. It works for nature and landscape photos, but perspective photos of, for example, animals, buildings and products also have an interesting effect. But which type of perspective is most suitable for your person, animal, object or subject? To find out, read more below about different types of perspective photography.

Bird’s-eye view

From another viewpoint, you suddenly look at your object in a completely different way. Perhaps exactly as a flying bird would see it. What does that large, imposing building look like from above? You’ll discover that with the bird’s-eye view.

In photos taken from above, subjects often look much smaller. Because we are not used to this, it gives a strange, but particularly beautiful effect in photos. It creates overview, spaciousness and a sense of freedom. Curious what that looks like? You can see it in the photos below.

Frog’s-eye view

The opposite of the bird’s-eye view is the frog’s-eye view. With this viewpoint, you photograph from below. With large objects you can do this while standing, but in some cases you’ll have to get down to the ground.

The frog’s-eye view makes your subject more powerful. Even a small object seems big and impressive, especially when your camera is close to it. Examples of the frog’s-eye view can be seen below.

Photographing at eye level

If your viewpoint lies between frog’s-eye view and bird’s-eye view, you take a photo at eye level. That sounds simple, but it also has a special effect. Such a photo gives the viewer the feeling that he or she is standing very close to your subject. This creates a very special, personal effect in portraits of animals or people, for example. In addition, it can be a method of emphasizing a certain part of, for example, a product.

Landscape photo horizontal perspective

A perspective that often occurs is the perspective of landscapes. For example, a row of trees, a road or other subjects that clearly show the depth of the landscape. Below are some examples of landscape photos in horizontal perspective.

Atmospheric perspective photography

Although a unique viewpoint makes your photo extra special, in some cases you also create perspective (or depth) using, for example, color or sharpness. What lies farther in the background is less sharp or has a different color.

We occasionally see this type of perspective in the world around us. Look for unique color contrasts or play with weather effects or light. This results in very special images, both with and without using another unique perspective. Examples of atmospheric perspective photography can be seen in the images below.

Perspective photography explained: try it yourself!

Every (beginning) photographer has already done something with perspective. Maybe consciously, maybe unconsciously. Either way: diving into perspective photography immediately gives your photos an extra dimension. This means you don’t make perspective photos just because of how they look, but you choose your viewpoint based on a vision.

Which perspective you choose depends entirely on your subject. A beautiful perspective photo is not created just like that: there is an idea behind it. Of course, you also need the right equipment. What do you use to create the ideal perspective photo?

Wide-angle lens

A beautiful perspective photo is, of course, made with a good DSLR camera. But perhaps even more important than your camera is your lens. Choose, for example, a wide-angle lens. This lens broadens the field of view and is therefore perfect for landscape photos with an extremely clear perspective. This way, you not only capture everything well in the photo, but also have every detail sharply in focus. This can be very impressive when photographing imposing buildings or vast plains. Wide-angle lenses are ideal for both the frog’s-eye and bird’s-eye perspectives.

Standard lens

Do you want your photo to look very authentic and recognizable? For a personal, human image, you’d rather choose a standard lens. This emphasizes the field of view of the human eye and is therefore an ideal lens for photographing perspective photos at eye level.

Playing with depth of field

Not only your lens, but especially your settings are extremely important in perspective photography. In many cases, for perspective photography you do not want everything to be sharply in focus, as with a wide-angle lens. A blurry background (or sometimes even foreground) emphasizes the unique perspective.

But how do you achieve that beautiful, soft background? You do this by adjusting your aperture and focal length. Fortunately, this is also possible with a good wide-angle lens. The larger the focal length and the smaller the aperture, the blurrier the background will be. Don’t have much experience with this yet? Start with an aperture of f/1.8 or f/2.8 and experiment from there.

Buy a tripod

Especially for beautiful landscape photos with the right perspective, a tripod is indispensable. This way, you can easily take multiple photos from the same viewpoint. This is particularly useful in certain weather conditions or when you want to experiment with settings. Depending on your subject and wishes, you can choose, for example, a tripod, monopod, table tripod or photo mast. Want more freedom and flexibility in your tripod? Then gorillapods are highly recommended.

Want to take the most beautiful perspective photo?

Can’t wait to capture the beautiful perspective of our world in images? We understand that all too well! Experiment with the endlessly many possible viewpoints. Do you need advice about the right equipment that suits the photo you have in mind? Of course, Kamera Express is happy to help you! Feel free to contact us. We are happy to advise you.