Creating Depth

Clouds over Lake Maumelle, Arkansas

One of the challenges of photography is conveying a sense of depth in a two dimensional image. Using a wide angle lens is one way to overcome this challenge. It expands the amount of perceived space between elements within the scene making objects that are closer to the lens appear larger than objects further from the lens creating a feeling of depth in the photograph. The closer the lens is to the foreground subject, the larger that object appears. This further exaggerates the apparent size difference between foreground and background. This creates a sense of three dimensional depth because our brains generally perceive larger objects as being closer to us than smaller objects. This picture is an example of how a wide angle lens can create a sense of depth. Using a 14mm lens while shooting along the banks of Lake Maumelle just west of Little Rock, Arkansas, I positioned my camera just inches from the foreground rocks. This made the foreground rocks appear to be disproportionately larger than the tree-covered hill in the background creating a feeling of distance and space between the foreground and background. If you cover the foreground rocks with your hand, the image appears very flat and two dimensional. My settings were 1/4 sec, f/22, 100 ISO.

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