Basic Photography Course

PHC Jeff Hilton

302.303

Figure 5-21.Vanishing point perspective.

points. Thus lines that are parallel to the lens axis, or
nearly parallel, start in the front of the picture and meet
at vanishing points within the picture or at finite points
outside the picture (fig. 5-21).

Height Perspective

The place where the base of an object is located on

the ground in a picture is a clue to its distance from the
camera viewpoint; for example, in a landscape scene,
the ground or ground plane rises toward the horizon. The
higher up in the ground area of the picture (up to the
horizon) that the base of an object is located, the further

away it seems from the viewpoint and the greater its

height perspective.

Overlap Perspective

Another clue to distance in a photograph is overlap

perspective. When subjects within the picture are on
about the same line of sight, those objects closer to the
camera viewpoint overlap more distant objects and
partially hide them. It is obvious to the viewer that the
partially obstructed object is behind the unobstructed
object. This overlap is repeated many times within the
picture and gives the viewer a sense of depth and a
perception of the relative distance of objects.

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Basic Photography Course

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