PERSPECTIVE

[Tom Nic]

Raw camera gear, no matter how amazing, will not automatically make a good picture. Angle, composition, perspective, and more add up to a good shot.

As I was playing with some of my pics I found a few shots that show the difference that perspective makes, and thought I'd share them here. I am FAR from an expert, but thought these were kind of fun!

These pics of a West Indian Sea Egg, a type of sea urchin, show what perspective will do to a picture. This first shot I am a bit above and to the left of the urchin. This pic would definitely look better if I was lower.



The second I am directly in front of it, almost level with it, but still slightly above. The Fire Coral is now fully in view and makes the pic a bit more "interesting", IMO. In hindsight I'm still too "high", and this would look better if I was lower than my subject.



This last shot I'm on the right side, and a little more below than I was before. Now the urchin is enhanced even more by the Fire Coral.



Each shot is of the same subject, but because of angle and placement of both the subjects and the ancillary objects each shot is quite different.

This next couple of shots are even more dramatic. I was puttering along above the reef when I noticed this Peacock Flounder perched on a coral head. His camouflage was impeccable and my dive buddy had already swam right over him. I like the shot because it shows the wonderful ability this critter has to hide in plain site.



As he was pretty relaxed, which often critters that depend on camouflage will be, I wondered if I'd be able to drop over in front of him and shoot up on him instead of down to make the shot more interesting. So off I went - this one is in front, but still slightly above...



And just a bit lower and closer... he was starting to get nervous.



And I managed to get a little bit lower and closer before he got too nervous and decided to vacate the countryside.



The last couple of shots are more interesting and highlight the cool "eye gear" he has, as well as the ridges of his fins and more. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to play with these images to show the difference that perspective makes - hope it was fun!

[dphershman]

Nice shots!

Perspective as you've described it is the process of changing the angle of view so as to simplify the subject of the picture. A cleaner background and a more interesting angle of view go a long way towards making a shot more interesting, memorable and compelling.

Nice job!

[cardiver]

Nice shots!

Perspective as you've described it is the process of changing the angle of view so as to simplify the subject of the picture. A cleaner background and a more interesting angle of view go a long way towards making a shot more interesting, memorable and compelling.

Nice job!

And don't forget the "rule of thirds".
Great pics, Tom!

[spatman]

And don't forget the "rule of thirds".
Great pics, Tom!

turn the dive when your memory card is 1/3 full?

[Tom Nic]

And don't forget the "rule of thirds".
Great pics, Tom!

turn the dive when your memory card is 1/3 full?

[Huskychemist]

Good thread Tom. I'm still in the "I get lucky on some pictures" mode and rarely think about perspective. These two sequences have created some motivation to try what you did. I often take multiple pictures of the same subject, but I often simply work on getting closer and closer each time until the subject swims away, etc. Rarely am I actually changing perspective also. I'll give it a try...

And don't forget the "rule of thirds".
Great pics, Tom!

Consider yourself lucky if you get to keep 1/3 of your pictures? And 1/3 of the pictures you keep will actually be "publishable" on a post?

Enlighten us...

[Aquanautchuck]

You Lucky Bums......I still shoot film and live by the rule of 24ths. If I get one great picture out of a roll I am very happy.

[Dmitchell]

Tom,

Nice shots but they seem a little underexposed - Maybe you were going for that I don't know. Did you shoot them in RAW? If so bump the exposure a little and see how they look. The 2nd to last one is my favorite.


Rule of thirds - Very important, I've mentioned it several times on this board- Here's the Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds

The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in visual arts such as painting, photography and design.[1] The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.[2] Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject would.[citation needed]

The photograph to the right demonstrates the application of the rule of thirds. The horizon sits at the horizontal line dividing the lower third of the photo from the upper two-thirds. The tree sits at the intersection of two lines, sometimes called a power point. Points of interest in the photo don't have to actually touch one of these lines to take advantage of the rule of thirds. For example, the brightest part of the sky near the horizon where the sun recently set does not fall directly on one of the lines, but does fall near the intersection of two of the lines, close enough to take advantage of the rule.

[BASSMAN]

Thanks Tom,
That helps me understand why you take so many pictures of the same thing on our dives!


Hey, that Rule of Thirds thing is cool!

I'm taking notes for when I actually get a camera and underwater housing.

[Tom Nic]

Nice shots but they seem a little underexposed. Maybe you were going for that...

Glad you all liked the shots - they were fun to do, and a fun experiment in how to change a picture. Key being fun. Did I mention fun? :-)

Maybe you were going for that...

Ah, Mr. Mitchell.... You give me way too much credit! With my little strobeless POS I'm lucky I get any decent pics at all, so me doing any fancy stuff with exposure will have to wait...

Although, come to think of it, I may have dialed down the onboard flash a bit. It has a "full" setting and a "soft" setting. Some of the macros shots with bright subjects have been getting washed out so I had been switching the flash to "soft"... but I really think that these pics were taken with as much power as my poor little camera can muster although to be honest with you I don't remember. I am thinking about taking the training wheels off and beginning to play with some of the onboard settings.

These pics were about angle and perspective - NOT exposure! :-)

[Dmitchell]

Tom, I'm learning too, I don't even shoot underwater just above; but I'm loving the DSLR world.

The thing I've learned is don't be afraid to play with the settings and shoot over and over, disk space is cheap and the delete button works great!

Also learn to read the histogram, that will in some cases give you better instant feedback than the LCD image on your camera. Even most P&S will show you the histogram after a shot. Heck some will show it before!

Most of all- Have Fun with it!

[Sounder]

From a non-photog point of view, that really is interesting how the same subject can be made so much more interesting by the perspective. The last one of the urchin is NOT ONLY enhanced by the fire coral, but is made even better by the distant reef in the background. I'm no photographic artist, but the addition of the blue-ish reef in the background actually added MORE to the picture, at least or me, than the fire coral did. That brought it "to life" by showing the interesting location it is in... with depth. Adding "depth" (whatever you fancy photogs call it) to the picture always "brings it to life" for me.

Nice work bud!!

[Seaslave]

This is a great thread Tom. Thanks for sharing. All the photos are great, but the sequences also illustrated the "lesson" very well. Thanks, keep them coming!
Dave, your link to the rule of thirds was very good also, thanks.


-Mathue

[smike]

"The Lesson" I learned from the perspective (and the vast experience of my 3 total dives with a camera) have taught me that the farther below my subject, the better. Of course this only makes sense if you CAN get lower, without crushing everything below you. I imagine on a wall dive everything changes too, the perspective changes depending on the type of critter and the topography.

I find it hard to get the camera low and still see what I am shooting, when it is on the bottom.

S'Mike

[Tangfish]

Raw camera gear, no matter how amazing, will not automatically make a good picture. Angle, composition, perspective, and more add up to a good shot.

I couldn't agree more. Tom, have I ever told you how impressed I am with your development as a photographer? Your photos are simply amazing these days.