How can I make small, close objects look much larger in a photo?
Asked 4/19/2012
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2 answers
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I’d like to photograph small scenes so they feel full-size or even vast—for example, making a lawn look like grassland or a rock look like a mountain. In my case, I want a small creek to look like it was photographed from a tiny aircraft. What photographic techniques help sell that larger scale? Is it mainly about depth of field, camera angle, focal length, and perspective, or are there other visual cues that matter? I’m using a Sony DSC-HX1.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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Increasing the depth of field alone wont work (though eliminating an unnaturally looking shallow depth of field will).
What you want to do is shoot from a position as close to the ground as possible, with the widest setting on your lens (you might want to investigate a wide-angle adaptor if available).
This was shot low down using a wide lens to make this ordinary person look like a giant!
See this related question:
Originally by user1375. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1375
14y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—this is mostly about perspective and scale cues, not just focus.
To make a small subject feel larger:
- shoot from very low down or from the viewpoint you’d use if the scene were full-size
- get very close to the subject
- use the widest focal length you have; a wide-angle view exaggerates perspective and can make nearby objects feel huge
- keep plenty of the scene in focus; shallow depth of field is a strong “miniature model” cue, so avoiding it helps
- remove or hide familiar objects that reveal true scale
Depth of field alone won’t create the effect, but eliminating unnaturally shallow focus can help. The main trick is a believable camera position plus wide-angle perspective.
For your creek idea, try placing the camera as low as possible and shooting wide so the creek reads like a river or canyon seen from an aircraft. Watch the frame carefully for leaves, blades of grass, or other recognizable items that would give away the real size.
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