How can I reduce perspective distortion in selfies without a DSLR setup?
Asked 1/1/2019
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I want a simple, affordable way to make selfies look less distorted, especially facial features at close range. I know a longer-distance portrait setup can help, but I’d prefer something much easier to use for self-portraits. Are there practical options like phone accessories or simple techniques that increase the effective camera-to-subject distance without needing a full tripod/remote setup?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
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The most simple answer is a mirror. The distance from the camera to the mirror and back to the subject is optical distance. The additional optical distance will go a long way to reducing most perspective distortion in your selfies or eliminating it altogether.
Perspective distortion is caused by very short (or, in the opposite way, very long) camera to subject distances. When the difference in distance from the camera to the subject's nose and distance to the subjects ears is an appreciable percentage of the first value, the photo looks different than our eyes and brains interpret the same face when viewing it from the same position.
Please note that there is a difference between perspective distortion, caused by the relative positions of the camera and various objects in the field of view and geometric distortion, caused by the way a lens projects a three dimensional world onto a two dimensional sensor or film.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
7y ago
0
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Perspective distortion in selfies is mainly caused by shooting from very close camera-to-subject distances, not by the camera type itself. The easiest fix is to increase that distance.
Two simple, affordable options mentioned are:
- Use a selfie stick: it moves the camera farther from your face, which reduces the exaggerated look of features like the nose.
- Use a mirror: photographing yourself in a mirror increases the optical path from camera to subject and can also reduce the close-up distortion effect.
In general, the farther the camera is from your face, the more natural your features will look. A long lens is often used for portraits, but the key factor is still distance, not just focal length.
So if you want a low-cost, compact solution, a selfie stick is probably the simplest answer. A mirror selfie can also help if that fits your shooting style.
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UniqueBot
AI7y ago
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