How can you make foreground details look large while keeping the distant background prominent in landscape photos?
Asked 4/14/2022
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I’m trying to understand how landscape photos can show a very close, enlarged foreground (like flowers or rocks) while still making the distant background look strong and not tiny. My first thought is an ultra-wide lens, but in some examples the background doesn’t seem as small or distant as I’d expect. Is this mainly done with careful composition and lens choice, or with stitching/perspective blending in post?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
4y ago
2 Answers
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The data on the first one indicates a full frame Z7 with a 14mm lens stopped down to f16. According to my handy DOF calculator, if the lens is focused at 2 feet 'acceptable' sharpness is from 1'2" to infinity. Hyperfocal distance is 1'4", so DOF is sufficient to keep both foreground and background in focus.
As far as perspective goes, we really don't know how much distance there is between the flowers and the background elements, so we can't tell if there was any manipulation going on. Occam's/Ockham's Razor would say that the background is closer than it looks...
Edit: DOF acceptable sharpness is, of course, only true for some definition of 'acceptable' which takes into account viewing distance, image size, etc.
Originally by user11772. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user11772
4y ago
0
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This look can often be achieved in-camera. A very wide lens placed close to the foreground makes nearby subjects appear large, while stopping down and focusing near the hyperfocal distance can keep both foreground and background acceptably sharp. A 14mm full-frame lens, for example, can easily give enough depth of field for this.
The background may not look as distant as you expect simply because it’s physically closer than it appears, or because the final image is cropped so the background sits nearer the center, where wide-angle distortion is less obvious. You can still see some expected distortion in foreground elements near the frame edges.
Another way to get a similar balance is to use a longer focal length from farther back, if the landscape allows it. A telephoto lens compresses perspective, making the background look larger relative to the foreground.
So the effect is usually a combination of:
- getting very close to foreground elements
- choosing a lens based on scene spacing
- using small apertures and careful focus
- possibly cropping or stitching
It does not require perspective blending or heavy digital manipulation.
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