What is this photography technique where a person appears to hold a distant object?
Asked 3/24/2011
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Is there a name for photos that use subject placement and background alignment to create an optical illusion—for example, making it look like someone is holding a distant building in their hand?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
11
Perspective Photography, or, Forced Perspective Photography.
Here is a flickr pool with many many examples.
This is a good starting point if you're interested in learning how to apply this technique with your own photography.
Originally by user170. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user170
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes — the usual term is forced perspective (or forced perspective photography).
It’s a composition technique that uses camera position, subject placement, and distance to create an optical illusion. A common example is aligning a person in the foreground with a distant landmark so it appears they are touching, holding, or interacting with it. The effect works because the camera compresses a 3D scene into a 2D image, making carefully aligned objects appear connected or differently sized.
The same idea is also used beyond playful shots, including architecture and real-estate images to influence the sense of scale.
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