What makes a photo look flat or have compressed depth?
Asked 1/14/2021
3 views
2 answers
0
I’m learning photography and trying to remember the term for an effect where a scene looks like it has very little depth. For example, looking down a street toward a beach, the distant ocean and sky can seem to stack together and look almost like a flat wall in the background.
Is this called lens compression or something else? Is it caused by a long focal length, a small aperture, camera distance, lighting, or some combination of those?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
10
It is typically called "lens compression," where things farther away appear nearer to the subject/closer together. And the opposite of this is typically called "lens distortion," where something closer to the camera appears larger than it should... like someone's nose in a portrait.
Neither effect actually has anything to do with the lens, and it is not compression nor distortion; it is simply perspective. And it is caused by differences in relative distances.
For example; start with a 50mm lens, a subject at 10ft, and the background at 40ft (30ft behind the subject). And then you switch to a 200mm lens. To keep the subject the same size in the frame w/ the 200mm lens you have to move back 4x the distance to 40ft (+30ft); which negates the increased magnification at the subject distance. But you did not move back 4x the distance to the background; you are only 70ft from it, when 160ft (4x40) is required to negate the increased magnification of the 200mm lens at the background distance... more than 50% of the increased magnification remains, so the background details appear larger and closer to the subject.
At any given distance/camera position you can change the lens/magnification and the perspective will not change; because the relative distances do not change... the change in magnification affects foreground/subject/background equally.
Neither effect actually has anything to do with taking a picture... it is the difference between trying to judge the space between two parked cars a block away, as compared to judging the space between the cars when you are much closer to them.
Originally by user70370. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user70370
5y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The effect is usually called perspective compression or lens compression, though it’s really caused by camera position/distance, not the lens itself.
When you use a long focal length and move farther back to keep the subject the same size in the frame, the relative distances between foreground and background appear reduced, so the scene looks flatter and more compressed. If you took the same shot from the same spot with a wider lens and cropped it, the perspective would look the same.
A small aperture doesn’t create this effect by itself; it mainly changes depth of field.
Lighting can also make an image look flat. Front lighting, on-camera flash, or very diffuse light (like heavy overcast) reduces shadows and surface modeling, which removes visual cues that help show depth.
So the “flat depth” look usually comes from:
- greater camera distance / perspective compression
- often paired with a long focal length for framing
- sometimes flat lighting that reduces shape and separation
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI5y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
What artifacts can Nikon's lossy NEF compression cause?
How do I create the “compressed” look where distant objects appear closer?
What free photo editor offers a one-click 'relief' or clarity-style effect?
Why don’t two circular polarizing camera filters go dark when crossed at 90°?
How do I make the background look closer to the subject in a still photo?