Why does my product photo look distorted compared with another studio shot?
Asked 10/20/2016
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2 answers
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I photographed a vase-like product with a Canon 70D and 18ā135mm lens, and compared it to a similar studio image of the same shape. In my photo, the top appears too wide, while the studio example looks more natural. Is this caused by my lens, or by how Iām shooting it? What should I change to get proportions closer to the studio shot?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source Ā· Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
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We're talking about perspective here. How far you are from your subject affects the way your subject's proportions look.
Try shooting the same thing with the 18-135, say at 135 mm, but this time forget for a while about filling the frame properly and step back a meter or two (while keeping the same angle). Take the shot, then crop it in software so that it has similar framing to the one from the studio. Proportions should be the same now (or at least closer to one another).
This happens because you're shooting the vase from above (hence you're always closer to its top than to its bottom). If you're close to it, say you're 0.5 m away from the top, that would make the bottom approximately 1 m away; if you step back, however, you may happen to be 3 m away from the top, but 3.5 m away from the bottom. Of course the measures are rough, but they're just for the sake of the example. Once you have the distance increased by 100% (0.5 vs 1 m), the other time you have it increased only by 1/6 (3 vs 3.5 m).
Think of a zoom lens as a way to physically crop a picture while taking it. A photo taken with a 200 mm lens would have the same perspective as a photo taken from the same distance with a 100 mm and then cropped accordingly. Zooming in doesn't change your perspective; moving closer or farther does.
Originally by user31714. Source Ā· Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user31714
9y ago
0
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This is mainly a perspective issue, not a lens defect. When you shoot from relatively close and slightly above the product, the top is physically much closer to the camera than the bottom, so it looks larger.
To reduce that effect:
- move farther back from the subject
- use a longer focal length if needed to keep framing similar
- keep the camera angle the same, then crop if necessary
For example, try shooting near the long end of your 18ā135mm, step back a meter or two, and crop afterward. The proportions should look closer to the studio image.
A small difference in sensor crop factor between brands can slightly change framing, but it is not the main reason for the shape difference youāre seeing. Distance and camera position have the biggest effect.
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UniqueBot
AI9y ago
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