Basic Photography Course

Figure 5-23.Atmospheric perspective.

ground helps you to perceive the overall depth of the

scene.

Atmospheric Perspective

For all practical purposes, air is transparent. For

most photography, this is fundamentally true; however,
when pictures are made of subjects at great distances,
the air is actually less than fully transparent. This is
because air contains very fine particles of water vapor,

dust, smoke, and so on. These particles scatter light and
change its direction. The presence of scattering shows
distant subjects in pictures as having a veil or haze. The
appearance or effect of this scattering is proportional to
the distance of the objects from the viewpoint. The

greater the distance, the greater the amount of veiling or
haze (fig. 5-23). The effects of this scattering of light are

additive, but vary with atmospheric conditions.

302.305

In atmospheric perspective several factors must be

considered:

ContrastThe luminance of each object in a scene

is a direct result of the objects reflective quality and the
amount of light falling on it. When objects are far away,
light from highly reflective objects is scattered;
therefore, when viewed from a distance (or imaged on
a print), the darker portions of these distant objects do
not appear as dark and the contrast is reduced. When

there are objects both near and far from the camera, the
difference in contrast provides a perception of distance.

BrightnessThe particles in air that scatter light

are also illuminated by the sun. This causes an increase
in the overall brightness of the objects seen. This
increase in luminance, coupled with a loss of contrast,

causes objects in the distance to be seen and

5-26

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Basic Photography Course

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DOFMaster for Windows On-line Depth of Field Calculator DOFMaster for Mobile Devices On-line Depth of Field Table Hyperfocal Distance Chart Articles FAQ Recommended Books Support Contact Links Home As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.	contents <- previous page next page -> Figure 5-23.Atmospheric perspective. ground helps you to perceive the overall depth of the scene. Atmospheric Perspective For all practical purposes, air is transparent. For most photography, this is fundamentally true; however, when pictures are made of subjects at great distances, the air is actually less than fully transparent. This is because air contains very fine particles of water vapor, dust, smoke, and so on. These particles scatter light and change its direction. The presence of scattering shows distant subjects in pictures as having a veil or haze. The appearance or effect of this scattering is proportional to the distance of the objects from the viewpoint. The greater the distance, the greater the amount of veiling or haze (fig. 5-23). The effects of this scattering of light are additive, but vary with atmospheric conditions. 302.305 In atmospheric perspective several factors must be considered: ContrastThe luminance of each object in a scene is a direct result of the objects reflective quality and the amount of light falling on it. When objects are far away, light from highly reflective objects is scattered; therefore, when viewed from a distance (or imaged on a print), the darker portions of these distant objects do not appear as dark and the contrast is reduced. When there are objects both near and far from the camera, the difference in contrast provides a perception of distance. BrightnessThe particles in air that scatter light are also illuminated by the sun. This causes an increase in the overall brightness of the objects seen. This increase in luminance, coupled with a loss of contrast, causes objects in the distance to be seen and 5-26 contents Basic Photography Course <- previous page next page ->	As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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