A SENSE OF SCALE

SIZE RELATIONSHIPS TELL A STORY

One key compositional technique in landscape photography is the use of scale. By including foreground subjects such as rocks, trees, or flowers in front of mountains, the photographer can convey depth in the scene, giving a stronger sense of the locale, and of “being there.” In many editorial uses for photographs, it is important to clearly describe the subject. Objects of known size give us clues as to the scale and depth.

A sense of scale in an image can be affected in several ways. One way relates to how we arrange objects within the frame, such as the foreground and background in the example on the opposite page. Another method to convey scale is the choice of lens. If you use a telephoto lens ...

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