Perspective

A2 Make perspectives consistent and easy to read

Perspective explained

Perspective is all about where you position and how you angle your camera relative to the 3-dimensional building in your shot. This will determine how the building or storefront will appear in your two-dimensional picture.

You may want to take the straight shot that makes the storefront look flat and uncomplicated. Or you may want a more dramatic and interesting angle. Here are some examples:

This is a straight shot.

A super dramatic shot from an odd position and an extreme angle.

9 different perspectives: The straight shot is in the center. The top row shows shot from up high. The bottom row from down low. First column contains shots from the left. The third column holds shots from the right. Notice, how differently the storefronts are shaped in 2D.

The same 9 perspectives simplified to demonstrate how the storefront change shape depending on where you take the shot from.

Try squinting, and the 4 corner shapes will "point" to where the shots were taken from.

In this module, you will learn how to get the perspective you want while also making it quick and easy for Maps users to read and understand your photos. Maps users get to see several images every second. So, they don't have time to dwell for a long time to understand a very sophisticated perspective in your shot.

Be kind to Maps users by only uploading pictures where the perspective is quick and easy to "read"!

Again, this is the straight shot. Notice, how you can't see any of the sides of the building. And all four corners are straight (90-degrees) angles.

The building looks flat and very uncomplicated. When Maps users see a straight shot like this the perspective is super fast and easy for brains to read and understand.

This is an example of a shot from the left. It is slightly more dramatic and shows the 3-dimensional structure.

The left side of the building is now visible. And the left side looks quite a bit taller than the right-hand side. And the corners are no longer 90-degrees.

It takes the brain a bit longer to process this image, but it is still pretty easy and quick.

These are examples of way too complicated and inconsistent perspectives. Notice, how your brain wants you to rotate your head to ease the burden of reading and understanding such odd perspectives. None of the vertical lines are parallel to the frame.

Think twice before uploading such pics to Google Maps.

Level horizontal lines

This line ─ is level. We also say level lines are:

Parallel to your frame top and bottom
Not slanting
Not sloping
Not inclining up- or downhill
True horizontal

Plumb vertical lines

This line | is plumb. We also say plumb lines are:

Parallel to your frame sides
Not leaning
Straight up and down
Perpendicular to the horizon.
True vertical

If you keep your horizontal lines level and your vertical lines plumb you are being very kind to Maps users. Shortly you will learn how to plumb vertical lines.

Understanding moves and angles

We often need to move a lot more to get the best shot. Don't be lazy. Move more. Also, we need to be more conscious about how we angle our camera relatively to the buildings and storefronts.

On the next page, you will get to know the 3 simple perspective rules needed to get the best perspectives. Moves and angles affect the perspective in your shots in very different ways. Moving your camera is simple: left, right, up, down, forwards, and back. But you also need to understand and remember what pan, tilt, and roll means. So here are some animations to help you out.

Move and walk more.

The 3 axes for TURNING your camera

Notice, how the camera is not moving along any of the axes while panning, tilting, and rolling.

PANNING left/right

Left or right around the green axis.

Panning makes one side of your storefront look taller and closer and the other side smaller and further away.

TILTING up/down

Up- or downwards around the red axis.

Tilting makes the sides of your storefront lean away from vertical. And horizontal lines will look like they are of different lengths.

Try never to tilt your phone.

ROLLING

Clockwise or anti-clockwise around the yellow axis.

This is used to get the horizon level in your shots.

Try always to keep the horizon level.

MOVING your camera along the same 3 axes

Notice, how pan, tilt, and roll are not affected while moving your camera.

Move left/right

Along the red axis.

Compare moving left and right to panning left and right.

Do the two sides of the building look to be of the same height after moving left or right?

Move up/down

Along the green axis.

Compare moving up and down to tilting up and down.

Do the two sides of the building stay plumb after moving up or down?

Move forward/back

Along the yellow axis.

This has the same effect as zooming.

All possible perspectives are defined by how your camera is positioned and turned along these 3 axes.

Quiz time

To confirm and boost your understanding of tilt, pan, and roll 2 quizzes have been prepared for you.

With the help of the program 3D builder, 24 images of the building were constructed. You already know this building! Your job is to "read" the perspectives and indicate how the camera was moved and turned.

In the first quiz Read Perspectives 1 only one move or angle was changed. So, it should be pretty easy to get all 12 questions right.

In the second quiz Read Perspectives 2 is a lot harder because you have to indicate the combination of moves and turns applied to get the shot. If you can get 11 out of 11 correct, you are a real champ.

After selecting your answers and clicking Submit, then please click View score to see how many correct answers you got. Under View score, your answers will also be color-coded. Green for correct and red for wrong answers.

Feel free to skip the quizzes if you already master reading perspectives or when they get repetitive.

Good luck.

Read Perspectives 1

Read Perspectives 2

If you nailed the quizzes, you are now ready for the 3 simple Perspective Rules that can help you make the perspective look great and consistent in all your future shots.

Drum roll. Here we go: