Vanishing Point Issues With Tall Buildings
Thought these two photos may be interesting to show in comparison. They are both photographed from distances not too far from each other but make a big difference in vanishing points. Tall buildings may get a sharp pointed angle to the rooftops if photographed close up and from the ground level. The best solution is to photograph from a vantage point about half the height of the building. This places the vanishing points in a position where we don’t end up with such severe angled rooftops. I often try to get access to a nearby building but in this case it wasn’t possible. No buildings were nearby because it’s near the Hudson River with boats docked everywhere.
The other solution is to back up but I had limited area. The areas I could back up to had issues such as power lines, fences, sail masts and lots of other distractions. On top of the distractions I had one big request from the client and that was to show the rail station. A compromise was in order and in this situation I feel it’s best taking the shot requested by the client and also doing extra variations to demonstrate how perspective changes the image. The farther back view had the most natural look and feel but showed less of the rail station.
I like both views for their own strong points and the client seemed to like having the option to perhaps use both photos together.
Farther Away View © 2009 Paul S. Bartholomew
Close Up View © 2009 Paul S. Bartholomew
Since it was close to the Hudson River, perhaps you could have hired out a US Airways pilot to fly you in at the perfect vantage point?
It wasn’t far from that area!
They’re both strong images Paul, but I guess I do prefer the top one made from a distance. I didn’t know there was a guideline for distance for this kind of work, very interesting stuff.
Thanks for the comment. I also prefer the more distant photo. So many factors come into play when compromise is required due to the nearby surroundings.
Have you had good results from using software to correct these distortions? I guess the alternative is to use a tilt-shift lens.
I have a combination of really good lenses and I also use DXO Optics software that fine tunes the distortion in some situations. 98% of my work doesn’t need the DXO software. I use a tilt shift lens for most of my work and it’s incredible, no need to correct anything. I only do perspective control in post-production for those special situations like what you see here. Sometimes I need to go wider than what they make with tilt shift lenses so I may use a 14mm for the extreme situations.
I’m looking into medium format backs for use on 4×5 style bodies such as Cambo but not sure if worth it for the high cost. If it can do more then it’s fine, but all my clients so far are very happy with 20+ MP out of a Canon or Nikon.
The new Leica S2 may have something good to offer soon.
Best,
Paul