Using Forced Perspective

forced perspective photo

Photography is primarily about capturing abstract moments, illusions and feelings, likewise, forced perspective photography employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, larger, closer, smaller than it actually appears to be; this genre of photography is usually used in architecture and film making.

The main aspect of this kind of photography is that it fabricates visual perception of human beings with the use of scaled objects, vantage point of the viewer or the camera and the correlation between them.

forced perspective

How is Forced Perspective utilized in film making?

By placing a small or ordinary sized object, by use of camera the object can be magnified and made to appear comparatively larger.

Role of light in forced perspective photography – Previous instances of this genre used in less budget motion pictures showed objects that were distinctly differing from their immediate surroundings, generally blurred or at a light level which is completely different; the principal cause of this being geometric. In order to create illusion of an object at a specific distance being at the same proximity of a nearer object, more light is required with proper scaling. While shooting with forced perspective, it is necessary to have the aperture ceased in order to establish an ideal depth of field. As miniature models require to be subjected to a brighter background or a well lit area than the original focus of the camera, it is essential to make sure that the amount of heat emitted during the process, can be withstood by the incandescent sources of light.

The most amazing feature of forced perspective is that it enhances and adds further to the comic effects being processed; when a commodity or character is being portrayed in a particular scene, its size is defined by virtue of its surrounding, a character then interacts with the character or object thereby, depicting that the spectator has been fooled owing to the presence of forced perspective.

Use of this kind of photography in architecture:

In this field, a structure or a construction is made to seem taller or larger than its usual size or height; this is usually done by adjusting the scale of objects in relation to the viewer. By consistently diminishing the scale of objects towards the farthest point of the viewer in terms of convention and expectancy, a queer illusion is created that the scale of aforementioned objects is reducing owing to the distant location.


The plausible techniques involved in forced perspective:

  • Manipulating angular size of the subject.
  • Creating blurred effects which establish a contradictory impression of depth.
  • Perceptive depth of shading and lighting.
  • Fabrication in the relative size.

Not only in aesthetic fields, but also in theme parks is this kind of photography employed; illusion is created by utilization of brighter colors, distant shades because this technique enables the spectators to discern the distance between objects from a stationary source of light that illuminates the entire surrounding along with the subject.

It’s knows as single-eye photography as well!