Photo perspective question?

[MovingZen]

So I'm pretty much a noob to the DSLR world and have a question about a picture I want but I'm not sure I have the equipment necessary to accomplish the picture. Back story is I saw some pictures of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge here in Charleston SC, did some high quality stalking using google maps, and think I figured out where the picture was taken. Since I'm not quite ready for the pictures I plan on taking I decided to do some recon. I grabbed up the camera and drove down to see if I would be able to get the picture I wanted when the time was right. I went down with my 55-200mm lens which is mostly what I use when I'm outside. I also have a 35mm but didn't bring it with me. :bash:I didn't take a whole bunch of pictures once I realized I wasn't prepared to get the test shots I wanted. Anyway, here is one of the photographs I took -

Obviously, I want the car a lot bigger and the bridge a lot smaller. I believe I need a much wider angle lens, possibly wider than the 35 mm I have. I want the stanchions and cabling in the picture but more of the bridge in the picture would be ok. I'm going to go back down next weekend with my 35 mm lens, but I'm thinking a 10-24 mm or something along those lines? Am I on the right track thinking a much wider angle lens will get me the perspective I'm looking for?
Eventually the picture will be taken at night or right after sunset with a tripod and remote shutter release... maybe a slow sync flash to light up the car with the shutter open long enough to get the bridge to light up also. What I want in the picture wont happen till end of June so I have a little time to figure out what equipment I need. Thanks for any help :beer:

 

[oldmodman]

Yes. if you use a wide angle lens and get very close to the car, the car will look much larger in perspective when compared to the bridge. Plus, with a wide angle lens both should still be in focus if the lens is stopped down to between F8 and 11

You want to stay away from having the lens either all the way open or all the way closed. Either extreme will be slightly softer that the middle apertures.

The biggest problem with using an extremely wide angle lens, up close, is the distortion that will result. You will have to experiment with the distortion vs distance from the car to get the effect that you are looking for.

 

[Planter]

what oldmodman said. wide angles will get you the perspective you are looking for.

 

[DHG1078]

What planter said.

 

[MovingZen]

Thanks, I was hoping so! I wasn't even thinking when I went down there, I just grabbed the camera and went. I'm going to take my 35 mm lens and my gopro down and switch out between settings. I will be able to get 14, 21, 28, and 35 mm focal lengths and then I'll have a better idea what focal length is needed for the perspective I want. Of course, if I need lower than 35 mm it's going to hurt because the picture I want may need a slow shutter.

 

[HYBRED]

Are you looking for something like this:

1

Or this:

2

1. Taken with a long lens at 70mm and F/8. Car looks smaller in comparison to the bridge.

2. Taken with a wider lens at 28mm and F/3.2 (sky done with handheld filters). Bridge is just an aspect of the wider shot, but distance from the car prevents it from being too distorted.

I may have missed it, what camera do you have? I have a 10-22 for a Canon I'd consider selling, fabulous lens but it doesn't work with my 5D.

 

[chrisheltra]

Sorry I have no useful info but just wanted to add I took a very similar pic of my car with that bridge when I first purchased it.

Why wouldn't you just park the car closer to the camera?

 

[MovingZen]

Are you looking for something like this:

1

Or this:

2

1. Taken with a long lens at 70mm and F/8. Car looks smaller in comparison to the bridge.

2. Taken with a wider lens at 28mm and F/3.2 (sky done with handheld filters). Bridge is just an aspect of the wider shot, but distance from the car prevents it from being too distorted.

I may have missed it, what camera do you have? I have a 10-22 for a Canon I'd consider selling, fabulous lens but it doesn't work with my 5D.

I really like the look of number 2 but the relationship I'm looking for is more like number 1. I want the car to be large and in focus and use the bridge as an interesting back drop. I would say I want to keep the car under the road portion of the bridge. I may be closer to the bridge in the position I'm shooting from. I'm practically underneath the end, and the channel is considerably closer to the shoreline I'm shooting from. Was the data not with the picture? I re sized it to make it easier to see on the forum. I am learning a D5300 I got back in November. I didn't get a kit, I got a f1.8 35mm and a 55-200 mm f3-5 (approximate I'm not sure right now). I didn't spend a lot of money on the lens' to start. If it becomes a serious hobby I'll move up. At the time I looked at a 10-24 mm that was like $800 I think. I wasn't ready for that yet. I left the lens gap, 35-55mm, because I figured nothing at my level would be critical enough that I couldn't walk a few feet. I've got a lot to learn but at this point I don't think the lens' are the limiting factor Is your 10-22mm in dx format? I'm hoping the gopro will give me an idea what focal length I'll need and then I'll go from there.

Sorry I have no useful info but just wanted to add I took a very similar pic of my car with that bridge when I first purchased it.

Why wouldn't you just park the car closer to the camera?

You recognize the spot? Over by Patriots point College of Charleston baseball stadium? I've seen some pictures from the Yorktown pier that look pretty good.
I want the whole stanchion in the picture, and with the lens I was using I needed to walk back close to 100 ft just to get the bridge the way you see it in the picture.

32.799087 N'
79.904438 W

 

[chrisheltra]

I really like the look of number 2 but the relationship I'm looking for is more like number 1. I want the car to be large and in focus and use the bridge as an interesting back drop. I would say I want to keep the car under the road portion of the bridge. I may be closer to the bridge in the position I'm shooting from. I'm practically underneath the end, and the channel is considerably closer to the shoreline I'm shooting from. Was the data not with the picture? I re sized it to make it easier to see on the forum. I am learning a D5300 I got back in November. I didn't get a kit, I got a f1.8 35mm and a 55-200 mm f3-5 (approximate I'm not sure right now). I didn't spend a lot of money on the lens' to start. If it becomes a serious hobby I'll move up. At the time I looked at a 10-24 mm that was like $800 I think. I wasn't ready for that yet. I left the lens gap, 35-55mm, because I figured nothing at my level would be critical enough that I couldn't walk a few feet. I've got a lot to learn but at this point I don't think the lens' are the limiting factor Is your 10-22mm in dx format? I'm hoping the gopro will give me an idea what focal length I'll need and then I'll go from there.



You recognize the spot? Over by Patriots point College of Charleston baseball stadium? I've seen some pictures from the Yorktown pier that look pretty good.
I want the whole stanchion in the picture, and with the lens I was using I needed to walk back close to 100 ft just to get the bridge the way you see it in the picture.

32.799087 N'
79.904438 W

Im familiar with the area but not that exact spot.

 

[MovingZen]

lol I've now stalked that spot out using google maps also. I was in the parking lot of the buildings to your right.. 3rd building over closest to the bridge. When I next go over there I'm going to take my quad copter and get some video of the bridge. Might take a flight over the Yorktown also! :beer:

 

[Blown_By_You]

You don't need a wide angle to get the perspective you want.. You can use a longer lense and just get closer to the car..

 

[HYBRED]

I really like the look of number 2 but the relationship I'm looking for is more like number 1. I want the car to be large and in focus and use the bridge as an interesting back drop.

You don't need a wide angle to get the perspective you want.. You can use a longer lense and just get closer to the car..

Then this is my recommendation as well. Back up, zoom in with a longer lens. Some of my favorite shots were taken at 200mm and F2.8, makes for a really cool almost tilt-shift look.

 

[Fox-4]

You don't need a wide angle to get the perspective you want.. You can use a longer lense and just get closer to the car..

Then this is my recommendation as well. Back up, zoom in with a longer lens. Some of my favorite shots were taken at 200mm and F2.8, makes for a really cool almost tilt-shift look.

Ditto to both of these. It works well in most cases. :-D

 

[MovingZen]

I will take the GoPro and DSLR with both lenses when I go back down again. Thanks for the advice. If I looked at ChrisSheltra's picture data correctly, his picture was taken with a 13 mm focal length? The spot he used is just a little bit further away. The gopro at 14 mm will tell the story but I think it's going to hurt my feelings.

 

[Blown_By_You]

The problem with going so wide is that it starts to distort things.. This shot was probably done at 10mm, which isn't far off from 13 or 14. That's the only real downside to going so wide instead of moving farther back..

Somewhere in my photography books I have an example picture taken side by side. One close up with a wider lense and one far away with a longer lense. In essence, both pics are identical, but they also didn't go super wide.


ONE by BLWNBYU, on Flickr

 

[HYBRED]

Note my photos were taken on a full frame as well, that'll make a difference.

 

[MovingZen]

Well I had a chance to go back today. I had to go in the dd as the mustang is getting a new dsp. It looks like 35 mm will do the trick -

Here is another shot I took while I was there -

and a video that's not very good but the carrier was on the other side of a stand of trees and I couldn't get any closer -

Sorry the video isn't any better but it was a little windy and I had to shoot into the sun.

I took the GoPro and the wide angle distortion was pretty noticeable. Also, the parking lot was slap full today so there was no way for me to walk way back and get a picture of the truck/bridge with a max zoom picture.