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Five Monocular Cues to Creating Stronger Images
Tips from esteemed painter Robert Sinclair Written by Tarra Kongsrude, IACC Member Robert Sinclair, a renowned watercolour painter and teacher for the past 40 years, believes that the tips he shares with his students on how to create more dynamic pictures can also apply to photographers. He says we can produce more interesting images by creating the illusion of depth using five monocular cues: overlapping, position in field, light and shadow, atmospheric perspective, and figure/ground ambiguity. |
Robert Sinclair Websites:
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1) People interpret an object as being in front if it is positioned overlapping another object. Therefore, it is better to shift your photographic viewing angle until one object overlaps the other to create a sense of depth in an otherwise flat image.
2) In Western society, an object positioned within the bottom third of an image is interpreted as being closer to the viewer and therefore larger than one located in the top two-thirds. This is why a miniature toy in the foreground of a photo can come across as life sized.
3) A strong interplay between light and shadow helps create the illusion of depth and volume. This is one reason why exaggerated light at sunrise and sunset are good times to shoot photographs.
4) Objects in the foreground of a landscape painting are rendered sharper with more saturated colours than objects in the background. Objects in the distance are softer-edged and paler due to being obscured by dust, fog or water vapour. Photographers can produce this sense of atmospheric perspective by adjusting their camera focal length so the foreground is sharp and the background is more blurred.
5) Artists and photographers concentrate on the main figure in their image but often overlook the importance of the background. The negative space in an image is often just as important in creating a strong visual. Robert Sinclair demonstrates this figure/ground ambiguity principle in some of his landscape paintings that work just as well when placed in an inverted position. In one position they are mountain scenes, but turned 180 degrees they become seascapes.
When perceiving the world around us, monocular cues work together to contribute to our experience of depth. The corner of a building looks larger and more textured, causing it to seem closer. Objects further down the street appear smaller, so we judge them as being farther away. The parallel lines of the highway appear progressively closer as they disappear in the distance, and the mountains in the distance seem fuzzy and indistinct.
As photographers we should keep in mind how various monocular cues contribute to our viewers total experience of the image. From a personal perspective, photography not only enables us to view the world in new ways, but it can also open our eyes to how we literally perceive our surroundings.
2) In Western society, an object positioned within the bottom third of an image is interpreted as being closer to the viewer and therefore larger than one located in the top two-thirds. This is why a miniature toy in the foreground of a photo can come across as life sized.
3) A strong interplay between light and shadow helps create the illusion of depth and volume. This is one reason why exaggerated light at sunrise and sunset are good times to shoot photographs.
4) Objects in the foreground of a landscape painting are rendered sharper with more saturated colours than objects in the background. Objects in the distance are softer-edged and paler due to being obscured by dust, fog or water vapour. Photographers can produce this sense of atmospheric perspective by adjusting their camera focal length so the foreground is sharp and the background is more blurred.
5) Artists and photographers concentrate on the main figure in their image but often overlook the importance of the background. The negative space in an image is often just as important in creating a strong visual. Robert Sinclair demonstrates this figure/ground ambiguity principle in some of his landscape paintings that work just as well when placed in an inverted position. In one position they are mountain scenes, but turned 180 degrees they become seascapes.
When perceiving the world around us, monocular cues work together to contribute to our experience of depth. The corner of a building looks larger and more textured, causing it to seem closer. Objects further down the street appear smaller, so we judge them as being farther away. The parallel lines of the highway appear progressively closer as they disappear in the distance, and the mountains in the distance seem fuzzy and indistinct.
As photographers we should keep in mind how various monocular cues contribute to our viewers total experience of the image. From a personal perspective, photography not only enables us to view the world in new ways, but it can also open our eyes to how we literally perceive our surroundings.