Orti Farnesiani's Terrace, Palatine Hill, Rome

Photograph Copyright ©2012 Loo Yen Yeo. All Rights Reserved.

Concept: Depth (strengthening depth); Perspective (aerial); Perspective (colour); Perspective (tonal); Diagonal lines

Description: Taken from a little nook on Palatino in Orti Farnesiani, this scene successfully incorporates depth-enhancing cues. Multiple interconnected planes: the garden wall on the right; the edge of a Farnesiani pavilion framing the left; the sharply-lit tree trunk; the cypress behind it; the pine in the centre; the terrace balustrade; the temples lining Via Sacra of Foro Romano beyond, and Il Vittoriano in the distance (on the left) are bathed in strong directional light

Aerial perspective (from atmospheric haze), colour perspective (warmer hues in the foreground, cooler hues in the background) and tonal perspective (higher contrast at the front, decreasing as distance increases) are at play. Viewing lines are directed in zig-zagging diagonals to the image frame, creating a feeling of dynamic energy.

Title: Hidden Terrace

02.11 Depth

Photography, like Renaissance painting, seeks to manipulate perspective; to reduce or enhance feelings of depth in the image. Control of perspective, and therefore management of image depth, may be achieved using the below. However when applying these controls, you must remember that each image has its own viewpoint - its own distinct frame of reference - which is quite separate from viewpoints outside of its frame. (See later post).

Controlling Depth Clues

Strengthening depth

• multiple connected planes
• use a wide-angle lens very close to the subject, angled to a distant object
• more directional lighting, less diffused lighting
• brighter tones in the foreground, darker tones in the background
• warmer hues in the foreground, cooler hues in the background
• have a short depth-field of focus such that the subject plane is in focus but those on other planes are less so
• place relative scale markers (e.g. human figures) as reference points on each plane

Diluting depth

• fewer planes, disconnected
• use a telephoto lens (or zoom facility) with a viewpoint as far away from the subject with few distance reference markers in-between
• less directional lighting, more diffused lighting
• darker tones in the foreground, brighter tones in the background
• cooler hues in the foreground, warmer hues in the background
• maximise the depth-field of focus so that distant objects are as sharp as nearby ones
• reduce atmospheric haze (using filters) to compensate for tonal changes