Importance of photography

Photography can be very deceiving, and can skew reality. It is our job to minimize the natural distortions that occur when we convert a three dimensional world onto a flat piece of paper. There are always issues of perspective - the perception of an object being smaller because it is further away. Many things can influence the problems that perspective can have on a photograph. If you stand very far away from an object and use a telephoto lens, the object may be the exact same size on the page as if you stood right in front of it with a wide angle lens. However, the surrounding environment can appear completely different. See this graphic to help illustrate the concept. Since this can dramatically affect the way the object is perceived as fitting into its environment, it is very important to use the most representative focal length and carefully select the place from which the photograph is taken - the viewpoint.

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