I am working on a science fair project I need help on forced perspective

Question

I have a camera and items that I plan to use I just cant get both items in focus

Maybe a diagram of how the objects are located with respect to each other and also which aperture and focus length you use? — sharptooth, Oct 25 '17 at 13:47
Tell us about the size of the objects and their distances to the camera and from each other. Tell us what make and model camera you are using. Also we need to know the lenses you own. — Alan Marcus, Oct 25 '17 at 13:48
Without the items mentioned in earlier comments, perhaps this will be of some help — twalberg, Oct 25 '17 at 13:57

Stan · Answer 1 · 2017-10-25T20:30:33.467

Forced perspective is an optical illusion.

You do not need things to be as far apart as objects need to be when using visual perspective.

Arrange your subject pieces so that they LOOK as though they're in perspective.

Place larger objects in front of smaller objects with the smallest objects in the back of the set-up. If you can find a couple of very similar objects that vary only by size, you have what you need. Perspective cues are determined by relative size in the composition. Bigger is closer.
Or…
When objects known to be large are carefully positioned with objects known to be small, optical illusions can be created. Aligning a tiny toy dinosaur or sewing finger-thimble with an iconic real structure such as the Eiffel Tower is an example of such an effect using "perspective." You are violating our sense of what should be.

The objects in your tabletop set-up might be a few centimetres from the front to the rear; but, if done well, things appear to be much further away, deeper into the set.

Work within the lens hyperfocal distance and your subjects will be in focus yet look as if they're violating some laws of optical physics. Choose your objects and carefully align them to heighten the effect.

Perhaps the OP is trying to do the opposite - make a smaller object much closer to the camera look larger than a a larger object much further from the camera. — Michael C, Oct 25 '17 at 18:30

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 25 '17 at 19:20

If you're making a small-model diorama, part of the issue is probably that you're shooting from close macro distances, and at those distances, it can be very difficult to get enough depth of field to cover both subjects, even if they're relatively close together.

I'd recommend using a tripod, and then stopping down the lens on the camera to its minimum aperture (biggest f-number), and using a long exposure, and seeing if you can get enough depth of field that way. If that doesn't work, you may have to move the camera back a bit to get more depth of field, and crop the final image you get, so shooting at the highest resolution setting in the camera would be a good idea.

I am working on a science fair project I need help on forced perspective

2 Answers2