Not Photoshopped: Just Incredible Forced Perspective Photography
Wed, Sep 9, 2009
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Photo: abmiller99
From Gulliver’s Travels to Alice in Wonderland, the idea of people shrinking and growing has proven endlessly fascinating. What if, we wonder, we were that big or that small? Then along came mass produced cameras, and easy as eating a cake that says “EAT ME”, the more adroit shooters among us were able to realise just such size-shifting exploits – or at least the illusion of having done so. Places around the globe provide backdrops for these fine examples of forced perspective.
Size is everything – or nothing: Salar de Uyuni
Photo: abmiller99
Bolivia’s Salar De Uyuni is a particularly conducive environment for photographers keen to test out their perspective-bending skills. The vast, expansive landscapes of the world’s largest salt plains have few features to shatter the illusion of big objects appearing small or small objects big.
Scots bonsai: Carrot Hill, Scotland
Photo: stuant63
Taken in the Angus area of Scotland, this photo shows that with an isolated tree, a bit of imagination, and no little skill, you can pull the wool over the eyes of human perception. It’s all about the way scaled objects are made to relate to one another and the viewer’s vantage point.
Gobbling a hot dog: Kennedy Space Center
Photo: toastforbrekkie
This next pic could be construed as being be a little on the lewd side, but that’s up to you. The Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida is the launch pad for the visual gag. It’s a good job Space Shuttle Discovery’s STS-121 Mission to the International Space Station wasn’t launched when the photo was taken.
This could be painful: Cape Canaveral
Photo: Lorenia
What is it about Kennedy Space Centre and high jinks with forced perspective? The flat background broken only by the instruments of space launches obviously inspires some people. This photo of a guy doing a good impersonation of a cheerleader even made it onto Japanese TV. Who’d have thought it?
We are not amused: Peggy’s Cove
Photo: lifecreations
Nova Scotia’s Peggy’s Cove provides the setting for this next addition to our list. This small rural community is nevertheless a busy tourist attraction, and its classic red-and-white lighthouse is major focal point for visitors carrying cameras. Believe it or not, it’s almost 15 metres (50 ft) high.
Think big, be big: The Eiffel Tower
Photo: ~Thanh
This touching shot makes aiming for the top not such a fanciful dream after all. The most famous landmark on the Parisian landscape is the perfect prop to make this little girl seem like a giant standing some 324 m (1,063 ft) tall. The low camera angle and large depth of field do the rest of the work.
Just hangin’ around: Perito Moreno
Photo: Alexandre Duarte
This shot was taken at the Perito Moreno glacier in the Argentine region of Patagonia. The 250 km2 (97 sq mi) ice formation is an important tourist attraction, and the sheets of frozen fresh water clearly offer ample opportunity for a little playfulness with visual perspective.
Blowing off some steam: Old Faithful
Photo: toastforbrekkie
This is one instance where you might safely accuse the subject of the photo of being full of hot air – except of course that it’s Old Faithful, Yellowstone’s most famous geyser, producing the steam for this gigantic breath. The creative snapping of nature’s geothermal force delivers a cool result.
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World’s Strangest | Forced Perspective Photography Says:
October 2nd, 2009 at 6:38 pm[...] create a photo that your mind interprets to be real. The effect is a Photoshop-less photo forgery. Environmental Graffiti has collected a fantastic gallery of such images, including the one above by Alexandre [...]
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Not Photoshopped: Just Incredible Forced Perspective Photography | Environmental Graffiti « Qwerty98311’s Weblog Says:
February 1st, 2010 at 10:52 pm[...] February 1, 2010 at 9:52 pm (Uncategorized) via environmentalgraffiti.com [...]
September 9th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
these photos are cool! You forgot to mention the Taj Mahal– if you stand at a particular angle about 20 (?) feet away, you could raise your hand, pretend to hold something, and it’ll look like you’re holding the Taj Mahal by its peak (the crescent on top of the dome).
September 9th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
I’ve already seen some of them. They’re really incredible done. I like that kind of art. Maybe you will find some more for a second post?
September 9th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Incredible. Truly great work.
September 9th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Very cool
September 10th, 2009 at 4:22 am
WHAT fun photos – thanks for sharing!
September 10th, 2009 at 9:08 am
That’s awesome!
September 10th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Looks like there’s been some photoshop work on the woman’s shadow in the first photo, actually.
September 10th, 2009 at 11:17 am
That’s no hotdog! It’s a …
September 10th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
#1 is “shopped”. Smaller lady has had her shadow removed to complete the proportion:distance illusion .
September 10th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
First one is photoshopped. I can see marks where her shadow is removed :)
September 10th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
If these are not Photoshopped, then where is the woman’s shadow in the first pic?
September 10th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
pretty cool, im going to try something like that
September 10th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
The Cape Canaveral one of the guy jumping over the launch pad is funnier when you know he’s actually an engineer at KSC… and that he’s the photographer of two of the other pictures you posted!
September 10th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
I love Photoshop, but what it’s done to trick photography is murder. You can’t look at a cool picture without suspicion anymore.
September 10th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
my friends and i love doing this kind of shots… but these photos are awesome! and oh, except for the first one.
September 11th, 2009 at 12:18 am
They’re cool. I particularly like the one of the girl touching the top of the Eiffel Tower.
September 11th, 2009 at 12:33 am
that was amazing! It’s all about the angles and the time.
September 11th, 2009 at 1:09 am
My favourite has to be the little girl reaching up for the Effiel Tower. These are clever photographs but I enjoy the twist on what is probably one of the most photographed landmarks in the world!
September 11th, 2009 at 3:44 am
Very cool! especially that first one there
September 11th, 2009 at 3:54 am
The woman at the lighthouse looks angry
September 11th, 2009 at 4:32 am
very nice pict……..good idea i like it
September 11th, 2009 at 5:45 am
excellent work!! its all about taste, height, distance, and ofcourse photography.
September 11th, 2009 at 6:11 am
coollll… i like that
September 11th, 2009 at 9:18 am
LOL these are hilarious.
good post.
September 11th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
I think most of these could be construed as being a little on the lewd side. You REALLY should have thought these out better.
September 11th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Haha, funny pics!
September 12th, 2009 at 2:09 am
Shopped.
September 12th, 2009 at 7:18 am
These are the most PHOTO-SHOPPED PICTURES I’VE EVER SEEN!!!
September 12th, 2009 at 9:36 am
wow.. its great workout..
September 12th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Wow! I am fascinated. Completely fascinated!!!
September 12th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
This photos shows us how we can be huge and in the same time how we are small
September 13th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
This is great really. I tried alot but couldn’t handle even photoshop perspective transforms.
Regards.
September 13th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
only one good picture in the lot your a bunch of amatures don’t leave your day job guys!
September 13th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
These are awesome!!! It’s funny because they look almost like BAD photoshop jobs!
September 14th, 2009 at 6:44 am
They still look shopped.
September 14th, 2009 at 9:56 am
nice post, thanks
September 14th, 2009 at 10:38 am
outstanding photos, amazing work. No flaw at all
September 14th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Awesome photos and a good idea for making even better souvenirs. By the way, you’re good at making innuendos. Loved it. :)
September 15th, 2009 at 3:20 am
nice ideas! I find forced perspective works great on most beaches too, a staple addition to any holiday/tourist portrait photographer – but so easy to do – like jump shots; get as low as you can and position the group a few meters in front of you, ask them to bend their knees and jump ‘with character’, can work nicely with a boat or landscape in the background, the subjects will look like super-human jumpers ;)
September 15th, 2009 at 3:44 am
These are great. I think the rag doll by the hand shot is my favorite. I’ve been meaning to do these again. Here’s some I did when I was probably 10: http://refr.us/8pkhyx
September 15th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Cool photos! I have my own too! http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/3038/n5085647223728836118.jpg
September 16th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
If you like this, go now see my Flickr group: http://cas.im/ir/forced-perspective
September 18th, 2009 at 4:39 am
These are all very well placed photos, some of them look amazing, but they all seem possible. Thanks for a really cool, different view of life.
September 19th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Totally awesome! Going to try and take some photos like those.
September 24th, 2009 at 3:09 am
this is inspiring! I will try now!!
September 24th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
This is one of the best works in photography I’ve ever seen!
September 25th, 2009 at 7:19 am
Awesome collection. Great work. Hats off.
September 26th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Good one.Loved’em all !
September 26th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
what is this?
September 30th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Some of these are photoshopped; its obvious. The shadow in the first one and poor clean up work in others.
October 4th, 2009 at 5:54 am
How is the world did you get everything in focus. My SRL would have been focusing on one (close) or the other (far away)??????
October 10th, 2009 at 12:06 am
Mighty fun finds – reminds me of a sidewalk chalk artist by the name of Julian Beever who draws amazing 3D images and then photographs them. The 3D effect is only seen from one angle – sometimes it is hard to tell who in the photo is real and who is drawn.
October 15th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Great post – ever look at tilt-shift images or video?
October 21st, 2009 at 10:58 am
you should take part in photography.
very nice.
November 1st, 2009 at 11:23 pm
What about this one?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maciejallroad/3087286061/
November 27th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
I found a picture that is made with Photoshop. It is number seven, look at the arms of the girl. Seems they are plastic! More photo to Photoshop Disasters. *tsc-tsc*
December 4th, 2009 at 4:46 am
really great photo and angel :)
December 6th, 2009 at 3:01 am
Very cool, although in the first and second last photos, the “smaller” subjects have no shadows. I smell a fake here!
December 7th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
The girl in number 7 just has double jointed elbows. My elbows (and I’d wager hers, if she tries) bend back further than that.
December 15th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
these pictures were made with photoshop. where are the shadows?
January 20th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
Very nice. The people who can do this have an amazing understanding of perception
January 27th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
wow =)
February 8th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Some really well done perspective shots here.
Love the Eiffel Tower one.