How to express the 3D properties of a Tree?

[dfpoon]

As all we know, a Tree is a 3-dimensional object. But I haven't got

any success for expressing this property with my camera. All those

pictures I've taken is just completely flat. You can feel that it is

similar to a wall. (or a well-drawn picture on the wall)

 

I've checked this out in the photo.net. Many of the pictures of the

trees suffer from this problem.

 

Does anyone knows how photo a "Tree" in a more 3-dimensional way, I

mean, having the tree(s) as the major subject. (whether it is blooming

or not.)

 

I would also appreiciate other opinion on taking pictures of trees.

Thank you.

[peza]

Tried wideangle already ?

[kratoville]

When the fall foliage prompts me to take pictures of trees, I like to lie on my back under the tree and shoot straight up the trunk. Another way is to focus on a branch that is pointing towards the camera - and again shoot into the tree. Otherwise, shoot the tree against other trees.

 

If you try to stand back and fit a single whole tree into the frame, it will look flat.

[kelly_flanigan1]

Stay away from the trees when it rains; Here is a panoramic shot with several Olympus D360L digital images stitched together.....Pieces of the bark broke the rear screen door on a house 100 meters away.....<A HREF=http://www.ezshots.com/members/tripods/images/tripods-219.jpg target = "_blank">

<IMG SRC="http://www.ezshots.com/members/tripods/thumbs/tripods-219-thumb.jpg" BORDER=0></A>

[colin carron]

Two ways of expressing the 3d nature of anything (not just trees) in photography are :

 

1) as mentioned above to use a wide angle lens. This makes the perspective more apparent. The technique is to go in close to your subject and use the depth of field of your w/a lens to get the nearer and farther elements in focus.

 

2) Use the light to emphasize the shape of your subject. If you were taking a photo of a building or a person's face it is a more obvious problem. Mostly you have only one light source available so you have to wait until the sun strikes the tree (or whatever) at the right angle to enhance the 3d effect. Often this will mean using a low angle ie morning or evening. These times of day also have interesting colors as well.

 

Colin

[p_l_jensen]

You can create the feeling of depth by using a wide angle. However, another method, oftenly overlooked, is to use a telephoto lens at relatively wide aperture; particularly a lens with excellent bokeh that can give images a 3D look by "lifting" and separating the subject from it's background.

[jeffpolaski]

Lighting, lighting, lighting. Early morning or late afternoon. Low, slanting sun will model the tree with three dimensional shape. Shoot with the sun to the side. You just can't do that with diffused light.

[david_goldfarb]

1. "Lighting, lighting, lighting" is right.

 

2. Selective focus--try a relatively wide to moderate aperture to separate the tree from the background. Some lenses can do this better than others.

 

3. Local contrast, achieved often by using a larger format. "Three dimensionality" is a quality often ascribed to large format contact prints. In general, the larger the film size, the better local contrast and tonal gradation you get for any given enlargement size, and this produces a deeper sense of space.

 

4. Look at John Sexton's _Listen to the Trees_, if you haven't already.

[markci]

Try shooting through the leaves with a wide aperture, leaving some foreground and background leaves well out of focus.