Intentional Distortion

[william_mahoney1]

<p>I am looking to photograph an interior with obvious perspective distortion. I am specifically looking for the "Twilight Zone" feel with relatively extreme angles ect. I am trying to do as much with set design and lens as possible, any suggestions? </p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>The wider the lens, the more it happens. The more you get your point of view off from the vertical and horizontal center, the more it happens. What camera format are you using? If it's an APS-C format (cropped) sensor, then a lens like Sigma's 10-20 HSM will, at 10mm, do a whole lotta what you're talking about. I'm afraid that I don't have too many examples to show, since usually I try to minimize the perspective distortion by placing the camera in a way that will true up the important lines. But if you shoot that wide, and get low or high, you'll get tons of what you're after.</p>

[thomas_hardy1]

<p>You know that 14-24 from Nikon on a FF camera makes a scene downright freaky.</p>

<p>See if you like these.</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/photos/hawkman</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>Rather than a rectilinear lens, try using a diagonal fisheye. You might not want the full 180 deg from corner to corner, in which case you can use a 16mm fisheye on a crop camera. The fisheye will keep round heads round, and not turn subjects into coneheads in the margins.</p>

<p>I think unusual lighting is also much of what you want. Try diffused lighting from below, by bouncing a flash off of a white surface beneath the subject's face. That will give you upward-angled lighting that will look bizarre or sinister.</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>If you try to do it with mirrors; head on over to a large chain hardware store and get one of those "door mirrors." They'll be cheap plastic or plexi in construction. You should be able to flex and maybe curve the mirror some without completely shattering it. If I remember right, you should see them flex if you just grab it and shake it. They're about $25; but, it has been a long time since I have looked for mirrors. I have not bought one in ten years. I think, though, that if you want something bowed or skewed on scene, that mirror might be the way to go, cheap. </p>