Perspective in photography can be a tricky thing to understand. It is defined as the appearance of depth and distance in a particular image. The sense of depth or distance from the camera creates a particular feel in the frame, thereby conveying a certain meaning.

Perspective in a photograph can be manipulated through various lenses or changing the camera object distance. Two major prime lenses that can cause perspective distortion are a Wide Angle Lens and a Telephoto lens. A wide angle lens exaggerates the depth in a photograph, along with the distance from the camera since its focal length is less. On the other hand, a telephoto lens compresses the distance and the depth in a photograph.

If you see the photograph on your left, then you can see that the image conveys a perspective to you. It has been taken from a wide angle lens, such as the Canon EF 24mm 2.8, so the depth in the frame is exaggerated. The black railing seems to be endless and its elevation conveys a sense of progress, a sense of path. The camera has been kept quite close to the railing, conveying a sense of intimacy. It needs to be noted that a wide angle lens distorts the lines, even though the railings are parallel, they seem to be converging as you move your eyes up. The photograph gives a very dominant feel to railing in the frame.

Now if you see the photograph on your right, notice that the depth in the frame seems to be compressed. it has been taken with a telephoto lens and if you see closely, you would notice that the foreground, mid ground and background seem to be quite compressed compared to how they would have been perceived by our naked eyes. The photograph conveys a sense of harmony in nature, the antelope, grass, river, trees are all in perfect harmony; even though they are on different planes, they appear to be on the same plane.

This is precisely how you can convey a meaning, a perception in your photograph by using different lenses and manipulating the camera object distance.