It doesn’t matter what camera you’re using, the most important element of taking a good picture is the photographer itself. However, it turns out that photos can definitely be framed in such a way, and the type of lens you’re using makes a huge difference. Just like on most smartphones nowadays, there are both telephoto and wide-angle lenses, and the difference in perspective between these two can create very, very different pictures.

Especially in the current world situation during the corona crisis, the perspective of people outdoors can play a huge difference.

People all around the world are still encouraged to stay home as much as possible and to only go out for necessary activities or a daily form of exercise. Nonetheless, there are still a bunch of people who want to take in some fresh air. With ‘social distancing’ being a thing nowadays, the way people outside are portrayed makes a huge difference, and that’s something that a couple of photographers want to show with their pictures taken with two different lenses.

Photographers Ólafur Steinar Gestsson and Philip Davali decided to do a little experiment for Ritzau Scanpix, a photo agency in Copenhagen, Denmark.

They took the same pictures in public – once with a telephoto lens, once with a wide-angle sensor.

You’ll be amazed by the difference it makes!

For example, let’s take a look at the following two pictures. When using the telephoto lens (first image), you’d think that all of these people are closely packed together, forming a possible infection hazard. However, the wide-angle lens reveals a much more nuanced look! These people are all following the social distancing rules and putting adequate distance between each other.

The exact same thing can be said for these two pictures near a small park. Everybody seems to be packed together in the telephoto example, but the reality is definitely different. The examples go on and on, and it makes you realize that these different perspectives can really distort the way reality can be captured on photos.

Of course, this isn’t exactly new for (amateur) photographers, but seeing the two examples side by side really shows just how big the difference is. How wide-angle lenses work is pretty straightforward, but telephoto lenses actually compress the depth of field of a shot, which results in things looking closer than they are.

The editorial manager of the photo agency realizes that the way reality is being portrayed is very important in current times.

“The proximity of people has widely been debated in Denmark in the past weeks. Danish politicians and authorities have frequently referred to images which they believed to show members of the public behaving in disagreement with the general guidelines,” Kristian Djurhuus of Ritzau Scanpix told Bored Panda.

“We became aware that our contribution could be misread,” he added. “The technical choices have never been a debatable issue in the history of photography.”

“As producers of photography, we have a responsibility to draw attention to the fact that images in some cases does not show the proximity of objects as people seem to believe.”

It would definitely be a good idea to give more information about photographs when possible. In online articles, professionals can usually take a look at the embedded photograph information to find more information about the camera itself. Of course, photographers can also choose to reveal their lens setup, although not everyone will be familiar with the type of lenses and terms.

A photographer’s job can definitely not be underestimated, and it’s always important to keep perspective in the mind when you see professional photographs. Lenses can lie sometimes!

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Source: Bored Panda, EPA / Philip Davali / Olafur Steinar RyE