Photo Challenge – Week 6: Distance Compression

Week six of the Outdoor Photography Guide Photo Challenge is here! This week, David Johnston shares his tips for using distance compression. If you haven’t officially signed up to receive the weekly photo assignments via email, be sure to do so here.

Week 6: Distance Compression

Lens selection has a huge impact on the outcome of a photograph. I think there is a typical progression for outdoor photography that when you start you love wide angles. As you continue shooting, you tend to drift towards telephoto lenses too. Wide angle lenses create separation and distance distortion among subjects in a photograph. Telephoto lenses do the opposite and compress distances between your subjects. One of my favorite types of outdoor photography composition is to use distance stacking or compression of subjects using a telephoto lens. Creating distance compression is especially useful when you’re dealing with leading lines and shapes that cover great distances. The best part is, you don’t need a really fast, expensive telephoto lens to do it!

Don’t forget to share your photos of this week’s assignment in the Outdoor Photography Guide Photo Challenge Facebook group! This is also a great place to connect with fellow photographers and share tips during the challenge.

Inspiration Gallery by David Johnston