how do you do slopes?


scubasimon

Member
Sep 14, 2004
399
0
16
Holland Village, Singapore
i have real trouble photographing slopes. i mean, how do you show that something is really steep? it always looks "flat" in my pictures :confused:
 

can you show us your photo?
don't understand how can a slot looks flat, unless there is no reference of horizontal or vertical in the photo.
 

sure...let me upload them and point a link here in a few minutes. by the way, i was trying to show the steep walk up to bt timah hill summit with my boys. sigh.
 

sure...let me upload them and point a link here in a few minutes. by the way, i was trying to show the steep walk up to bt timah hill summit with my boys. sigh.
do you know how they film people climbing a very steep mountain in olden day Cantonese movies? the directors ask cinematographer tilt the camera, and let the actors crawl on the ground.

maybe you can consider try something similar.
 

I wanted to have a picture of just my boys and nobody else...hmmm...

...this was the best i could do with my e71...nokia...

794226076_SKp3v-M.jpg
 

Shoot upwards or downwards; try and have the sky, valley or sea in the background.

Scan1Small.jpg
 

Last edited:
I wanted to have a picture of just my boys and nobody else...hmmm...

...this was the best i could do with my e71...nokia...

794226076_SKp3v-M.jpg

Maybe you could place you camera lower, close to the ground and shoot upwards? A wide angle lens might exaggerate the effect with its distortion?
 

In this example, if you look at the posts on the side, you can't tell how steep it is. Shooting from the side here would show the posts and or trees, giving the viewer a reference to the steepness. Or shooting from in front of them, to show what's below would also yield a better feel for the steepness.
 

i had other pictures where i shot from the top and the gradient looked even flatter. hmm...will try going low and tilting up next time...unfortunately there is no way i can change lens on my nokia.

thanks all.
 

Hi Simon, I think what you lack is a frame of reference. Shooting along the path is always gonna present problems -- if you go lower, the perspective distortion will probably make the path appear longer, without conveying steepness.

As catchlights pointed out, shooting from the side is probably the best option -- the frame of your photo becomes the frame of ref. Other than that, trees (which shd be growing vertically) in the background, the fence, etc should help. Dunno where you can get a good vantage pt along the BT trails -- perhaps at a bend?
Might get you some good interval training though -- run ahead of the boys, shoot them as they pass, run ahead again... ;)
 

@Edwin: really...you know how the boys run...there is no way i can catch up :) let's see what i can do next time i go there. i always have trouble with slopes. sigh.
 

you're not alone TS, even I have problems making slopes look steep :)

thanks for the feedback guys, i also learned something here
 

You can try using vertical reference points. Contrast the trail's line against that of the fence or trees in the picture, to highlight the acute angle. Depending on what your subject is, you could try standing further back too to show more of the surroundings - that may help play up the gradient of the slope. If you can't tahan the interval training, you could always try it out without your kids in the shots first :)
 

you have to remember that a photograph is a 2d picture.

perspective is a powerful tool. if you put a uniform surface sloping even 80 degrees, it is very steep, but it is uniform, it will have no indication on your photograph that it is 3d, it will just look 2d.

the only way you can indicate the angle of slope is using the sides as reference.

going low here would actually make everything look even more 2d.
 

you have to remember that a photograph is a 2d picture.

perspective is a powerful tool. if you put a uniform surface sloping even 80 degrees, it is very steep, but it is uniform, it will have no indication on your photograph that it is 3d, it will just look 2d.

the only way you can indicate the angle of slope is using the sides as reference.

going low here would actually make everything look even more 2d.

then if going low wasnt an option here... what do you suggest?
 

something in the foreground as a point of reference may help. for example, this shot i did below, i think you can see the gentle slope against the 2 stones.

ICELAND_0000a.jpg


wide angle lens also helps

ICELAND_0687.JPG
 

Last edited:
then if going low wasnt an option here... what do you suggest?

turning to the right, there will be point of references there.

simple way of thinking of it is photographing a blank piece of paper.

you go low, go high, etc, if there is no way to show the angle, there is no way to show the angle.