I often want someone to give me a quick formula that just works when I am doing something I don't have much knowledge of. Most of the time that just does not happen because it is almost never that simple. There is a reason why we have experts in various fields. After all, as photographers we want to become masters in our field. If we don't, our work will not stand out and everybody's images will be of similar nature and quality. So having more knowledge and skills than the next guy give us an advantage. This is why (I hope) you are reading my blogs; you want to become a better photographer.

          This means that the field of photography also is not as simple as applying a formula that just works all the time. Just last week I wrote about breaking the "formula" of thirds when it works. Having said that, let's talk about an easy formula that creates depth. Like all formulas outside of the sciences this formula does not always work, but it works well most of the time. Look at this image and tell me if you feel that there is depth to the photograph.

So, does this image have depth? Does it pull your attention into the image versus making you look at it from side to side? Do you look at this image from the bottom going up into the image? Now ask yourself why? Why does this image have depth? If you where there with me when I took this image you will know that this is a small space, it is not a vast expanse and we do not have that much room to work with. So how did we create the depth that really was not there?

1. We used a wide angle lens. Wide angle lenses stretches things out. It creates distance between objects creating the illusion of distance and depth. But they don't do this automatically ...

2. I was close to the foreground plant. This exaggerates the size and importance of the first plant. It makes the viewer start here when looking at the image.

3. There is a middle-ground. Your eyes go from the first plant to the second and third plants. I lightened the middle tuffs of grass to make them stand out a bit.

4. The rocks in the background stand out. They form a strong and certain background element.

          The easy formula for depth is to have a foreground, a middle-ground, and a background. When this formula is in place our eyes tend to move from the foreground to the middle-ground and on to the background. This makes us look into the image. This creates depth. Be warned, we do not want our images to all look the same, so the formula should not always be used. However, this formula does tend to work rather well.

         P.S. This image also has lines to help create depth.