In texts on visual perception can be seen two opposing opinions about whether, from what distance should be considered photographs and paintings.
1. Boris Rauschenbach in his work The General Theory Perspectives “wrote:” … the geometric size of the picture is (in these matters <natural perception>) a secondary role. It is well known that in the album reproductions are given, usually in reduced size, and it is not too upset the owner of the album. Likewise, we know that with one and the same negative prints can be printed in different sizes, and they will be perceived as essentially the same image. (P.36)
This position seems to me only partly true. Indeed, part of the brain corrects the perception, focusing only on the relative angular size of the depicted objects. But to successfully deal with such a correction, he can not always. Anyway, I am different things to many gatefold reproductions and originals of the relevant, precisely because of the need to look at them from different angles.
The fact that the album version of themselves are designed for viewing from a distance of 25 – 40 cm Zoom eyes closer to the image does not physiology (unless, of course, looking not sighted). Removed from the album at a distance of more than a meter, too, is unlikely anyone will. As a result, the viewer is often forced to consider the reproduction of a very unnatural angles, which can not bring sorrow.
2. In the opinion Raushenbaha obviously would not agree to Yakov Perelman. In his classic “Entertaining Physics” (Book 1, Chapter Nine), he wrote: “It is equally important … the rule – to keep the picture in the appropriate distance from the eye; otherwise violated proper perspective. … For the full experience should be considered a snapshot at the same angle of view, under which the camera lens “see” Removable objects.
Perelman last edited his book in 1936, when about the fine mechanisms of visual perception has been known very little. Therefore, his opinion should not be separated unequivocally.
As usual, the truth lies somewhere in between. It seems reasonable to this approach: should follow the recommendations of Perelman, but at the same time and do not forget that within certain limits, the brain is able to correct errors of perception.
What are the best viewing distance of standard sizes of photo prints? The answer to this question in relation to the narrow screen images gives Table 1. Using it is easy to find the best viewing distance in centimeters on the focal length used for shooting the lens and the size of the print.
Table 1. Distances best viewing photos (in cm)
The red color value in the table of distances, which are difficult to use in practice.
In green color the most convenient distance. For their compliance does not need to produce a photo of his hands.
The values of the distances marked in blue, you can observe, but this takes place the photo on the wall, because it is, rather, the exhibition race.
It should be noted that only a lens of 50 mm whole line has a green label. For pictures taken with “half-rubles”, choose the optimum viewing distance most simply, no matter what the size was not the final print (in the considered range). Could this be another hidden secret of the popularity of the lens with the focal length?
The following table provides an explanation and another fact. It is known that many landscape painters, to eliminate the wide-angle lenses, choose to make the slides, which then can be projected with high magnification on the screen. As the table shows, wide-angle image can be caught in the “green” and “blue” zone only at fairly high magnification.
What should be the images for posting on the Web
The average user looks at the monitor from a distance of approximately 50 cm Based on this fact, one can easily obtain the sizes of images for the Web, which will be optimal in the approach used. The results are shown in Table 2.
Table 2. The optimal image size for publication on the Web
Here again it is worth paying attention to the fact that it is best to take pictures for the Web by using lenses with focal lengths from 50 to 100 mm.
Knowing the optimal size of thumbnails and screen resolution, you can easily counted in Table 2 the size in pixels.