Lens Distortion

You’d normally want to avoid any type of lens distortion when rendering architecture, but a virtual fisheye lens can add a creative twist to your renderings. This distorted style of the rendering isn't to everyone’s taste, but used sparingly – and with the right subjects – it can produce very striking renders.

Fisheye lenses come in two main types – those that give completely circular images, and those that produce conventional rectangular ones. But both will cause straight lines in your image to bulge outwards, especially at the edges.

Because the distorted renders from a fisheye break many of the ‘rules’ of rendering architecture, they often lend themselves to unusual framing and viewpoints. Try rendering with the lens pointing directly upwards to shoot ceilings or roofs, for example. The circular nature of fisheye renders is also perfect for symmetrical or even circular subjects.