Telephoto fear: Japanese photojournalist shows how lenses affect views of crowds amid virus mainichi.jp

One photography-specific term that has been flying around since the coronavirus pandemic took hold is "compression effect," also called "lens compression." In short, lens compression occurs when a telephoto lens is used to shoot large groups of people from a distance. Perspective is flattened, making the people look much closer together than they actually are. In the context of the pandemic, this has sparked accusations that photojournalists are "overproducing" or even "fabricating" the scenes they shoot.