Steve CoxKonto zweryfikowane

Indeed, and if the light came from the same spot as the lens there would be no visible shadow even if he were several feet away. But the amount of shadow under his palm is much larger than under his fingers, and both are inconsistent with being less than inches away.

The amount of shadow has more to do with the distance of the lens from the subject than anything. It's a wide lens, and Franken is likely 3-5 feet away from the camera. That's the shadow.

It makes perfect sense that distance from lens to subject is the primary factor, but why is the amount of shadow under his palm much larger than under his fingers? If his palms are 4' from the camera and 2X shadow is visible, it doesn't follow that his pinky has X shadow at 4'3".

Angle is a factor, too. The flash is pointed straight ahead (amateur stuff - bad photographer) so light will flood the center and angle will increase as it moves to the edges. Finger tips are plainly touching her. The rest is uncertain.

Angle as a factor is also plainly true, and goes back to distance from light source. The distance to the sun is immense - but even so, as the sun gets lower our shadow expands slightly as it lengthens. This would be much more pronounced if a light is at close range.

If shadow visible under his palm were a lot larger, that would suggest his fingers are touching or practically touching while his palms are not. If they were roughly equal, that would suggest both are at same distance (likely touching). 2X strongly suggests neither is touching.

Further, this would be really simple to corroborate by talking to the photographer and/or anyone else who might have been awake and paying attention.