In setting up my street-scape illustrations I often use Google Street View or Google Earth Pro* as references. While Google Street View is terrific at showing the context information I need, there are limits to how 'realistic' the view feels compared to the experience of being there. As I am not a photographer I think this is due to the short lens used to capture wide views of Street View. Mobile phone lenses are also quite short I believe (30mm equivalent).
The images above all show the same view of California Street with the reference building on the right side of the street (noted with an amber dot) shown at the same scale. The apparent different height of the hill beyond in each image shows how tricky it can be to correctly scale the background in a streetscape.
I often set up the context for my illustrations by creating a very basic SketchUp 3D model to get the perspective right. When setting up a SketchUp scene I need to adjust the camera Field of View to export an image that will best fit the composition and focus of my illustration.
*(I use the older non-online version of Google Earth Pro which has the ability to adjust the Field of View)
