360o shots

Artemis · Jul 25, 2005

Ok, ive finally decided what im going to do as my summer project for photography.
Basically, shots of anything (Backgardens, scenery) but with a 360o view.
Im aloud to use any camera, so yeh im using my 300D, but I also need to research 2 photographers, guessing ones that do this kinda photography...annnddd I need to actually learn how to paste images together...because ive never done it :blushing: Im a panorama virgin.

So please, help me, any thoughts? anything? I thank you all in advanced...

Meysha · Jul 25, 2005

You could use a stitching program that someone else on the board could recommend for you. I have no idea, i don't use them. Instead, I use photoshop.

I just add all the different pictures in as different layers, then I distort them to make up for the different camera angle in each of the pics. Then I use masks to cover up parts of each photo so that they overlap nicely.
I might then have to use the Photo Filters effect to fix up some white balancing problems I have, coz I don't have a button that keeps the exposure the same on my camera all the time.

360s are really hard! You'll wanna be careful of where you start your panorama when stitching it together. You can still do the 'thirds' thing, but remember it's a really long photo!! Check out some other peoples' 360 work and see where they put the tree, or whatever that breaks up the picture.

Good luck!

Artemis · Jul 25, 2005

Thanks meysha!

darin3200 · Jul 25, 2005

Make sure when you are taking the shots that you leave at least 20o of overlay in the shots otherwise you will have more trouble with distortion around the edges. There is a really nice program called Panorama Factory that you put your photos in and it will patch them together into a nice panorama. The software costs money but you can make a couple of panoramas before it starts bugging you to pay.

fadingaway1986 · Jul 25, 2005

my 300D came with a stitching program

Unimaxium · Jul 26, 2005

I once tried a demo of this one program called Realviz Stitcher (a quick google search should be able to find it). It worked wonders for stiching panoramas together, and was really easy to use IMO. Unfortunately it costs something like $500.

But I think they also have a version called Stitcher Lite which is cheaper.

My one peice of advice is to make sure the exposure and white balance are all exactly the same for every shot. That way the colors will stitch together nicely. And the more overlap you have between each shot, the better.

thebeginning · Jul 26, 2005

dude, you should do a vertical 360o panorama. like in the woods or something at sunset. that would be totally awesome. stitching skies can be hard though. i just use photoshop for stitching actually. all the tools you need are in there.

Artemis · Jul 26, 2005

thebeginning said:
dude, you should do a vertical 360o panorama. like in the woods or something at sunset. that would be totally awesome. stitching skies can be hard though. i just use photoshop for stitching actually. all the tools you need are in there.

Can you explain in more depth?

jstuedle · Jul 26, 2005

I have done several 180 and 360 pano's. I start with a normal lens and the camera in vertical or portrait orientation. This gives you more "data" vertically as you are going to manufacture data over the frames length. Make sure your tripod is exactly level, and your pan head is exactly level. Both MUST be level for best results. Another trick for best results is to have the end of the lens over the pivot point of your tripod, but unless you plan on doing this a lot, you can get by with mounting the camera normally. After the hardware is set, take several exposure readings over the 360 view. Average these together and set your exposure manually for the result. Its hard to stitch frames together when the exposure values are different, besides the sky will look very funny . If your pod has a panorama "dial" marked in 360 degrees, the next step is much easier. I take more frames than needed, I overlap frames 50%. You will most likely wind up with 16 or more frames. I use the mirror lockup setting and self timer on my D1X to get the sharpest frames possible. The stitching software needs sharp lines and good contrast to do its work. I use a freeware program caller Panotools. Do a google and you will find it. Its a somewhat obscure program that is an add on to Photoshop. It works very well. I posted a 180 pano to my pbase gallery if you want to take a look. View it in "original" size and scroll back and forth. Good Luck.

Rob · Jul 27, 2005

Getting the lens level with the tripod swivel is a good idea. Use one of those £3.99 aluminium flash arms with a screw fitting to move the camera about 4" back to obtain that effect cheaply and securely.

I've managed a couple of hand-held 180's before with PS, but it gets very confused with corner shops for some reason.

You could always try and borrow one of those panoramic camera on a stick things from Calumet?

Rob

hobbes28 · Jul 27, 2005

Don't forget to do an AE and an AF lock for the pictures. That will help all the images look the same when you stitch them together.

Artemis · Jul 27, 2005

Now I see what ive done wrong on my first one, thanks all you guys hehe, cant wait to post my first proper one...im gonna try and do the bulk of these in canada!