Best way to approach an overhead shot?

[andrewdoeshair]

Hi. I hope I'm posting this in the right area. I'm looking to mount a small dslr (Canon SL1 probably with a nifty fifty or a little EF24mm F2.8 pancake lens) looking straight down over the top of a seated model but I don't know how I might do it. I'm looking to shoot some haircut tutorial videos and this shot would be pretty important, I just don't know if I could find a stand that could support the weight of the camera far enough out to do this well. I think worst case scenario I can bolt a small tripod to the ceiling, but I don't know if that would be an overkill solution, and I do know it wouldn't look very pretty in my salon. Any suggestions are welcome. I can weigh the camera in question if that might help. Thank you!

 

[tirediron]

Just use a standard C-stand and boom arm (not recommending that one, just linking for illustrative purposes). It will have no problem supporting that weight.

 

[Piccell]

Glidecam Crane GLCC200 Camcrane Tripod Boom / Jib Arm

 

[photo1x1.com]

I once used a background system along with a superclamp to shoot straight down. The good thing is that you get quite a distance to the tripod legs, so you won´ have them in the picture. What you are going to need is some sort of downlink - either an app that connects to your camera, or a HDMI monitor if your camera has an HDMI output (or a folding and rotating display on the back of your camera). A 50mm lens might not give enough DOF for what you plan, so I´d vote for the 24mm - or even something different with a smaller sensor, like a videocamera. Otherwise the top of the head of your model will be sharp, and maybe more important parts won´t. You can use a DOF calculator before you decide what camera/lens you´d like to buy.

 

[Designer]

If you don't want anything going up from the floor, (i.e.: a tripod or camera stand getting in the way of walking around and sweeping the floor) then you might be able to jury-rig a monopod setup by clamping said monopod to a column, shelf, or other part of the wall.

The hardest part will be deciding on how to frame your shots, as the camera will be higher than your head. Use the WU-1A wireless adapter here:

https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Wirele...H150SEF12TWA4EPV1&ie=UTF8&qid=1479420668&sr=2

You then verify and shoot using your smartphone.

 

[photo1x1.com]

If you don't want anything going up from the floor, (i.e.: a tripod or camera stand getting in the way of walking around and sweeping the floor) then you might be able to jury-rig a monopod setup by clamping said monopod to a column, shelf, or other part of the wall.

The hardest part will be deciding on how to frame your shots, as the camera will be higher than your head. Use the WU-1A wireless adapter here:

https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Wirele...H150SEF12TWA4EPV1&ie=UTF8&qid=1479420668&sr=2

You then verify and shoot using your smartphone.

Great Idea!
Manfrotto has a doubleclamp for that. I use them with their autopole system. It is way more convenient than the background stand from my previous post. But if you don't have a monopod, it's also more pricey.