HELP!! My first photography assignment.

[roanjohn]

So, somebody want me to photograph interiors for an event tomorrow.......(just found out tonight). THey want to do a panormaic sorta 360 view of a room.........

WHAT DO I DO??

I am thinking of bringing my 10D, 17-40 and tripod.

Any suggestions?? Anyone??

Ro1

[GPR1]

Level the tripod and set the exposure to manual. Leveling the tripod makes sure you don't get different converging/diverging lines. The exposure on manual makes sure your meter doesn't get fooled by windows, lights, etc. and change the exposure.

Greg

[elbirth]

this won't help you now since it's tomorrow, but in the future, this might be an interesting idea to take pictures quickly and easily
http://www.panosmart.com/eng/technologies.htm


Other than that, the advice I'd give with my limited experience with panoramic shots, definitely take what you're thinking about taking (the wide angle lens and tripod) and take the pictures. Be sure to take plenty of pictures to give yourself room for error later on (it's very irritating to get back and realize that you don't have good enough pictures to stitch together). Also, set the camera to lock the exposure so the pictures stitch together nicely and leave less visible seams.

Photoshop's photo merge capability is very nice for actually stitching them

[roanjohn]

THanks guys.............I've been thinking about this and I think I should set my focal length to around 28............at least it'll fix the barrel distortion. right??

So for now, I need to set my exposure to manual..........and I should set my WB to custom too...........maybe I'll bring a coffee filter.

OOHHH..........I'm a bit nervous. HOpefully everything doesn't turn into a disaster. I've already checked my bag 3 times to make sure everything is in order.

Ro1

[elbirth]

I haven't messed with wide angle lenses yet, so I'm not familiar with how barrel distortion works, but it sounds like you're aware of it, so that's good, you can work around it.

Also, if you can, you might want to try shooting RAW so you can have more leeway with the white balance later on while editing.

[roanjohn]

Also, if you can, you might want to try shooting RAW so you can have more leeway with the white balance later on while editing.

I've never shot RAW in my life so I don't know if its smart to dabble with it now. I've found that Photoshop CS color match tool works pretty well for JPEG.

............and I also only have one 1 GB CF card.

RO1

[elbirth]

k, no biggee..... it's actually not that hard, I messed with it some and have fallen in love with it (I just need more CF cards... my 2 256mb ones don't allow me to get very many RAW shots)

If you can get a good custom WB with a coffee filter or something, I don't see why you'd have a problem. Just something to look into later on.

[paulbuceta]

I do virtual tours and this is my expertise.

1. Make sure the camera is level - I use a bubble level for this.
2. Shoot all the images in protrait for bes results.
3. Depending on the viewer and stiching software I usually shoot at around 17 - 20 mm. Too low will distort the image in the viewer later.
4. Use manual settings so that each image is similar.
5. If you're using a flash like Speedlite 440 (I use) bounce it off the ceiling. There is a cap that diffuses the light evenly in all directions. (About $30)
6. If you bubmp the tripod, start again.
7. Since most pans don't require printing you can shoot them in S and take tones of shots.

That's about all I can come up with for now. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Cheers,

[toddb]

I'm curious, and I haven't really done full 360 degree shots, but what is the final output? Is it just going to be a really wide image or do you have to create or use software to display it like that Panosmart does Elbirth mention (which looks pretty cool and decent images, especially for how tight the space is on some of those shots).

[A-Team]

So.....How'd it turn out???

-R

[S230]

Use PhotoStitch the software that came with your camera. It's part of the ZoomBrowser package and is great. I used it several occasions and mostly on my S230. It will still work with the 300D and should be similar to your 10D. The software will figure out most of the things needed. Not to worry too much about it. I suggest u try it at home FIRST before heading out.

[Citizensmith]

I've used photostitch a bunch for exterior panoramas and its great. For interiors though it always seemed to end up with massive amounts of distortion being added in. I always seem to end up editing interiors in PS CS which is way slower but can be more effective.

Photostitch will let you output as a jpg or a quicktime file. The quicktime is probably more what people expect as it lets you zoom and scroll around the image.

[S230]

When taking the photos in series for panaramic scene, try not to go too far across. Take one shot then move the camera's frame over just a little leaving about 1/4 of the screen overlapping. This way the software can identify what is alike and can match things up.

[pyterps]

I really enjoy this forum. Normally not a day goes by that I don't pick up on something. Like the two post prior to mine. Both have information I was not aware of.

[Akreager]

[QUOTE=roanjohn]So, somebody want me to photograph interiors for an event tomorrow.......(just found out tonight). THey want to do a panormaic sorta 360 view of a room.........

WHAT DO I DO??

Tough first assignment. I skimmed the responses. Good advice. I know it is too late for you, but one important thing was left out. Make sure to set the white balance manually and stick with it. If you use AWB each diferent frame might be just a little different and it may get real tricky to balance them. Wtih manual the blend should be perfect.

Another thought that is also too late. Rent/buy/borrow a 15mm fisheye. Canon's and Sigma's are both great. Sometimes the effect is cool, but it is a little less on my MII and even less on a 1.6 crop. what is left is easy to perspective correct on the computer.

Interiors are also a great place to use the multiple wireless flash!!

[Jon]

If you plan on photo-stitching a series of photos, try to avoid the wider lenses; linear distortion toward the edges of the frames will make matching them up that much harder. Certainly no wider than 28. And have exposure and white balance set to manual. Don't try to use flash unless all the flashes you're using are fixed, and don't move with the camera. You don't want distracting and differing shadows complicating the photostitch either.