Technique
Technique:
Once I have composed the image in my mind, and determined how may individual shots it will take, I use a fairly standard panorama technique to shoot the various shots. To avoid parallax, I have computed the nodal points (the nodal point is the point in the lens where the light rays cross) for all of my prime lenses. For the compound lenses, I have computed the nodal points for each of the major focal lengths. I carry this information on a laminated card that is attached to my tripod. The Really Right Stuff Pano Head allows me to position the camera both horizontally and vertically so that the nodal point is over the pivot point in both the horizontal and vertical planes.
I shoot the individual shots with approximately a 20 percent overlap both horizontally and vertically (if the final image is to be made up of multiple rows). I generally try to shoot at the highest focal length that I can.
All my shots are stored in the raw format and thus I bring them into Photoshop* via the Camera Raw Plug-in. In Camera Raw I set the color temperature and adjust the exposure settings so that the individual shots are balanced in terms of lighting. I bring the shots into Photoshop* in 16 bit ProPhoto RGB.
Once in Photoshop*, I merge the images via the Photo Merge feature. I always merge them manually (which means I have to open Photoshop* CS4 to do the merge). When I have a merged image, I use the warp feature to make sure that both the horizontal and vertical lines in the image are aligned correctly. I then crop and flatten the image, and convert it into the LAB color space for any subsequent work in Photoshop*.
I will be happy to answer any questions you might have on my technique. You can contact me by phone: 207.756.9512, or email: info@heathpaleyphoto.com
For compete contact information see: heathpaleyphoto.com/info1.html
*Photoshop is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated
Equipment List:
Canon EOS-1DS Mark IIICanon TS E 24mm f/3.5L
Canon EF M100mm f/2.8 USM
Canon EF 180 f3.5L Macro USM
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM
Canon Extender EF 1.4x II
Canon Speedlite 550EX
Gitzo 1325 Carbon Fiber Tripod
Really Right Stuff BH-55 LR
Really Right Stuff Pano Head
Epson Stylus Pro 7800
Once I have composed the image in my mind, and determined how may individual shots it will take, I use a fairly standard panorama technique to shoot the various shots. To avoid parallax, I have computed the nodal points (the nodal point is the point in the lens where the light rays cross) for all of my prime lenses. For the compound lenses, I have computed the nodal points for each of the major focal lengths. I carry this information on a laminated card that is attached to my tripod. The Really Right Stuff Pano Head allows me to position the camera both horizontally and vertically so that the nodal point is over the pivot point in both the horizontal and vertical planes.
I shoot the individual shots with approximately a 20 percent overlap both horizontally and vertically (if the final image is to be made up of multiple rows). I generally try to shoot at the highest focal length that I can.
All my shots are stored in the raw format and thus I bring them into Photoshop* via the Camera Raw Plug-in. In Camera Raw I set the color temperature and adjust the exposure settings so that the individual shots are balanced in terms of lighting. I bring the shots into Photoshop* in 16 bit ProPhoto RGB.
Once in Photoshop*, I merge the images via the Photo Merge feature. I always merge them manually (which means I have to open Photoshop* CS4 to do the merge). When I have a merged image, I use the warp feature to make sure that both the horizontal and vertical lines in the image are aligned correctly. I then crop and flatten the image, and convert it into the LAB color space for any subsequent work in Photoshop*.
I will be happy to answer any questions you might have on my technique. You can contact me by phone: 207.756.9512, or email: info@heathpaleyphoto.com
For compete contact information see: heathpaleyphoto.com/info1.html
*Photoshop is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated
Equipment List:
Canon EOS-1DS Mark III