Most people are familiar with the popular panoramic cameras that take impressive, extra-wide photos. The pictures made with these cameras provide an expanded perspective and a greater sense of "being there" by including more of the scene within the picture. For that reason panoramic cameras are particularly popular with vacationers, and the feature is even available on a number of the throwaway cameras you can pick up almost anywhere.
Some people will also try to achieve a similar makeshift effect by simply taking two or more photos from a specific location, then splicing the prints together with tape (figure A).
As you might expect, computers have enabled a new means of taking the panoramic effect to some impressive new heights. It's now possible to take photographs in such a way as to reproduce a landscape or scene that allows the viewer to see in all directions.
With some very specialized software, it's possible to take a series of digital photos from a fixed point, then digitally splice all of the images together to create a seamless, scrollable, interactive panorama. The end product is a composite picture that allows the viewer to "look all around" the image by scrolling with the mouse. This high-tech digital effect gives the illusion that the viewer is, in effect, "inside the photograph," and able to look in all directions. This can be particularly impressive when used with photos of beautiful landscapes, but there are many other creative uses for this technology.
Several companies have authored software that achieve this 360-degree-image effect. In our demonstration, Rick Sammon utilized a program called Cool 360 (TM) by Ulead (TM). This particular program is designed for personal use and is user-friendly enough for beginners. Following are the steps that go into creating one of these interactive vistas.
- Select a good vantage point that provides an interesting view in all directions.
- Set up your camera on a tripod (figure B) that will allow it to swivel on a horizontal plane in all directions. The tripod will help you line up your pictures and ensure that the horizon line in all of the photographs will be level. This will later enable you to create an even and seamless panorama.
- With the vantage point selected, and your camera mounted on the tripod, take your series of pictures, taking care to include all of the necessary shots to encompass the entire 360-degree vista (figures C, D, E, F, G, H ). In our demonstration, Sammon took six shots. (With a wide-angle lens, this will require fewer shots.)
Important: Take your series of pictures so that sequential pictures overlap by about 15 percent. This will help ensure that the image program will later be able to stitch the images together seamlessly, without visible breaks or transitions.
- Once you've taken your pictures, you're ready to transfer them into the computer. (For information on this process, see "Transferring Digital Images to Your Computer" in episode 101 of the Digital Photography workshop.) For ease in importing the pictures into the Cool 360 program, name your photos with numbers to indicate their sequence, and place them in a single folder on your desktop.
- With your photos downloaded onto your computer, and the Cool 360 program launched, select "New Project" from the initial screen.
- The next screen will give you some menu choices. Under "Project Type," select "Full 360-Degree Panorama" (figure I). Click "Next" to continue.
- Browse to the folder containing your photos, open the folder and begin adding your images into the program (figure J). In this program, you may choose to add your photos one at a time or a all at once. Once you've added all of your photos, click "Next" to continue.
- You'll then need to select your camera's lens-type from a lens menu (figure K). This will allow the program to properly present your images based on the optics of your camera's lens. In our demonstration, our lens was a Kodak DC40.
- Once you've added your images and selected your lens type, click "Finish" to initiate the finalizing process. The program will then create a continuous, panoramic image from your individual photographs (figure L).
- There is one final step. In the newly created 360-degree image, you may need to adjust the brightness or contrast of the individual pictures to make sure the transitions are invisible. Visible transitions can be caused by variations in lighting between individual shots. Click on any photo that you want to adjust, then use the adjustment menu (figure M) to make changes to the brightness, contrast, hue and color saturation. With some minor tweaking, you should be able to match all of the pictures so that the transitions are practically imperceptible.
- Once you're satisfied with your changes, click "Finish" to complete the project.
RESOURCES :
Rick Sammon, professional photographer
Web site: www.ricksammon.com
Learn more about photography with Rick Sammon's new e-book on CD. More than 100 tips and photographs from Rick's travels around the world.
And check out Rick's column on Kodak's site:
Web site: www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/magazine/tips/2001_10
Rick Sammon
Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520
Email: RickSammon@aol.com
Website: www.ricksammon.com
Special Thanks for DIY's Digital Photography workshop, episodes 101-105
Adobe Photoshop
Web site: www.adobe.com
PC Photo magazine
Web site: www.pcphotomag
Kodak
Web site: www.kodak.com
Epson America, Inc.
Web site: www.epson.com
Kinkos
Web site: www.kinkos.com
Ulead Cool 360
Web site: www.ulead.com
The Digital Wallet
Web site: www.mindsatwork.net
The L.A. County Arboretum
Web site: www.arboretum.org
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Digital Photography
Model: 002864235X
Author: Steven Greenberg
Order this book from Amazon.com.
Prentice Hall
Paramus, NJ 07652
Digital Photography For Dummies
Model: 0764506463
Author: Julie Adair King
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Hungry Minds, Inc.
Complete Digital Photography
Model: 1584500077
Author: Ben Long
Order this book from Amazon.com.
Charles River Media
Website: www.charlesriver.com/
50 Fast Digital Photo Techniques
Model: 0764535781
Author: Gregory Georges, Cris Rys
To order this title from Amazon, click here.
Hungry Minds, Inc.
Ulead's Cool 360®
Web site: www.ulead.com/cool360/
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