Nodal Ninja 3
Tutorial
“Making a Panorama”

  

  


 

Intro

Tools & Set-Up

Shoot Sequence & Stitching - 6 pan, 1 zenith & 2 nadirs on tripod

Shoot Sequence & Stitching - 6 pan, 1 zenith, 2 nadirs on tripod & 1 hand held nadir

Shoot Sequence & Stitching - 6 pan, 1 zenith & 1 hand held nadir

Shoot Sequence & Stitching - 6 pan, 1 zenith & 1 nadir shot on tripod

 


 

 6 pan, 1 zenith & 1 nadir on tripod

 

Take six pan shots at every 60°, plus one upward (zenith), and one downward shot (nadir) with the tripod.

More details below.  


 

Quick Tip... 

 To reduce the size of the hole of the nadir and the amount of work in Photoshop, Eric Rougier from FromParis.com developed a technique, he suggest pointing the camera 10°-15° downwards.

  

 Notice the footprint of the tripod was also decreased to avoid being in the shot.

  This also helps in circumstances where you may not be able to shoot the nadir due to long exposures and/or space restrictions and may have to resort to "creating" the nadir via clone or vanishing point tools in Photoshop.

  Angle the camera down until you see the VR head rotator or tripod.  You will also see a bit of the arm of the VR head.  The arm will be masked out during the stitching process. 

  

  


 

A closer look at the tripod configuration... 

NOTES:

1 - Remember to make a mental note of the location of the nadir before reconfiguring the tripod.  Stand on the "nadir" or use an object to mark out the spot.

2 - Make another mental note of the height of the lens where the previous images where shot at to properly set up the tripod.

3 - This set up is only possible with a tripod that is capable of spreading its legs approximately 80° or more.  These types of tripods are generally capable of low level shooting.  You only need to spread the two front legs wider than normal.

4 - Use a hot shoe level to make sure the camera is leveled.

5 - When adjusting how far to tilt the tripod forward, be careful not to push too far.  In a windy location the tripod can tip over.  Make sure there is enough weight at the rear or simply use your hands to support the tripod.

6- Slide the camera to its farthest position on the upper arm.

7 - Adjust the center focusing point of the camera to the center of the nadir that you've marked out.

8 - Release the shutter via timer or remote control.

 

CONS:  Due to the width of the two front tripod legs, approximately 5 feet (depending on the size of your tripod), this may not be possible in some locations.

PROS:  Great for long exposures.

 


An alternative of the technique above when space is limited.

 

 

Notes on the image above:

1 - Adjust the two front tripod legs.
2 - In case the tripod's legs slips, ready your left hand to catch the camera.
3 - The right foot is the main holding point.  The left foot prevents the front tripod legs from slipping back.

 

  NOTES:

1 - Similar to the previous technique, make a note of the center of the nadir  and height of the lens where the previous images were taken at before reconfiguring the tripod.

2 - Use a hot shoe level to make sure the camera is leveled.

3 - Notice the rear leg is extended to it's second extension while the two front legs uses only the first extension.  This of course depends on how high you want to shoot.

4 - Slide the camera to its farthest position on the upper arm.

5 - Adjust the center focusing point of the camera to the center of the nadir that you've marked out.

6 - Release the shutter via timer or remote control.

   

CONS:  If you're not careful, (1) there is a possibility that the tripod may slip. (2) If you lose your footage and/or balance, damage to your camera and/or lens is inevitable. 

PROS:  Once familiar with this technique it is faster to set up than the previous technique.

  


PTGUI... 

In PTGUI, add all the images excluding the nadir shot, generate control points and create panorama.

 

First initial stitch  


Pano2QTVR... 

 In PANO2QTVR, convert the stitched image (equirectangular) to a cubical projection.

 

 The six cubical images generated with PANO2QTVR.

 


 

Nikon Capture... 

 With Nikon Capture, "defish" the nadir shot automatically with one click.

 


 

Photoshop...

 

 

In Photoshop, copy the corresponding area of the defished image and paste on top of the cubical nadir. 

  

Add a layer mask.  You may have to use other tools such as warp, distort, skew, levels, saturation, etc.

  

Once finished editing, in PANO2QTVR, re-convert the six cubical images back to an equirectangular image.


 


 

  

Intro

Tools & Set-Up

Shoot Sequence & Stitching - 6 pan, 1 zenith & 2 nadirs on tripod

Shoot Sequence & Stitching - 6 pan, 1 zenith, 2 nadirs on tripod & 1 hand held nadir

Shoot Sequence & Stitching - 6 pan, 1 zenith & 1 hand held nadir

Shoot Sequence & Stitching - 6 pan, 1 zenith & 1 nadir shot on tripod

 


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