How can I photograph a very wide wall without panorama distortion?
Asked 8/26/2015
6 views
2 answers
0
I need to photograph a wall about 200 feet wide, but I can only stand about 50 feet away, so a single frame won’t capture the whole wall. If I stand in one place and rotate the camera to shoot a panorama, the stitched result looks distorted. Is there a better way to shoot and stitch this kind of flat subject—such as moving sideways along the wall instead of rotating the camera? What type of software or technique should I use?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
2
What you are looking for is a software that can make some kind of stitching.
It's not really a classical projection as those tend to project a sphere into something else (you generally take pictures using a tripod and just rotate the camera, not moving it).
You really don't want cylindrical projections (which are projections from a sphere to a plan) or cubic projection (projection from sphere to a cube). Examples of what you don't want here : http://hugin.sourceforge.net/docs/manual/Projections.html#Cylindrical_projections
What you want is a feature sometimes called "mosaic mode" or "stitching mode" in software.
For example, the software Hugin can do it (http://hugin.sourceforge.net/tutorials/Mosaic-mode/en.shtml). Windows offers ICE, a free tool (http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/ice/).
I think your question is very close to How can I stitch a panorama correctly if I moved the camera along the horizontal axis?, and similar to What would be the right approach to take pictures of a long counter? and Panorama with rectangular projection.
For your purpose, the "best" way (IMHO) to take pictures dedicated to be stitched would be to walk sideways along the wall, taking pictures directly facing the wall (eventually using a tripod).
Originally by user26456. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user26456
10y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. For a large, flat subject like a wall, a standard rotating panorama is usually the wrong approach because panorama software often uses cylindrical or spherical projections, which can make straight, flat surfaces look distorted.
Instead, shoot a series of overlapping images while moving sideways parallel to the wall, keeping the camera aimed squarely at it. Then stitch them using a flat-image stitching workflow often called mosaic mode or stitching mode rather than a traditional panorama projection.
Software mentioned by the community that can do this includes Hugin (using mosaic mode) and Microsoft ICE. The key is to avoid cylindrical, spherical, or cubic panorama projections and use a planar/flat stitch instead.
In practice:
- keep the camera as parallel to the wall as possible
- move sideways in small steps
- overlap frames generously
- use stitching software that supports mosaic-style assembly
That should give a much more natural result for a wide wall than rotating in place.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI10y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
How should I photograph a long wall from close range and stitch it into one detailed image?
Can I stitch a panorama shot by moving sideways instead of rotating the camera?
How can I shoot and stitch panoramas of tall buildings without distortion?
How can I photograph a wall of paintings so the whole wall looks sharp?
How can I capture cleaner phone photospheres with fewer stitching errors and avoid my feet appearing?