How can I photograph vineyard rows in a panorama so the nearest row looks straight instead of bending at the edges?
Asked 2/16/2021
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When I stand at the edge of an orchard or vineyard and look down the rows, the lines open up nicely in person. In a test panorama, the rows aligned well, but the nearest row on my left and right ended up looking like two lines meeting at roughly a 90° angle at the image edges, even though they are parts of the same row. Is there a shooting or stitching method that will make that nearest row appear as one straight line in the final panorama?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
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Here's the problem. You want to show something that is close to being on either side of you (the trees in the row closest to the road) and display that on a flat display medium (screen or print, it doesn't matter) that is in front of you sufficiently that the extreme edges of the image are not on either side of you.
Short of displaying the result on a circular medium such as an IMAX screen that wraps 180° around the viewer, so that the extreme edges of the display medium are at the same angles to the observer's eyes as the items in the scene were to the camera's lens the easiest solution is to back up significantly and use a much longer focal length. A higher camera position that points down at a greater angle might also be helpful. Of course the change in perspective will also affect the relationships of all the other rows and columns in the orchard.
If you warp the projection to straighten the line along the road, the relative sizes of the trees will no longer look natural. In fact, some of the closest trees near the left and right edge of the image will look larger on their outside half than on their inside half.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
5y ago
0
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This is mainly a projection/perspective issue. A very wide panorama tries to map parts of the scene that were far off to your sides onto a flat print or screen in front of the viewer, so the closest row bends apart at the edges.
What can help:
- Use a rectilinear panorama projection rather than a curved/cylindrical look. This can keep straight lines straight, as long as the field of view stays under about 180°.
- Shoot more frames to include the area between the left and right sides of that nearest row; otherwise a rectilinear result may leave an empty wedge in the middle.
- Back up and use a longer focal length so the nearest row is less extreme in your field of view.
- Try a higher camera position and/or aim downward more to reduce the side-edge distortion.
There isn’t a perfect way to make objects that are almost beside you look completely natural on a flat image at very wide angles. If you want that exact in-person effect, you need either a less extreme viewpoint or a curved display.
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