How do I photograph a long supermarket counter so the images will stitch cleanly?
Asked 7/30/2012
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I need to photograph a supermarket display counter that’s about 15 yards long. I first moved along the counter about 3 yards away and shot 30–35 overlapping frames straight on with a 16–35mm lens, first at 16mm and then at 35mm. When I tried stitching them, it failed because the viewpoint changed as I moved: items behind the glass showed different sides, and the background shifted relative to objects on the counter. What’s the best way to shoot this so stitching works? Is there a focal length or technique that works better?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
4
As you found out, if you move the camera along the counter, as opposed to just pivoting on a point, you'll find it very hard to stitch seamlessly, since you are constantly changing the point of view of each successive image.
You can do a faux panorama by taking one or two shots that capture the entire counter, and cropping out top and bottom.
Or if you had room to move way back and use a long lens, you'll have less distortion, and could pivot and do a standard panorama.
If you don't have the space to do either of these, I guess you could stand in the middle, take a number of shots for a standard panorama, stitch together, and apply some perspective correction in post processing to try to flatten out the perspective.
Originally by user4191. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4191
14y ago
0
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The main problem is parallax: moving the camera along the counter changes viewpoint, so foreground and background shift relative to each other and won’t stitch cleanly.
Better approaches:
- Don’t translate the camera if possible. Keep it in one position and pivot for a standard panorama.
- If you have room, move farther back and use a longer focal length. That reduces perspective distortion and makes stitching easier.
- If you can’t get the whole counter from one position, a “faux panorama” can work: shoot wider to include the whole counter, then crop top and bottom.
- A tilt-shift lens can help: place the camera centered on the counter and make left/center/right shifted frames. Since the viewpoint barely moves, parallax is minimized.
- If you must move along the counter, use many frames with very small movements and only thin vertical strips from each frame; a longer focal length helps here too. Some software can build this kind of composite from video frames.
So the best general answer is: keep the camera position fixed if you can, back up and use a longer lens, and avoid walking along the counter for a normal stitch.
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