"Little World" using a Panorama

At times photos mean the world to us. 

The Little World effect is a Photoshop trick and can be created using any photograph. Although generally a panoramic image generally results in a more dramatic Little World. Lets have a lok how you can create your own Little World using Photoshop.

First, we take a panorama. For making one yourself, let us first understand that the basic concept of a panorama is simple, but making a seamless one can be tricky at times. Here is how I did:

- Camera On Tripod (you can do it handheld too, if you are in bright daylight or if you get nice shutter speed so that there is no camera shake).

- Manual focus, Manual Mode to control aperture, shutter, ISO, focal length and focus point.

- Take series of shots horizontally, making sure that you take next image overlapping 40-50% to the previous image.

- Start Photoshop and open the Mini Bridge.

- Browse the images and select all of them using CTRL (Win) or Command (Mac), right click and select Reveal In Bridge.

- Go to TOOLS> Photoshop> Photomerge

- This way you make sure that your edges align well in Photoshop stitching.

Now on how to turn this pan into a small world or a little world panorama, 



STARTING SIMPLE:
It’s simplest to work with a 360 degree panorama, so let’s start with this panorama shot. 

STEP 1: RESIZE AND ROTATEThe first thing we need to do is prepare the image for the Polar filter. We do this by stretching the height of the image so that the image is a perfect square.
Select Image>Image Size from the menus. Uncheck ‘Constrain Proporties’ and set the “height” to the same value as your “width”. Next, rotate the image 180 degrees. (Image>Rotate Canvas>180)
You should end up with something like the image to the right.

STEP 2: APPLY THE POLAR FILTERNext, we’ll apply the Polar Filter to wrap our image into a sphere.
Choose Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates from the menus and in the resulting dialog box, select the “Rectangular to Polar” setting.
(If you’re using The Gimp the command is Filters > Distorts > Polar Coords.)
As you can see we’re 90% of the way there!:
Easy cheesy, right? Now for some finishing touches…

STEP 3: ROTATE AND CLEAN UPThe rest is just a little digital darkroom work: Rotate the planet to your liking, adjust the contrast and colors, clean up the sky and the edges where the left and right border of the image came together. (The clone stamp and healing brush may be handy here.)

... and we're done! :)

ZOOOOOOOOOOOM buRST ! ! ! !

Zoom burst is a photographic technique, attainable with zoom lenses with a manual zoom ring. Using the technique involves zooming while the shutter is open with a relatively slow shutter speed, generally below 1/60th of a second.
Although this kind of Zoom Burst involves one more technique as you may have presumed already, that is Light Trails using a long Exposure.


This one was taken at a shutter speed of approx. 30 seconds. I zoomed in at the central part where you see the well lit gate to the mall, clicked the shutter button (opened the shutter, the eye of your camera that is), and after keeping it so for a second or two, zoomed out slowly and steadily, to get a smooth trail… then I kept it zoomed out for the vehicle trails. Notice the red ones are trails from tail-lamps of the bikes going away, ad the white/yellow ones are the headlamps. I used my Canon EOS 60D with EF-S 18-135mm IS for this.

Zoom bursts are more popular with pictures of flowers, or simple facial shots.

Nishant Kapoor. 

Street Photography. Basics and Ethics.

 

 

Gear:

Camera – If you take a DSLR just take one lens but don't take a zoom or one that's too long as this will just make you stand out and generally you'll have to point this type of lens directly at someone which will give the game away. Carrying more than one lens around could make you a potential target for a thief too. If you can, take a smaller camera along as this will make you more discreet.

Wide-angle lens – A wide angle lens will mean you can take a photo of someone without actually having to point the lens in their direction. You cam pretend you're photographing something near by, ensuring your subject is still in frame. You can then keep the whole shot or crop in later when you're back in front of your computer.

Camera bag – you don't always need one but they are handy to carry spare memory cards, lens cloths and other accessories in. It'll also keep your camera safe and free of dirt/dust when you've finished your shooting for the day too. You don't want to carry something too big and if you can, make sure it doesn't scream: 'camera bag'.

 

Tips:

Less is More – don’t take too much equipment and travel light. It’ll make you less obtrusive and you will be able to move around for the best shot quickly

Off the Beaten Track – don’t just go to all the touristy shots – try to get ‘behind the scenes’ and ‘real life’ scenes.

Stolen Moments – anticipate moments between people before they happen.

True Colors – black and white is often where it’s at with street photography but at times colorful situations arise and can really make a shot – be on the look out for these.

In the Background – what’s going on behind your subject can actually ‘make’ the shot. Billboards, signs, graffiti and other visual elements can really make a statement in a shot.

Dare to Go Diagonal – don’t just hold your camera horizontally – experiment with angles. Street photography is a less formal medium – make the most of it.

Opposites Attract – shots which challenge the ‘norm’ in terms of composition and story/subject matter can be powerful. Look out for ‘surprising’ subject matter and composition.

What a Performance – street performers, parades and other street entertainment can be great subject matter on the street.

Off the Streets – other places where people gather in number can lead to great shots in this genre – zoos, fairs, shows, parks, sporting events etc all can be worth trying.

New Angle – find ways to get up high or down low – these new perspectives on subjects that are familiar can lead to eye catching shots.

Practice makes Perfect – over time and with practice your photography will improve. You’ll not only get better at technique but also spotting the things to focus upon on the street.

Fortune Favors the Brave – sometimes the best thing you can do is to get close to your subject – this can be a little confronting but will produce powerful images

Fun in the Sun – often we try to avoid shooting into the sun and the shadows that direct sunlight can produce – in street photography breaking these ‘rules’ can lead to great shots.

Ready to Pounce – have your camera out and ready to shoot at all times. Things can move quickly on the street so if you’re not ready you’ll miss lots of opportunities.

Revise the Revisit – street photography is not all about spontaneity – if you see a scene with potential don’t be afraid to keep coming back to it until you get the shot.

Frozen Motion – the street is a place of movement – to capture it and still get sharp shots make sure your shutter speed is fast enough. 1/125 or more with an ISO of 400 is what this article recommended as a base. I also think it can be fun to experiment with slower shutter speeds on the street – capture the movement as blur.

Street Wallpaper – blend in with the scene – shoot unobtrusively and unnoticed.

Life Through a Lens – ‘exaggerating perspective will help set your subject in context and provide a more forgiving depth of field’ – use a wide angle lens (or even a fisheye).

Expect the Expected – people can be suspicious of street photographers so shoot in places where people expect to see people doing photography. Smile, be polite and be willing to delete images if people protest.

Location, Location, Location – really this is what it is all about. Choose places where people interact with one another and times when they are present.