October 8, 2008
Issue #1

Editor Sharon Stultz
Photographer/Writer Dan Stultz

Here’s your premiere issue of PhotoSense,
a Stultz Photo e-Newsletter!

Planning an Ideal Shoot
What I do, you do and we do.

• Initial Meeting (on the phone or in person)–I listen to you. We explore your basic photo needs. Are you selling a product or idea? Teaching a concept? Documenting an event? Is there a visual style to maintain; an existing format or layout to fit?
   
• Getting the Details–How many shots are needed? What size file do you need–billboard size or web size? What digital file format do you prefer–jpeg, TIFF, etc? What color palette, props, models, wardrobe, stylists, location scouting do we need? Do you want proof prints?
   
• Providing the Estimate–My goal is to provide an accurate estimate for every shoot. When necessary, I offer costs “a la carte” making it easier for you to budget and plan.
   
• Planning/Brainstorming–I explore my idea file of creative images as I plan approaches to composition, colors and lighting. For more complex shots, I even sketch out my lighting setup to avoid unexpected problems during the shoot. We brainstorm ideas because a photo shoot is always a team effort, and everyone has an opportunity to contribute.
   
• Organizing–We create a shot list that makes sense of a normally chaotic process.
   
• Shooting–I blend preparedness with flexibility at the shoot. In other words, I shoot what I’ve planned, but I stay alert to new possibilities during the shoot.
   
• Finishing–I meet the deadlines you’ve set. I process the RAW image files from the shoot to the specifications you need. You receive images that are color corrected, adjusted for brightness and contrast, and retouched. When necessary, additional creative computer work is done.

Panoramic Photography
A unique landscape possibility

I have been shooting architecture for over twenty years now, and for much of that time I have struggled with the laws of physics. It seems no lens exists that is wide enough for the shots I need to take.

For exterior shots I use my widest lens at the proper distance to include the entire building. However, other nearby obstacles (neighboring buildings, trees, parking lots with cars) inevitably intrude. Coming close enough to avoid these obstacles requires cropping important parts of the building.


              Building photographed at a considerable distance

Interior shots can be even tougher to get right. I constantly find myself crammed into a corner trying to eke out every last degree of the room I must shoot.

     I wish I could have extended the right and left edges of this image.

When digital cameras first came on the scene, they brought improvements and solutions to many photographic problems, but not so much to architectural photography. Digital camera sensors were smaller than the comparable 35mm film size making a lens “longer” or more telephoto than before. In other words, a 28mm wide angle lens became equivalent to a 42mm lens. Photographers needing wide angle abilities had to invest in lenses 18mm orless. These special lenses aren't cheap. Even so, the maximum angle of view was only 67°!
                                                 (continued next column)

(Panoramic Photography continued from previous column)

Finally the perfect solution came along with software. I started shooting individual side-by-side images and “stitching” them together in Photoshop. Initially it was all done by hand and involved many hours of work to match the perspective and distortion of each image to its neighbor. Stitching as few as four or five images together could take as many hours.

Even though this took more time, it made superwide views possible. I could now provide sweeping panoramas of 180° or more and in the process come much closer to my subject to avoid obstacles.

                   One of my first Stitching panorama projects


   Stitching and extensive retouching of townhome development image

I have recently gone one step further by using software that automatically stitches and blends many images together–even in multiple rows. The software, called Hugin, is based on open-source software tools called Panatools. A 360° panoramic view made with 25 or more images is now possible. I can place my camera in the optimum location, not just one that allows me to include the whole scene. Though I still have to plan well and be careful while shooting, the impossible is now possible.

                               Home office interior 300°


                                     360° panorama

Check out some of the samples of this work on my site.    Panoramas

Panoramic Photography Extra
Not Just for Architecture Anymore

Think you can't use panoramic photography? You can! The technique of stitching digital images (described above) is not limited to architectural photos. It's great for group and product shots too. I recently stitched together six very high-resolution images of a carpenter's level to make one image to print at 22x66 inches. at 300dpi. I could have gone even larger! One result of “stitching” is you get very large, sharp, incredibly detailed images that can be blown up much larger than a single image.

Q&A

The most common question I receive, aside from “Do you do weddings?” (No!) is “What kind of camera should I buy?” My answer is “That depends.”

I quickly follow up with this recommendation: “Go to Digital Photography Review!”

Dpreview.com has an amazing amount of information and reviews on all things digital photography. It covers software, lenses, and cameras from point-and-shoot to professional level models. It also has “all the latest digital photography and imaging news, reviews of the latest digital cameras and accessories, the most active discussion forums, a large selection of sample galleries, a digital camera database and buyers guide and the most comprehensive database of digital camera features and specifications.” I highly recommend looking here before you buy!

There's also a wealth of information for those who just want to keep up with what's going on in digital imaging.

Do you have any photo questions I can answer in future newsletters? e-mail me--dan@stultzphoto.com

Coming in future issues of PhotoSense

Executive Portraits--People in Their Qwn Environment
Animation--Time Lapse and Stop Action
Philosophy of Lighting
Shooting Food
Digital Retouching

Do you have any photo interests not covered here? Suggest a topic.
I welcome any comments or critiques.
e-mail me--dan@stultzphoto.com

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Dan Stultz/Stultz Photography
1227 Elizabeth St, West Chicago, IL  60185
630-231-9010
dan@stultzphoto.com
www.stultzphoto.com