Experimental Photography - Depth Perception and Parallax

Digital photography has provided an opportunity for experimentation and trial shots without the time and expense of processing before we see the results. The picture above is different, it's experimental - 3 portrait shots stitched together to add depth perception.

Decide the center of the picture - your digital camera might offer a view-finder feature. Take the first shot (below). Side step to the right and line the feature up in the right of the viewfinder (2nd shot). Take two side steps to the left and line it up on the left (3rd shot). You should now have three shots which rsemble those below.



An economical starting point is Arcsoft panorama maker 4. Other software such as Stoik panorama maker is on the net. This and most others allow a 15 or 30 day trial so that you can make up your mind which is best. Images can be put straight into the programs and results obtained very simply.

For the final picture use the second shot at the left, the first in the middle, the third on the right and stitch together.




The shots below show the effect of parallax error and how it is minimized by cropping. Clone brush techniques and layering are other methods which can be used.







This is only the starting point for creative pictures. Different ways of joining images can be explored. Try them and experiment witht he techniques. If three shots don't work, try two - it may just produce good results. Don't expect perfect results every time, but with practice, some stunning realism will appear in your pictures.


John Chatterley.
http://Wippapics.shutterpoint.com/
john.chatterley@ntlworld.com