Photograph Ceiling Mural

[SRPcashie]

This may be a little off topic for the Photoshop Ecosystem, but, here goes. 

I have to photograph a ceiling mural along a long room.  And yes the ceiling is vaulted in sections. 

How do you ensure your tripod is along the same area to stitch the images back together.

What software do you use to stitch it and how do you avoid distortion if the ceilings are vaulted?

thank you, 

DP

Mac, 

PS 25.9.1

[Conrad_C]

I haven’t done a ceiling, but having done other panoramas…If I was to do a long ceiling:

You would probably have less distortion by shooting more tiles with a longer focal length, compared to fewer tiles with a wide angle lens. I suppose you would want to choose a lens known to be rectilinear.

You can merge them in Photoshop (File > Automate > Photomerge), or by selecting images in Adobe Bridge and sending them to Photoshop from there (Tools > Photoshop > Photomerge). In the Photomerge dialog box, the distortion is controlled by the Projection option. A Projection option such as Spherical or Cylindrical must introduce distortion because those produce a single image as if seen from one viewpoint at a wide angle. So if you wanted the ceiling to appear rectilinear and the images don’t contain distortion, you would probably choose the Reposition projection (it just moves images around to stitch their common edges, without transforming), or maybe Collage.

The question about vaulted ceilings is a good one. I’m not sure how that would work along the change in viewpoint across multiple images. This is where hopefully someone will read your question who has more actual experience with that problem. The higher the ceiling the less of a problem it might be, since a low vaulted ceiling would have more parallax.

If the ceiling is wider than you can fit in the frame of a non-distorting lens, you will probably have to shoot a 2D grid, not a single row. Photoshop can merge a grid of image tiles.

I would probably measure out the grid and mark the floor with tape as to where to put the tripod for each shot. Hopefully you can move furniture away from any spot where the tripod needs to be. I suppose it might be easiest if the tripod was in the middle of each vault? And then you have to light each vault consistently…I see why this is challenging!

If you need better panorama options than what Photoshop offers, I hear that pros like to use PTGui (separate paid software), but I have never tried it.

[D Fosse]

I'd shoot this in individual sections, with the camera directly under the center point of each section. A 50mm prime would be ideal if distance allows.

Then I'd simply position them manually, and use auto-blend to merge seamlessly. The big advantage you already have is that the scale is guaranteed to be the same.

Lighting seems to me the biggest challenge here.

To get even neutral light, bounce flashes can't be beaten. You'll probably need three or four 500W units. If you don't have that, or can't rent/borrow, you could in a pinch take several exposures and Lighten blend mode them.

But you need some reasonably neutral surfaces to bounce off, preferably low on the walls. Depends on the room.

[SRPcashie]

I was hoping you would respond....Thanks so much. I always appreciate your advice. 

[SRPcashie]

This is great information, thank you.  

Any advice on how to mark off a grid?  especially for a tripod?  How would you recommend ensure you are shooting straight up at the ceiling especially after having moved the tripod?

[Conrad_C]

Again I can’t speak as an expert about this specific thing, but I realize now that some of my earlier comments were for a flat ceiling, where the grid can have an arbitrary number of tiles because you can just move the tripod at regular increments. But that isn’t as effective with a vaulted ceiling because of having to reconcile the distortion introduced by the depth of the vaults.

The first idea is, like D Fosse said, to start with one shot at the center of each vault. If the room is not too wide and the ceiling is not too low, maybe that will be good enough. To find the center, instead of eyeballing it in the viewfinder it’s probably faster and more accurate to measure the center based on the distances between the columns. Like if you have a vault held up by four columns and measure an X diagonally connecting the columns, the center of the X on the floor is the center of the vault and a place to put the tripod. This measuring might be faster if you use a good laser rangefinder, like the kind used in building construction.

Ensuring that the camera is straight is typically done by using a two- or three-axis bubble level. Some tripod heads have a built-in level, otherwise for less than $20 you can buy a bubble level that attaches to a camera hot shoe or tripod head.

The Sistine Chapel is a long vaulted painted ceiling, and its photograph is in all the art books, often presented as one nice flat picture. It might be interesting to research how the art reproduction photographers do that one.

[D Fosse]

This measuring might be faster if you use a good laser rangefinder, like the kind used in building construction.

Ensuring that the camera is straight is typically done by using a two- or three-axis bubble level. Some tripod heads have a built-in level, otherwise for less than $20 you can buy a bubble level that attaches to a camera hot shoe or tripod head.

By @Conrad_C

Yes, all good suggestions. I have a small laser rangefinder that is always in my camera bag. Very useful, and perfect for positioning in this case.

For pointing the camera straight up, I think I would just use a small straight level, carpenter's type, and lay it across the lens front (hood removed, obviously). But I'm sure there are other ways.

[Semaphoric]

You could hold a length of cord taut to ensure a straight line, and then move the tripod in identical steps along it.

For a vaulted ceiling, it would be interesting to take a series of panoramas with the axis of rotation aligned with

the center of the vault, moving down its length. You could see what it looked like "unwrapped".

[SRPcashie]

Also i have one of these if that helps.  

https://tethertools.com/product/rock-solid-cross-bar-side-arm/

[Trevor.Dennis]

I'm struggling who it was who did the amazing cathedral ceiling HDR shots using Photomatix in the days before Photoshop became good at it.  He had a lot of stuff on flickr, but looking there now, it's a classic case of can't find the wood for the trees.

Yay!  I found him.  His name is Klaus Herrmann and he called himself Farbspiel.  Check out his flickr stream

https://www.flickr.com/photos/farbspiel/

But he had a lot instruction pages as well.  This is one, but I am sure you'll find more if you look.  He did 180° overhead panoramas and merged them with n amazing lack of distortion. 

https://digital-photography-school.com/hdr-vertorama-photography-create-mind-bending-images/

I think he has some books as well.  Yep, here you go:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Practical-Guide-HDR-Vertorama-Photography/dp/1490929975

[Lumigraphics]

Use a track like cinema cameras use (on the floor with a trolley) to move the camera along. Level your setup and take pictures at measured intervals.

[D Fosse]

That's probably a bit out of most people's budgets, at least just for one job. This should work well with measurements and markings on the floor.

But honestly, this kind of thing is what makes photography fun! Finding practical solutions to practical problems, on the spot. Provided, of course, that no one is looking over your shoulder with a stopwatch. That tends to take the fun out of it...

[Lumigraphics]

I'm wondering how the OP got permission to do this!

[Semaphoric]

OP says they have to do it, sounds like a job.

[Trevor.Dennis]

But honestly, this kind of thing is what makes photography fun! Finding practical solutions to practical problems, on the spot. Provided, of course, that no one is looking over your shoulder with a stopwatch. That tends to take the fun out of it...

By @D Fosse

That has me thinking of a drone that can fly upside down.  Russell Brown did some amazing panorama photomerge shots that he took with a drone.  I can remember that Klaus used to stand in one place, and take his series of shots rotating the camera vertically, although that presents neck articulation problems.

Auto Align has options for both all frames taken from same position and Collage for moving the camera for each frame and keeping the lens axiis perpendicular to the subject.

[Chuck Uebele]

Hopefully, the mural or ceiling has good detail. Photoshop doesn't not stitch graphic images well. I think just getting a straight up shot under the vaulted areas might be sufficient. I would take a lot more shots that you think you need to allow PS to have enough images for overlap. I would take a small level and place it across the lens, to make sure your camera is pointed straight up.

[Trevor.Dennis]

DP Mac needs to hire one of these from his local Photographic Supplies store.  The trick with this one os changing the plates while you are on the move. 

[Chuck Uebele]

That's funny, @Trevor.Dennis 

[thomas_bredenfeld]

i've done some panoramas of this kind. what works best for me is a method that mimics a scanner

• use a tripod with the camera in portrait orientation
• move along the wall and try to keep the camera level and the lens axis perpendicular to the wall
• use a laser distometer to keep the distance between camera and wall as constant as possible to eliminate scaling problem in post.
• move along the wall with small increments. use the viewfinder grid to ensure the center 3rd of your frame overlaps with the next capture center 3rd. so you later get vertical strips, as you (kind of) "scan" along the wall.
• important: flatten out the images in LR using the correct lens profile
• important: crop all images to a vertical strip with 1/3 of the original width
• export the images as e.g. TIFFs and load them in PS as a stack
• then use PS auto align in reposition mode and see what you get. (do not stitch!)
• if it's okay, use auto blend to finalize the panorama
• if auto auto align returns garbage, manually position the single strips
• use rotation, scale, skew and free transform to optimize alignment
• use difference mode for fine adjustment of the layers if necessary
• if you're satisfied, use auto blend to finalize the panorama

this workflow ensures an optimized source image set and a post production with automatics where useful and manual edits where necessary.