As Jenn mentioned in her last blog post, we just finished a 6 week course on basic digital photography at our local community college. While it’s always great to teach the exposure triangle, indoor and outdoor lighting tips and how to store and mange your pictures, we always leave the last class for a little clean-up of topics not covered and also a little fun.
We always show everyone how to do a circle picture:
And we always show our students how to do a group panoramic:
But this class only had 5-6 students – not quite right for a wide panoramic. So we came up with a really fun idea: what did we do….?
Yeah! It’s a mirror panoramic! We posed the left hand side first with everyone looking right. We then left Jenn and another woman still and had everyone run over to the right side and look and wave to the left. We brought both files into Photoshop Elements 9 (PSE9) and let it create a new panoramic. It came out a lot better then we thought it would. And it’s a great keepsake for us and the class.
What do you think? Give it a try at your next group gathering and let us see the results!
April 8, 2011
I think I will try the panorama shot with our family this summer. I have done the circle shot with the grandchildren but had trouble getting above them with the camera in the center. Any tips on doing the circle photo?
The way we do it is to set the camera on the ground! We make everyone stand in a circle, set the self-timer on the camera, put it on the ground in the center of the circle and have everyone lean over. It might take a few tries, but it works! Some tips: long hair behind your shoulders (so it doesn’t hang down), try to get everyone’s head on the same level (tall folks bend over farther) and make sure you’re not being hidden by someone else. Works best for 6-10 people.
I know some people have the kids lay on the ground, which is a totally different look, but then you have the problem that you found – how do you get directly over them without stepping on someone or getting in the way? And our way us old folks don’t have to lay down on the floor
Thanks Jenn. I never even thought of putting the camera on the ground and standing. Great idea!
Hah!! Love the mirror-pano! Great idea! And I can think of loads of applications for this idea – not only using human subjects (lol)! I know this group of students felt as lucky/blessed as I did to take your great class – Stan and Jenn, you are both the most amazing team teachers I have ever had, and every single day I use/remember concepts I learned while in your class. Applause to you both!
Cassi´s last [type] ..the day after
What a neat idea!!
Neat! What a wonderful idea, Stan.
Way cool, fun idea!
Neat ideas! Love the circle pic and the mirrored pano.
[...] some fun to group pictures Check our my latest post about making group pictures more fun by doing a mirror panoramic. It's easy to do and get's great pictures of small or large groups! [...]
Cool photography composition tips. I love panoramic compositions.