MarkBarbieri
Semi-retired
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2006
- Messages
- 6,171
By now, I think just about everyone is familiar with the concept of high dynamic range composite shooting. That's a technique that allows you to capture a scene with more dynamic range than your camera could normally capture. Without it, you will either lose details in the shadows or you'll blow out highlights in the bright areas. By combining several shots taken at different exposure levels, you can have an incredible dynamic range.
That's not the only use for multiple shots taken on a tripod. Here are some other ideas for compositing pictures.
In astrophotography, multiple shots are often combined to reduce noise and ferret out faint details that might be mistaken for noise.
Just like you can use composites to get around limitations with dynamic range, you can also use them to get around limitations with depth of field. If you've ever tried taking a shot with a subject very close to the camera and another subject way off in the distance, you know that it is sometimes hard to get everything that you want in focus. You can stop down your aperture, but that creates problems with diffraction (images looking softer after you go higher than about f/11) and still doesn't get you infinite depth of field. With compositing, you can take several pictures from the exact same spot and just adjust your focus point between each shot. You can then combine those photos together in post production so that you have one seemless photo with infinite depth of field.
Another option is to combine different moments in time into one photograph. At it's simplest, I sometimes fire off a burst of shots for group portraits. This way, if someone has their eyes closed in one shot, I can just copy their head from another shot.
You can get even more creative with this technique. You could take multiple shots with the same person in different places. When you combine the photos, you'll have one photo with lot's of "identical twins" in it.
On the other hand, you could use the technique to erase people. You could take multiple shots from one location with occasional people or cars passing through. You could then combine those shots and use parts from each picture that didn't have cars or people in them. The result would be a picture with no cars or people of a scene that might never have really been empty.
Some people also use composites to show one thing in several positions. A classic use is to take a series of high speed shots of a golf swing. Combining those into one shot shows the path of the club through the shot.
What other uses can you think of for composite shots?
That's not the only use for multiple shots taken on a tripod. Here are some other ideas for compositing pictures.
In astrophotography, multiple shots are often combined to reduce noise and ferret out faint details that might be mistaken for noise.
Just like you can use composites to get around limitations with dynamic range, you can also use them to get around limitations with depth of field. If you've ever tried taking a shot with a subject very close to the camera and another subject way off in the distance, you know that it is sometimes hard to get everything that you want in focus. You can stop down your aperture, but that creates problems with diffraction (images looking softer after you go higher than about f/11) and still doesn't get you infinite depth of field. With compositing, you can take several pictures from the exact same spot and just adjust your focus point between each shot. You can then combine those photos together in post production so that you have one seemless photo with infinite depth of field.
Another option is to combine different moments in time into one photograph. At it's simplest, I sometimes fire off a burst of shots for group portraits. This way, if someone has their eyes closed in one shot, I can just copy their head from another shot.
You can get even more creative with this technique. You could take multiple shots with the same person in different places. When you combine the photos, you'll have one photo with lot's of "identical twins" in it.
On the other hand, you could use the technique to erase people. You could take multiple shots from one location with occasional people or cars passing through. You could then combine those shots and use parts from each picture that didn't have cars or people in them. The result would be a picture with no cars or people of a scene that might never have really been empty.
Some people also use composites to show one thing in several positions. A classic use is to take a series of high speed shots of a golf swing. Combining those into one shot shows the path of the club through the shot.
What other uses can you think of for composite shots?
