Camera positioning

Overview

What height?

A frequently asked question is what the ideal camera height is when taking photographs.

The correct height depends on various factors.

What kind of information should the images convey, and how much? What type of movement is involved (on foot, by bike, by car)? How and where is the camera mounted? etc.

As always, the general rule is: you have to experiment yourself to achieve the best results for your own working methods.

For me, a height of between 2.10 m and 2.40 m has proven to be optimal. Below this, your own silhouette may take up too much of the frame; above this, you quickly run into problems with the stability of mounts, tripod legs, etc.

Although your own silhouette in the image becomes smaller as the height increases, this effect also diminishes. It is only really visible in the area around the nadir.

In my experience with the GoPro Max, increasing the height has little to no effect on the information content of areas that are significantly more substantial than the path beneath the photographer, e.g. the horizon.

In a series of experiments, I took photographs from the same position at different heights and using different tripod setups.

Whilst changes in the proportions are clearly visible when looking towards the nadir, there are few or no significant differences when looking towards the horizon.

Comparison of the GoPro Max camera height on a photo tripod, looking downwards (nadir)	Comparison of GoPro Max camera height on a backpack tripod, looking downwards (nadir)
Comparison of GoPro Max camera height on a photo tripod, facing the horizon	Comparison of GoPro Max camera height on a backpack tripod, facing the horizon

The original files for the 360° images can be downloaded as a ZIP archive (6 images each, approx. 19MB).

Version with a camera tripod

Version with backpack tripod

Viewing Direction

In 360° images, the camera points in all directions.

However, it suits the viewing habits of people viewing these images on Panoramax if the ‘main viewing direction’ corresponds to the direction of movement in the shots.

Any necessary adjustments to all images can be made very easily after uploading to Panoramax in the settings section for your image series. For this reason, the question of viewing direction is of secondary importance during 360° shooting sessions.

Nevertheless, it is of course helpful to know what options the camera offers in this regard.

The GoPro Max has two lenses; you can select which lens determines the ‘main viewing direction’. However, for the reasons mentioned above, this lens does not necessarily have to point in the direction of movement.

When correcting the image later on the Panoramax server, you simply need to set the direction in which this lens was pointing relative to the direction of movement.

I usually position the camera so that the lenses face sideways, i.e. at a 90° angle to the direction of movement.

• The ‘seam’ where the two halves of the image are joined up is then mostly parallel to the path. This means that any differences in exposure between the two halves aren’t as noticeable.
• In this position, I can align the camera better – for example, whilst cycling – and thus keep my own silhouette as narrow as possible.
• It’s inevitable that things will get a bit tight at times and the odd branch will knock against the camera. Although the lenses are protected by covers, replacing them if they’re damaged or lost is an expensive business.