Little Planets
In the spirit of my favorite Playstation game of all time, LittleBigPlanet, I present the Little Planets Photography assignment. After all, we can’t all be Sackboys…..
The Little Planet is a pretty neat effect that’s much easier to achieve than you’d think. You just have to make sure that you do a couple of things while you’re shooting your panorama and then apply a couple of filters and crops in Photoshop.
From start to finish, the project should only take an hour to complete. Fun? Check. Simple? Check. Epic? Check.
The Little Planet is a pretty neat effect that’s much easier to achieve than you’d think. You just have to make sure that you do a couple of things while you’re shooting your panorama and then apply a couple of filters and crops in Photoshop.
From start to finish, the project should only take an hour to complete. Fun? Check. Simple? Check. Epic? Check.
TO DO
- Students will create and shoot two little planets.
- Read this post on creating your little planet.
- Make sure you follow the principles of shooting correct panoramas:
- Shoot in Manual mode to ensure exposure is consistent.
- Shoot with a Manual focus.
- Use a tripod.
- Use small apertures (f/16 – f/22)
- Take note of the special instructions for shooting a panorama with the intention of turning it into a Little Planet:
- The bottom part of your image (25% or so) should have very little detail because it will become the most distorted. A road, grass or snow work best.
- The top part of your image (25% or so) should be all sky. This will really aid in the blending process.
- The horizon line should be relatively straight and the elements on either side of the panorama should be fairly similar. The left and right side of your image will join together so you need to ensure that the horizon line is straight and the elements will be able to matchup. You are afforded some leeway with Photoshop, but getting it right in the camera is always best. Remember, don’t rely on Photoshop for mistakes, but rather for enhancements.
- Use a camera and tripod. Shoot a series of 10 or more portrait photos for each Little Planet composition.
- Upload the images in a new folder titled, “Little Planets”.
- Watch the video, “Creating Little Planets” and create your own.
- Upload to Weebly.