TWiP Talks 47: 360 Photography and VR with Marc Charette

[smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/thisweekinphoto/p/content.blubrry.com/thisweekinphoto/TWiP_Talks-48-Marc-Charette.mp3″ color=”6a1915″ title=”360 Photography and VR with Marc Charette” artist=”TWiP Talks 48″ ] In this episode of TWiP Talks, it’s all about 360 photography… and as we learned in this session the proper term for this is actually “photosphere”, at least according to Google!

This technique and genre of photography is essentially the art of creating immersive experiences in photographs by capturing the entire environment, then by using some magic software, the photographer stitches it all together to create the final “sphere”. It is this sphere that the view then experiences from the INSIDE.

You may have experienced this type of photo before, especially if you’ve ever seen a QuickTime VR movie, or have used Google StreetView. All of these are essentially photospheres. There are some fantastic uses for this technology, but as with any technique, it takes some practice and mastery of basic (and some advanced) photography skills to pull off a professional-looking final piece.

Marc Charette has created hundreds of photospheres, and is also a Google StreetView Trusted photographer in his local area. Find out how he does it by watching this interview, then explore the links he’s provided below.

About Marc – in his own words…

As a Google Trusted photographer living on the Central Coast of New South Wales, my focus is on taking pictures of workplaces, people at work and the products and services they provide, mostly in 360° photospheres. With an extensive background sales, marketing, tourism, advertising, retail, training and services industry, I have have always found myself being the guy behind the gear, helping others tell their stories.

Going back to my first camera, a 1950's Airies range finder to today, photography has always been in my life. With the new push towards 360° images and all things that look and feel VR, it was the right time to make the full time move and setup Work Pics. It's about asking people… “So… what do you want people to see?”

You can see my work on www.workpics.com
or contact me at marc@workpics.com
You can also follow my on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/WorkPics360/

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Interested in creating your own photospheres? Here are a few useful links that Marc has provided…

http://www.360cities.net
https://round.me
http://www.viewat.org
http://www.spinattic.com
https://www.flickr.com
https://www.google.com/maps/streetview
ricoh theta S

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Software for stitching 360 images and video along with some publishing capabilities (create the html5 code / or other content players

https://www.ptgui.com/

http://www.kolor.com/autopano/autopano-features/

http://www.easypano.com/360-panorama-software.html

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Tomshot360: http://www.tomshot360.com/

Nodal Ninja 4: http://www.nodalninja.com/nn4/introduction/1/

Nodal Ninja rotator: http://shop.nodalninja.com/collections/rotators/products/advanced-rotator-rd16-ii-f1161

Nodal Ninja Leveller: http://shop.nodalninja.com/products/ez-leveler-ii-with-case-f3140

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John Warkentin's Pano Bootcamp: http://yourdigitaleye.com/introduction-to-ptgui-for-spherical-panoramas-from-panobootcamp/

(Check out his work on Facebook too) https://www.facebook.com/groups/PanoBootcamp/

Barney Meyer: http://barneymeyer.com/top-educational-institutions

(turn up the sound on this one!)

Tony Redhead (pioneer in the fiield) http://tonyredhead.com/360panoramas/what-does-it-look-like

http://www.airpano.com/

Florian Knorn's YouTube series http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL15B8C737F69319BE

International Virtual Reality Photographer's Associciation http://ivrpa.org/

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The best place to see my work is on my website at: http://www.workpics.com/google-street-view-virtual-tours.html