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Camera posing in interiors while framing people with a long focal length?

lvls3dxlvls3dx Posts: 48
in The Commons

Hello, I am wondering how to deal in an efficient way with the issue the title of this post points.

Either portraying a face with a long focal length setting (around 60 mm or above); or framing an interior of a room with a medium focal length setting (around 60 mm) is easy enough.

But how about moving the camera around in an interior when there is also people to portray? How do you people deal with it in a way you can achieve the exact angle and distance while it doesn’t become a real pain for several minutes to get to the result?

If I keep using a camera with a medium focal length to portray people in interiors the results become quite unsatisfying since the excessive deformation of the figure, and specially its face. But dealing with a long focal length camera is even worse due how tiresome is to get the desired framing every time, specially when working with a sequence of pictures.

Is there anybody with the right insight about this matter? Any tricks that I may be missing?

I must point that I use Iray Section planes to cut all the objects I don’t want in my frame; therefore, I am not referring to a matter of walls getting in the way or such. My concern is about the sloppiness of moving the camera around while a long focal length is set.

Thank you for reading.

Comments

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 108,284

    Use an Iray Section Plane (Create>New Iray Section Plane Node) - you can then plce the camera outside the room and the plane just so that it cuts off the near wall - everything on the near side of the plane will be hidden on rendering. I recommend, with the plane selected, going into the Parameters pane and turning on the Clip Lights option - otherwise the reflections will be wrong, and you will get (probably) unwanted light shining into your room.

  • KitsumoKitsumo Posts: 1,221

    You could create a null object, then parent your camera to it. Then just move the null object to position the camera.

  • lvls3dxlvls3dx Posts: 48
    Richard Haseltine said:

    Use an Iray Section Plane (Create>New Iray Section Plane Node) - you can then plce the camera outside the room and the plane just so that it cuts off the near wall - everything on the near side of the plane will be hidden on rendering. I recommend, with the plane selected, going into the Parameters pane and turning on the Clip Lights option - otherwise the reflections will be wrong, and you will get (probably) unwanted light shining into your room.

    Thank for your answer! And I agree with your suggestion. In fact, I already use section plane nodes -including the clip light off- to frame exactly what I want and set invisible the rest.

    I highly recommend this practice over ghost lights for interiors, since you can use your favorite HDRI settings even in interiors.

    Maybe one of the easiest ways to do so is using the interior camera set that everybody can get for free in DeviantArt:

    https://www.deviantart.com/heroineadventures/art/Iray-Interior-Camera-V1-4-758604718

    This one but, would need an extra Plane in front of the camera also; just as you pointed.

    Once one gets the grasp of how it works, its easy to make new interior cameras with different settings. The most significant, but minor, problem would be the effect of HDRI pictures on mirrors or clear enough reflective surfaces.

    Nevertheless, this is not my issue. My “complain” is about how to move cameras with a long focal length setting in interiors.

    Because yes, thanks to the Iray section planes you can set cameras even outside and still “see through walls”. But, even if I use Scene navigator tools to move as precisely as possible, even a hit with a value of 5 with the Look Right or Look Left buttons will put off the frame the figure which was previously in the center of it. This leaves me no choice but, through Scene Navigator Tools and aiming buttons, spend several minutes to get a proper framing but not always satisfying enough.

  • lvls3dxlvls3dx Posts: 48
    Kitsumo said:

    You could create a null object, then parent your camera to it. Then just move the null object to position the camera.

     

    Wow!!!

    I would never have thought about that by myself.

    Just tried for a few minutes but indeed seems like I can get the precision I was asking for when moving the camera around in order to set a good framing.

    Thank you very much! I hope someday I can also help other people with my insights as you did to me.

    In any case, is this precise moving only posible through the Transforms parameters from the null object ? Obviously feels a bit weird for now, but even if its the only way I can get use to it eventually; but still.

    Again, many thanks.

     

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