So, I had a photo on Instagram yesterday do crazy well..
I was like, what? Why do people like this?
I was kinda just desperate and posted the only photo I had,
and then it started blowing up
with likes and comments galore.
And the shot was a jumping shot.
I thought it'd be pretty straight forward
about how I did it, but then I thought about it
and it's not easy to do a good jumping shot
with a 360 camera.
No wonder I got so many questions about how to do it.
So I thought you know what, I'm gonna make a video about it
and show you guys how to nail the 360 jumping shot
every time because if you can do a good jumping shot,
wait not even good, if you can do an amazing jumping shot
that could be a photo that totally explodes your Instagram,
your Facebook, anywhere you post your photos,
and will really draw peoples' attention to you and your work.
Step one, the camera has to be on the ground.
This is really important
because when the camera is on the ground
you will be clean against the sky.
In order to achieve this affect
you need to have a clear sky around you when you jump
and you're not going to if you shoot with the camera
at eye level.
So find a wide open space, put your camera on the ground,
and make sure there's lots of sky above you.
Now, here's the quickest and easiest way to do it.
Put your 360 camera into video mode
and make sure you're shooting
at the highest resolution possible.
That way we have maximum image quality
when we turn it into a photo later.
I like quality!
Step two, jump.
Step three, take a screen grab.
Some 360 camera apps are more screenshot friendly
than others so if yours does allow it,
like the One X app does in this example,
you'll wanna hit that screen shot button
and you've saved yourself a jumping 360 photo
to your camera roll.
If it doesn't, take your footage into Insta360 Studio
on desktop edit as a tiny planet
and again hit that screenshot button.
Now, another factor at play is how fast you're movement is.
If your camera allows slow motion
you will wanna try this option
because it will capture fast movement with more clarity
than shooting at 24, 25, or 30 frames a second.
Sometimes if your movement is too fast
there will be noticeable motion blur
when you hit that pause button.
Slow motion's a great way to do it,
but be careful not to lower the resolution too much
because often the slower you go
the lower the resolution goes.
This is where the photo method comes in,
because basically every 360 camera ever invented has
higher quality photos than videos.
So, if you can shoot your jumping shot with photos
that would be the preferable option.
Also, some cameras have HDR and RAW, just sayin'.
Now, you're not gonna get this right on the first attempt,
but if you do, damn, high five!
The reason it will probably take longer
is because you'll need to use the self timer.
And we need to make sure when it counts down 3, 2, 1,
we're at the exact point in the air we want to be
when the camera shutter clicks.
And 360 camera shutters don't always click
when you think they do.
Sometimes the wifi connection is just dodgy
and it doesn't take the photo when it says it does.
Which is why you'll need to play detective
and figure out exactly which millisecond it is
that the camera shutter clicks.
To do this you'll have to download your photos as you go
and look at just how far out of place you are
compared to where you thought you were.
So, if say your toes have just touched the ground
you're probably about a quarter of a second too slow.
So when you take your next shot
jump a quarter of a second earlier
so you'll be even closer to that highest point
that you wanted to hit.
Hopefully it doesn't take 20 attempts, but if it does
well, this is why we don't skip leg day.
Yes, it will probably tire you out,
but I promise it'll be worth it.
It's gonna be amazing just trust me.
Once you've figured out the timing
this is when you can get creative in the air
and try all kinds of cool poses.
You can do a straight jump,
you can put your arms in the air, legs in the air,
you can pretend you're being sucked into a giant vortex,
if you can get some serious height like I did here
you could even cross your legs and pretend you're floating.
Hi, I'm Ben and I'm a floater.
Depending as to whether you want to edit as a regular planet
or and inverted planet,
this will effect exactly where you stand from the camera.
If you know it's going to make
for an awesome inverted planet,
jump as close to the camera as you can
'cause it means you'll fill in the sky
in the middle of the circle.
If you think you'll make for a tiny planet
then take a few steps back,
and when you jump make sure you have a clean sky behind you
so in the final shot it looks like you're jumping
off the planet.
If you own a 360 camera with burst mode,
like the Go Pro Fusion, congratulations,
life just got a whole lot easier.
Because burst mode takes 30 photos in one second.
So it's going to capture every single stage of your jump
and you can choose later
if you want to be at the very highest point, the middle;
wherever you like.
And that, that's gonna mean you won't need to make that many
jumps to get it right.
So, that's it, a really quick tutorial for you guys today
because so many of you on Instagram
were asking how it was done.
Well.
If you want to learn more about tiny planet composition
you should definitely check out my e-book.
It's about tiny planet photography
and it comes completely free
with every purchase of my video course,
A Beginner's Guide to 360 Video.
I can't wait to see all of your awesome jumping shots
so, feel free to tag me on Instagram.
I'd love to see your shots.
#keepcalmandfloat
I don't know why I bothered suggested that.
Creating a new hashtag doesn't usually do anything,
but yeah, feel free to use it.
Alright, that's it, peace out.