How does this photographer do skycam shots? (NSFW)

December 15, 2006 7:32 PM

How does this photographer do skycam shots? (NSFW)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/merkley/sets/72157594158034215/

I'm very intrigued by this photographer but I cannot figure out how he does his 'skycam' shots with model. No one thinks he's using a ladder, is it some other trick?

posted by cheero to computers & internet (12 comments total)

I don't see why it couldn't be a ladder. Don't ignore the chance that each scene is entirely fake. The models may look like they're in real rooms, on real beds, or on real floors but they could well be in specially built, perhaps sunken, sets to make the work easier. The artist has a blog, did you check it out?
posted by Science! at 7:43 PM on December 15, 2006

There's nothing remotely mysterious about this. They're shot in a studio with a platform built over the bed/whatever, using commercial scaffolding or something even simpler. You could do it yourself with two stepladders, a plank, and some girls.
posted by unSane at 7:49 PM on December 15, 2006

Its absolutely scaffolding or a special purpose rig in a studio (shots like these are common enough that many photographers have this kind of gear on hand or have specially designed studios).
posted by mmascolino at 7:55 PM on December 15, 2006

Those pics are also HDR and tone mapped to an extreme level, by the way. The lack of shadows from the scaffolds/ladder is probably due to the fact that the lights are also mounted on it.
posted by IronLizard at 8:04 PM on December 15, 2006

Seriously, get a monopod and a camera with a remote and you could do this too. Just hold the monopod over your head with the remote in one of the hands. One picture has the guy's shoe in it, which suggests it's not scaffolding or a sunken set.
posted by boaz at 8:15 PM on December 15, 2006 [1 favorite]

Have you guys ever heard of these things called "Mirrors"? a mirror suspended from the ceiling with a slight tilt would work perfectly.
posted by delmoi at 8:16 PM on December 15, 2006

This image shows that the camera is not very high up at all, based on the distortion of the wine bottle and the glass. I did some dodgy geometry and came up 5 to 6 feet above the floor. For this one I get 8 to 10 feet, so he's probably standing on the chair. For this I get 8 to 10 feet again. So boaz's idea seems spot on.
posted by cillit bang at 9:14 PM on December 15, 2006

Thanks for great replies everyone!
posted by cheero at 9:39 PM on December 15, 2006

Have you tried asking him? You can send messages in Flickr.

But, yeah, scaffolding, mirrors on a 45, and stretching.
posted by cyclopticgaze at 9:44 PM on December 15, 2006

Click on his Flickr Profile - he has a FAQ with a description of his techniques.
posted by Gortuk at 5:39 AM on December 16, 2006

Don't bother with the FAQ.
posted by klangklangston at 10:21 AM on December 16, 2006

One of the key factors here is the lens he's using. Most if not all of the skycam shots are done with a 14mm lens, which is a fairly extreme fisheye lens. i've managed to replicate this type of shot with a 14mm lens by simply holding the camera about 4 or 5 feet above someone laying down. If you're reasonably careful you can take this shot freehand without getting your feet in the picture.
posted by topher74 at 11:17 AM on December 17, 2006