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What is the largest print we can make from a 20mp file (P4P,Mavic 3, etc), or from stitched Panos ?

Very cool. What’s the actual pixel dimensions of the full size?
And if those labs, do any of them let us do Panoramic prints, not standard sizes?
I need to find somebody in Chicago that does custom inkjet printing so I have more control over the size and papers, etc. I do miss having my own printer…
Just about any Pro Lab will allow you to do panoramics of almost any size. You just need to speak with their customer service and discuss your needs. and as was suggested, have them create a print as if it was going to be a competition print, for the best quality. Gloss, always gives the sharpest image.

The other point to remember is that up to a max of 10x8, you view at arms length. Any larger than that and you never view the print at arms length, it is always further away. Therefore, if you had a 40+ inch print, it would never be expected to be view just 2-3 feet away, that would be way too close. The further away you view the finished large print, the less you will see fine detail showing as blurred. Large prints are never meant to be viewed close up.
 
Large prints are never meant to be viewed close up.
Unless you're Edward Burtynsky. I've been to a couple of his exhibitions. You can stand 3-4 m back so you can see the whole thing, then step closer and see more and more details until you're only a few cm away from the print.
 
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Unless you're Edward Burtynsky. I've been to a couple of his exhibitions. You can stand 3-4 m back so you can see the whole thing, then step closer and see more and more details until you're only a few cm away from the print.
Well, there's always one, isn't there. Like a billboard, the details of the image look amazing from the ground. Though, if you were up there close to see the image, all you would be seeing is large dots.
 
I actually had one of my Phantom 3Pro panos used as a billboard for State of Michigan. Now it’s heavily processed, but it looked Awesome….!
1680112569549.jpeg
Don’t remember if it was 3 or 4 frames, single row. Have to did up originals to verify.
Surpised the hell out of me how good it looked.
A very talented graphic designer worked with it.
This is close to what I sent them. Maybe I brightened it up a bit:
1680112718489.jpeg1680112569549.jpeg
 
Well, I was on a shoot with an associate. We were shooting several days in Detroit for the tourism bureau, so we were getting a day rate and they got use of all images we turned in as part of the shoot. So, not as much as Id’ve liked.
But I was very proud of how it got used.
I’d only had that P3P a few months at that point.
Definitely cool to be driving on the tollway around Chicago and see a billboard with your photo on it 55’ wide…
 
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Well, I was on a shoot with an associate. We were shooting several days in Detroit for the tourism bureau, so we were getting a day rate and they got use of all images we turned in as part of the shoot. So, not as much as Id’ve liked.
But I was very proud of how it got used.
I’d only had that P3P a few months at that point.
Definitely cool to be driving on the tollway around Chicago and see a billboard with your photo on it 55’ wide…
Ahhh, I see. I have been a photographer for years. A little tip, your day rate does not include images, your day rate is simply the cost of you turning up with your equipment and taking loads of photos that they want you to take during that predetermined amount of hours which equals a day.

There should then be a separate charge to them for the use of each image they want and under that section, there should be another column to specify the way that image will be used by them. Inside a magazine or on a web site page it is X amount of dollars. A front cover use on a magazine would be more expensive, of course, or a back cover, slightly less expensive. Then you specify if this is a one time use charge or multiple use charge over a pre-determined number of days, for that same type of use.

So you could specify that they have use of your images for 3 months or six months or 12 months. After that, they have to pay again, if they wish to use the same images next year for what ever. Obviously a billboard use will be much more money that if they used the image in a website campaign or in a magazine. That stops you getting taken advantage of by a corporation who thinks they can have use of all that you shoot just because they paid you a day rate. Plus, you NEVER give up the copyright to any image, unless they are paying you a ton of money for that copyright.

It's great to see your images used out in the open like that but remember, they have a big budget for doing such a thing and they normally expect to pay a lot of money for such image use. If they can screw a newcomer over for cheap images, they will do that. You might even consider having a special rate for the use of your panoramic images, over your standard single frame images. Be sure to research these categories and prices next time you do such a job. You can always ask them for the rates they have paid other professional photographers on a job, so that you can determine if their pay scale falls in line with what you expect to get out of it. If they will offer that, you might find they expect to pay far more than you thought your images were worth.

Do not undersell yourself. If you don't value yourself and the work you produce, they definitely won't value your work. Do not give them discounts, give them added value. So instead of reducing the price for an image, tell them if they pay this much for a few images, they then get added value of being able to use a few other images for other use, for example. Of course, you can give volume discounts, such as one image costs X and 5 images cost XX and 10 images cost them XXX. Once they see that you will charge a low price, it will be very difficult for you to ever raise your pricing. Remember, a day rate is just the cost of turning up and taking photos with your equipment, it never includes images as well. That is a separate item of value, unless of course, you have negotiated a special higher day rate that would include a limited number of images, but best not to do things that way.
 
Appreciate the input.
But I kept the explanation simple. I’ve been a pro for 40 years myself. On this particular job I was second shooter and the Michigan Board of Tourism was my associate’s client. He made the arrangements and contract.
It wasn’t just day rate. They paid out travel, hotel and meals, incidentals and processing
The terms of the contract were that they could use the images as they wish to promote tourism in Michigan. They didn’t know up front which images would be used or where and if we’d insisted on a per image, per use charge structure I doubt we’d have gotten the job.

I don’t recall offhand if there was a time limit on usage, but as I say, it wasn’t my job.
I do retain copyright to all my images and can resell them as I wish.

I did a portrait of a doctor a couple years ago that was specifically to be used in a billboard ad. And we had that kind of structure set up for that because they knew what the end use was going to be from the beginning. It Was done in the studio and we did several variations, worked with the graphic designer, and knew that it was going to be specifically for one billboard and a specified amount of time, and there would be additional charges if they wanted to reuse it in the future. Not every job can be laid out like that.
 
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A lot of the problems with curved horizons etc can be solved by a combination of specifying horizontal/vertical lines in the stitching software and choosing the best projection for the scene.

I use PTGUI Pro, which isn't cheap but does an excellent job. I can identify both horizontal and vertical lines in individual photos for the stitching algorithm. I can also flip between different projections to see which one gives the best result.

Thanks @Robert Prior: I am afraid I only have Lightroom. SWMBO wouldn’t like me shelling out for PTGUI Pro| I have tried a free open source program (the name escapes me) but I couldn’t fathom its complexities
 
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Thanks @Robert Prior: I am afraid I only have Lightroom. SWMBO wouldn’t like me shelling out for PTGUI Pro| I have tried a free open source program (the name escapes me) but I couldn’t fathom its complexities
Hugin works well, and isn't that complex (although more complex — or possibly worse explained — than PTGUI Pro).


It allows for horizon straightening.
 
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