Only #LocalGuides can understand the extreme importance of categorizing photos by location. With the “Share Photos” prompts in Maps, it gets even more important, as sometimes location tagging isn’t as accurate as we’d like it to be. The following tips and tricks were developed over several months of travel, taking both standard photographs with my cellular device and 360 photographs with my Ricoh Theta. As I have discovered, organization independent image recognition is even more important when thumbnails become distorted flat versions of the stunning 360 views we are so passionate about capturing.
I would have shared this post specifically for those interested in Streetview Photography, but most of this information is just as (if not more) useful and more widely applicable for standard photography as well.
This post shares my best tips for:
- Taking 360 photos with the Ricoh Theta outside of your cellular service area or when in airplane mode.
- Handling large volumes of files generated by guiding, especially 360 photos and video when traveling (without filling up your camera or phone HD) with pre-emptive file management and organization of your photographs and video during the creation process.
Taking 360 Photos when in areas that you have no cellular service - a.k.a. where your phone is in airplane mode.
I recently took a trip out of my cellular service area - something I do not do often. While I was there, I took a great deal of 360* photography and video. I was pleased to discover that my Ricoh Theta was able to connect to my phone while in airplane mode, and it even appeared that my phone’s location was detected by the app - the map was zooming in to the appropriate places, which were later automatically suggested to be tagged with the correct location. I was able to publish several photos from the wifi at my hotel, with no issues. Once I had confirmed that I could get the phone to work while in airplane mode, I happily took a great deal of video and photography, filling up my SD cards and switching them out in the process. This GPS working for Ricoh outside of my service area was an unexpected and wonderful bonus.
Handling large volumes of files when unable to upload for extended periods of time (special emphasis on 360 photos):
Sometimes, it can be tricky to remember where 360 photos have been taken, leading to lots of time spent looking for identifying features.
Which leads me to the most important trick: Locator Photos
When photographing a location, utilize a “locator” photo as the first in your series - take a photo where the front-center view is a street sign or business name (a business card, the logo on your teacup, the front of the establishment). After this, take beautiful photographs to your hearts content. It does not have to be upright, or perfectly framed - in fact, an imperfect photo can make it stand out as a locator photo amongst a sea of carefully framed images.
This “locator” photo is especially crucial when taking video. If you are preparing to take a numerous videos or lengthy 360 video, taking a photograph of your location at the beginning and end of your video can help you if the file is compromised in any way. It is a great comfort to the spirit to have start and finish photos when a video file is not viewable for any reason. (To prevent difficulty with video, I stop my recording and restart video every 90 seconds or less. I also take a locator photo between videos. Of course, if I come across any landmarks of scenic points, I stop video and take a few snapshots as well.)
After you are finished taking photographs, cover your camera or return it to the case, and take a single photograph with the lens totally obscured. This single dark, featureless photo will serve as a “new chapter” marker in your photo files, letting you know that you’ve reached the end of a series.
While the practice may seem wasteful of the space in your memory, it saves so much grief later on. I am certain I am not the only one to have included the wrong photo in a series of uploads to Maps, only to spend so much time looking back through my contributions for the inaccurate offender. (This is especially difficult with 360 pano distortion and the tiny size of the thumbnail!)
Upon returning home, I found that photographs I had taken were able to be easily tagged with locations, then published. Videos, however, remain greyed out in the Street View application - I am unable to open them, view them, or tag them with locations. I am seeking a solution at this time, and if I find one, will update.
This leads me to my lesson of the day, friends.
When traveling outside of your cellular service area:
- Take photos in favor of video, especially if you are uncertain about the location of video to be used in StreetView.
- Take carefully framed “locator” photos at the beginning of a series photographing a single location or event.
- Avoid taking videos longer than a minute and a half.
- Stop video and take photos of scenic vistas - do not rely on video.
- Utilize lens-obscured dark photos to create chapter markers in your photo files for ease of photo management upon returning home.
Below is one of the videos I took for Street View which I have as yet been unable to upload due to GPS issues with the video. It is too beautiful a scene not to share. The video is of the Breakwater in Victoria, Canada. If you look to one side, you will see the bay with ships, and to the other direction, Washington is across the channel.
Do you have any tips or trick you use to manage your photos when traveling for extended periods?
