» Nadirshots «
Spherical panoramas differ from cylindrical 360° panoramas in that they also show zenith and nadir. The term Nadir originates from the Arabic and means "footpoint". If you stand at any place on earth and look to the highest point of heaven (Zenith), your feet touch the nadir (=footpoint, i. e. the place which is exactly opposite to the zenith). In the case of a spherical panorama, this is the location where the camera tripod is normally located. Part of the art of panoramic photography is to depict the shooting location as if the camera had been floating in free space without producing a shadow. For this purpose, so-called "nadirshots" must be made in addition to the panorama shots. Ideally, they cannot be distinguished from their surroundings in the finished spherical panorama.
nadirshots are easiest on a flat surface with clear structures
conscious choice of location also makes the view downwards worthwhile
stairs and steps make it a bit more difficult, because here different angles lead to parallax errors
locations that also allow the view into deeper lying terrain are always attractive
small walls are well suited for a better overview
if one chooses a railing as location, one takes the position of a slightly forward bent observer
it goes higher with a telescopic pole (pano pole) which allows a bird's eye view
if the pano pole is used horizontally, exceptional and almost impossible view points arise
playing with a very close Nadir can also be worthwhile
