Shooting From Above: Some Essential Kit

Gitzo Lateral Arm & G541 Bracket.

When you are shooting from above, this is the only Lateral arm you want on set at 90cm long and built like a tank! It’s a great alternative to a Cambo Stand (and fits in your car).

The lateral arm works with the G541 clamp so will go on any tripod legs with a ⅜ inch thread (which is essentially all tripods). As it’s geared it allows for fine adjustment, and can easily take medium format cameras with heavy Macro lenses. It’s safest to use it with a counterweight (both on the tripod hook and on the other end of the lateral arm).

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Don’t forget your cable release. We have them for all our cables and also have cables for Pocket Wizards to trigger cameras. Alternatively, Cmd+K in Capture One fires the camera remotely. Live view – on many SLR’s can help when shooting from above.

Another option is a Mirror at 45 degrees mounted above the object. That way you can shoot with a normal tripod! This is often used in filming –  but comes with its own issues! If you want to go bigger we also rent 9ft Cambo stands.

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Tip. The IQ3-100MP (pictured) allows a HDMI out to a monitor (TV logic 9” pictured but could be 24” Eizo or projector for example) this is great when you’re arranging still life items when you can’t see the LCD screen. This works well for clients or Art Directors too. 

Tip. Use the overlay feature in Capture One if shooting a catalogue of similar images (maybe 10 different watches on the same background). This will make sure you get the product in the exact same place and at the same scale).