Photogrammetry

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Prepared by
Dr. N NAGESWARA REDDY
Sr Assistant Professor
 Basics of photogrammetry
• Photogrammetry is defined as art, science, and technology of obtaining reliable
information about physical objects and the environment through processes of
recording, measuring, and interpreting photographic images and patterns of recorded
radiant electromagnetic energy and other phenomena.
• Photography means “drawing with light”
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 Photogrammetry

Metric Photogrammetry Interpretative Photogrammetry

• Making precise measurements from Deals in recognizing and
photos to determine the relative locations identifying objects and judging
of points. their significance through
• This enables finding distances, angles, careful and systematic analysis.
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areas, volumes, elevations, and sizes and

shapes of objects
• Applications of metric photogrammetry
are the preparation of planimetric and
topographic maps

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 These are taken with ground-based cameras,
Terrestrial the position and orientation of which might be
measured directly at the time of exposure.
Types of
photographs
Aerial photographs
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Vertical aerial photographs Oblique aerial photographs

Truly Vertical Tilted High oblique Low oblique

(1◦< θ< 3 ◦) (includes horizon) (does not include
horizon)

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 • Vertical photos are taken with the camera axis directed as nearly vertically as
possible. If the camera axis were perfectly vertical when an exposure was made, the
photographic plane would be parallel to the datum plane and the resulting
photograph would be termed truly vertical.
• In practice, the camera axis is rarely held perfectly vertical due to unavoidable
aircraft tilts. When the camera axis is unintentionally tilted slightly from vertical, the
resulting photograph is called a tilted photograph. These unintentional tilts are
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usually less than 1° and seldom more than 3°.

• Oblique aerial photographs are exposed with the camera axis intentionally tilted
away from vertical. A high oblique photograph includes the horizon; a low oblique
does not.
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Vertical aerial photograph Low oblique photograph

High oblique photograph
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Terminology
 Taking Vertical Aerial Photographs

• When an area is covered by vertical aerial photography, the photographs are usually taken along a series of
parallel passes, called flight strips.
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• The area covered by each successive photograph along a flight strip duplicates or overlaps part of the
ground coverage of the previous photo. This lapping along the flight strip is called end lap.
 • The area of coverage common to an adjacent pair of photographs in a flight strip is called the
stereoscopic overlap area.
• The overlapping pair of photos is called a stereopair.
• The amount of end lap is normally between 55 and 65 percent.
• The positions of the camera at each exposure are called the exposure stations.
• The altitude of the camera at exposure time is called the flying height.
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 • The lateral overlapping of ground coverage between strips is called side lap.
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• It is normally held at approximately 30 percent.

• The photographs of two or more side-lapping strips used to cover an area is referred to as a block of
photos.
 Scale
▪ Map scale is defined as the ratio of map distance to the corresponding distance on the
ground.
▪ Scale of the photograph is the ratio of the distance on the photo to the corresponding distance
on the ground.
-represented as

1.Unit Equivalents : 1 in = 1000 fts

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2.Unit fractions :1 in/1000 ft

3.Dimensionless representative fraction : 1/12,000
4.Dimensionless ratio :1:12,000

Large number in a scale expression denotes a small scale, and vice versa.
Example:- 1:1000 is a larger scale than 1:5000.

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 Scale of Vertical Photograph over Flat Terrain
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 • Q) A vertical aerial photograph is taken over flat terrain with a 152.4 mm focal-length camera from an
altitude of 1830 m above ground. What is the photo scale?
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Scale of Vertical Photograph over a Variable Terrain

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 • Q) Suppose that highest terrain h1, average terrain havg, and lowest terrain h2 are 610, 460, and 310
m above mean sea level, respectively. Calculate the maximum scale, minimum scale, and average scale
if the flying height above mean sea level is m and the camera focal length is 152.4 mm.

• Q) The horizontal distance AB between the centers of two street intersections was measured on the
ground as 402 m. Corresponding line ab appears on a vertical photograph and measures 95.8 mm.
What is the photo scale at the average ground elevation of this line?
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Ground Coordinates from a Vertical Photograph

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 H - Flying height above datum
A and B - ground Points
a and b - ground points on the photograph
xa, ya, xb and yb - Measured photographic coordinates
Xa, Ya, Xb and Yb - Arbitrary Ground coordinates of points A
and B

From similar triangles La’o and LA’A0

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 From similar triangles La’’o and LA’’A0 ,

The ground coordinates of point B are

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 • Q) A vertical aerial photograph was taken with a 152.4-mm-focal-length camera from a flying height of
1385 m above datum. Images a and b of two ground points A and B appear on the photograph, and
their measured photo coordinates (corrected for shrinkage and distortions) are xa = – 52.35 mm, ya = –
48.27 mm, xb = 40.64 mm, and yb = 43.88 mm. Determine the horizontal length of line AB if the
elevations of points A and B are 204 and 148 m above datum, respectively.
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EXTRA SLIDES
 Relief Displacement on a Vertical Photograph (Extra slides)

• Relief displacement is the shift or displacement in the photographic position of an image caused by the
relief of the object, i.e., its elevation above or below a selected datum. With respect to a datum, relief
displacement is outward for points whose elevations are above datum and inward for points whose
elevations are below datum.
• In the figure A′AaLoP is a vertical plane. Plane A′a′LoP is also a vertical plane which is coincident with
A′AaLoP. Since these planes intersect the photo plane along lines oa and oa′, respectively, line aa′ (relief
displacement of point A due to its elevation hA) is radial from the principal point.
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 Consider planes Lao and LAAo

Similar triangles La’o and LA’P

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Substituting r-r’ as d

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 where, d - displacement relief
h - height above datum of object point whose image is
displaced
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r - radial distance on photograph from principal point to

displaced image
(The units of d and r must be same)
H - flying height above same datum selected for measurement
of h

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 • Q) A vertical photograph taken from an elevation of 535 m above mean sea level (MSL) contains the
image of a tall vertical radio tower. The elevation at the base of the tower is 259 m above MSL. The
relief displacement d of the tower was measured as 54.1 mm, and the radial distance to the top of the
tower from the photo center was 121.7 mm. What is the height of the tower?

• A) Select datum at the base of the tower. Then flying height above datum is H = 535-259

= 276 m
Now find h?
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 • Q) Aerial photography having an average scale of 1:6000 is required to be taken with a 152.4-mm-
focal-length camera over terrain whose average elevation is 425 m above mean sea level. What is
required flying height above mean sea level?
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 Photographic End Lap and Side Lap
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𝐺−𝐵 𝐺−𝑊
PE = *100 PS = *100
𝐺 𝐺
 • PE is percent end lap. If stereoscopic coverage of an area is required, the absolute minimum end lap is
50 percent. To prevent gaps from occurring in the stereoscopic coverage due to crab, tilt, flying height
variations, and terrain variations, end laps greater than 50 percent are used.

• Q) The air base of a stereopair of vertical photos is 1400 m, and flying height above average ground is
2440 m. The camera has a focal length of 152.4 mm and a 23-cm format. What is the percent end lap?
assume that the spacing between adjacent flight strips is 2500 m. What is the percent side lap?
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