CHAPTER 4 PHOTOGRAMMETRIC

CHAPTER FOUR
PHOTOGRAMMETRY
4.1 Introduction

Photogrammetry is the science of making measurements on photographs. Terrestrial

Photogrammetry deals with photographs taken from a known ground position. Aerial
Photogrammetry deals with those photographs taken from the air. Measurements made from
photographs can be used to obtain horizontal distances between points, elevation of points,
compilation of topographic and planimetric maps, preparation of profiles and cross-sections,
construction of mosaics, production of orthophotos, etc. Photographs can also be interpreted for
geological, agricultural and engineering investigation, forestry, ecology and environmental
analysis, resource inventory, military intelligence, etc. The current chapter focuses on the basic
principles of making horizontal and vertical distances from aerial photographs.

4.2 Types of Aerial Photographs

Photographs taken with the optical axis of the camera held essentially vertical or perpendicular to
the ground surface are called vertical aerial photographs. These have simple geometry and hence
they are preferred in photogrammetric applications. Some tilt ( up to 5 0 ) is tolerated. Oblique
aerial photographs are taken with the camera axis tilted intentionally. A low oblique is that
photograph which bears no image of the horizon due to small tilt angle. A high oblique shows
the image of the horizon with the ground image.
Most planimetric and topographic mapping, mosaic construction and orthophoto production are
done by using vertical aerial photographs although high obliques are sometimes used in the
preparation of small-scale planimetric maps and charts due to large ground coverage.

4.3 Scale of Aerial Photographs

The scale of a photograph is the ratio of the distance on the photograph to the corresponding
distance on the ground. A vertical aerial photograph resembles a planimetric map in that it shows
both the planimetric and cultural features on the ground in their relative positions. It is different
from planimetric maps, however, in two respects:
(1) the photograph does not contain the standard map symbols, which are essential to the map;
(2) the scale of the photograph varies in different portions of the photograph due to the ground
relief. Consider fig. 4.1

L
f
a o b a o b

H
A

O B
A O B ha ho
datum hb
A’ O’ B’ A’ O’ B’
(a) (b)
Fig 4.1 Effect of relief on photographic scale

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In fig. 4.1(A) points A, O and B all lie at the same elevation. The horizontal distances AO and
OB are equal to A’O’ and O’B’ on the reference datum. A truly vertical photograph taken with
the camera at L would show the images of A, O and B at a, o and b. The ratio ao / A’O’ equals
the ratio ob / O’B’, and the scale of the photograph is uniform across the photograph.
In fig 4.1(b) points A, O and B are at different elevations and the horizontal distances between A
and O, and O and B are A’O’ and O’B’ on the datum. If a vertical photograph is taken with the
camera axis at L, the points A, O and B are shown on the photograph as a, o and b. The ratio ao /
A’O’ does not equal the ratio ob / O’B’, and the scale of the photograph varies across the
photograph due to variation in elevations of the ground.
Referring to fig 4.1(b)
Dis tan ce on photo ao ob
Scale   
Dis tan ce on ground A' O' O' B'
ao f ob f
Scale = Scale   ; Scale  
A' O' H  h A O' B ' H  h E
f
:. Scale, S E  (4.1)
H  hE
where SE is the scale of a vertical photograph for a given elevation E;
f is the focal length of the camera in inches or millimeters;
H is the flying height above datum, in feet or meters; and
h is the elevation of the point , line or area above datum, in feet or meters.
Provided that the relief is not extremely variable, the average scale of a single photograph or a set
of photographs may be desired to be able to measure distances in any area of the photograph(s).
It is given by
f
S av  ( 4.2)
H  hav
in which Sav is the average scale of the photograph(s) and hav is the average elevation of the area
covered by the photography, in ft or m, above datum.
When the scale of the photograph is not given it can be determined by measuring a distance
between known landmarks on the photograph and comparing to the corresponding distance on
the ground, as for instance the distance between two road intersections.
The scale of the photograph can also be determined by comparing a distance measured on the
photograph with the corresponding distance measured on a map with a known scale. The photo
scale is then found from the following relation.
Photo scale Photo dis tan ce
 (4.3)
Map scale Map dis tan ce

Solved Examples:

1. A camera with a focal length of 152.35mm and a picture size of 230*230 mm is used to
photograph an area from an altitude of 2400m above sea level. The average ground elevation is
420m above sea level. What is the average scale of the photography?
Solution
From eq.(4.2)
f 152.35mm 1mm
S av   
H  hav 2400m  420m 13m
:. S av  1 : 13,000

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2. Two points lying at an elevation of 268.5m appear on the photograph taken in example 1
above. The distance between these points scales 22.78mm on the photograph. What is the ground
distance?
Solution
At the given elevation of 268.5m,
f 152.35mm
S   1 : 13,990
H  h 2400m  268.5m
and also
Dis tan ce on photo 22.78 1
S  
Dis tan ce on ground G. D 13.99
:. Ground dis tan ce  318.71m

Exercise: The distance between two road intersections on an aerial photograph is 6.50cm, and the
same distance measures 2.30cm on a map with a scale of 1 : 50,000. What is the approximate
scale of the photograph?

4.4 Relief Displacement

Relief displacement is the displacement of the image of a ground point on the photograph from
the position the image would have if the point were on the datum, or it is the condition in which a
point on the ground is displaced from its true map position.

b b’
o a’ a

B
A
hA hB

A’ O
hO B’

O’

Fig 4.2 Relief displacement

In fig. 4.2 points A and B are located at elevations of hA and hB above datum. On a vertical
photograph their images appear at a and b. The datum positions A’ and B’ would have images at
a’ and b’ on the photograph. Point o is the principal focus of the photograph formed by joining
opposite fiducial marks at the corners or the edges of the photograph. Because of the elevations
of A and B above datum, both a and b have been displaced outward along the radial lines oa and
ob, respectively.
The relief displacement dr for a point is given by
rh
dr  (4.4)
H
where r is the radial distance from the principal point to the image point;

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h is the elevation of the point above datum; and

H is the flying height above datum, in same units as h.
From eq. 4.4 it can be seen that the relief displacement of a point depends on the position of the
point on the photograph. It increases outward toward the edge of the photograph. At the principal
point it is zero. Also the relief displacement increases as the elevation of the point above datum
increases and decreases with the flying height.
Relief displacement can be used to calculate the height of objects in certain situations where the
relief displacement can be measured from the photograph, for instance, for features such as
flagpoles, utility poles, some transmission towers, corners of buildings, water tanks, etc. where
both the top and bottom of the object can be observed on the photograph and the top occurs
vertically above the bottom.
Relief displacement can also be used to determine the actual length of lines, angles between
lines, areas and volumes from photographs after reducing all points on the photograph to a
common datum.

4.5 Stereoscopy

Stereoscopy is the ability of the individual to perceive the object space in three dimensions
through using both eyes. Each human eye represents a single camera, and monocular viewing
results in flat perspective and the person’s ability to perceive depth is hampered. Binocular
viewing allows the person to view the object from two different locations due to the separation
between the eyes. The pair of camera stations when taking overlapping photographs is therefore
similar to viewing with both eyes.
Viewing with one eye fixes one direction from the eye to the object only, which is insufficient
for fixing the object’s distance from the viewer. On the other hand, viewing with two eyes fixes
two directions from both eyes, hence giving the location of the object at their intersection. The
two directions from both eyes form a convergence angle ( parallactic angle) . The closer the
point to the eyes, the larger the convergence angle between the two directions ( refer fig 4.3 a).
Since the observer perceives p1 as closer than p2, and h is a function of 




E1 E2 b

  H1

p1 H
2 h

p2

2

(a) (b)
Fig 4.3 Stereoscopy

In fig 4.3 b an idealized tower is photographed from two camera stations. If it were possible to
see the left photograph with the left eye and the right photograph with the right eye only, the

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observer will perceive the tower in three dimensions as shown. The lines joining the eyes and the
two images of the top of the tower will intersect at an angle , while those passing through the
images of the tower base make an angle . Since  the top of the tower will appear closer
to the viewer than its base and the tower will then be perceived in three dimensions.

Stereoscopic Viewing of Aerial Photographs

When aerial photographs are viewed stereoscopically, they produce the three dimensional image
of the terrain in the photograph. The three-dimensional view helps in the study of the terrain as it
relates to engineering projects and also provides the basis for topographic mapping by
photogrammetric techniques. There are three requirements for stereoscopic viewing: (1) the two
aerial photographs must provide two views of the terrain taken from two different camera
positions; (2) the two aerial Photographs must be oriented properly for viewing; and (3) the
viewer must have normal binocular vision.

1. Photograph Overlap: When aerial photographs for project areas are to be taken, flight lines
are laid out on a flight map with a spacing that will cause photographs to cover an overlapping
strip of ground both laterally and consecutively. The lateral overlap between photographs
amounts to about 25% of the width of the photograph on each side. The actual spacing on the
flight map may be determined from the scale at which the photographs are to be taken ( eq. 4.3).
The photographic distance is 75% of the width of the photograph if a 25% overlap is to be
maintained between strips (fig 4.4).
Along the flight line each photograph overlaps an area that overlaps the area taken by the
previous photograph by about 60%. Therefore, the time interval between exposures is selected to
achieve so during the flight. The large overlap between successive photographs helps to
(1) provide coverage of the entire ground area from two view points, such coverage being
important for stereoscopic viewing; (2) allow only the central portion of the photograph to be
used for mosaic construction, thus eliminating to a great extent errors due to relief displacement.

End overlap
___ 60%____

25% lateral overlap

25% lateral overlap

Fig 4.4 Photograph overlap

2. Stereoscopic Viewing Devices: The primary purpose of a stereoscopic viewing device is to

ensure that the right eye sees only the photograph on the right and the left eye sees only the

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photograph on the left. Two common devices are used: the pocket stereoscope and the mirror
stereoscope.

[Link] of Photographs for Stereoscopic Viewing: The photographs being viewed

stereoscopically are oriented in the same relative position as the camera existed in the field at the
time of photography. The principal point of each photograph is located by joining opposite
fiducial marks at the four corners of each photograph, and the principal point of the right-hand
photograph is identified and marked on the left-hand photograph and the principal point of the
left-hand photograph identified and marked on the right-hand photograph. The photographs are
then overlapped along the flight line with the overlapping images superimposed. Then the two
overlapping images are separated along the flight line with the overlap inwards until a
satisfactory fusion is obtained through the stereoscope. Vision in both eyes is necessary so that
the different images of the terrain contained in the separate photographs can be transferred to the
brain by the two eyes of the viewer. The stereomodel of the terrain is then perceived by the brain
based on the slight differences in the two views of the terrain recorded on the photographs.

4.6 Parallax
Referring to fig 4.6 below, a point A at an elevation of h above datum appears at a and a ’ on two
consecutive exposures. It can be seen from the figure that the image of A has moved through a
total algebraic distance of x - x’ on the principal plane. This apparent movement of the image of
an object between successive exposures is called parallax of the object.
The parallax p = x - x’ where x and x’ are the coordinates on the left and right photographs
respectively, with respect to the base line.

4.7 Products of Aerial Photographs

A variety of products are derived from aerial photographs when they are utilized for various operations.
Some of these products are listed below:

1. Paper-print copies of aerial photographs themselves, which may be used for general planning and for
field operations.
2. Mosaics, which are composed of segments of photographs assembled to give the appearance of a
continuous picture of the terrain. Since each photograph is a perspective, the mosaic contains
distortions and should not be considered as accurate map.
3. Orthophotos, specially prepared photographic representations of the terrain without distortions (relief
and tilt) which can be used as a planimetric map. In some cases, contour lines are superimposed on an
orthophoto, resulting in orthophoto maps, which are the equivalent of topographic maps.
4. Planimetric maps, photogrammetrically prepared, contain only the horizontal position information of
terrain features.
5. Topographic maps, which show both the planimetric detail and contour lines, compiled
photogrammetrically by a stereoplotter.
6. Digital data, to produce a system of ground coordinates of a limited number of control points or a dense
network representing the total terrain surface - digital terrain model (DTM) - in the form of the XY -
grid system.

4.8 Applications of photogrammetric products

The most extensive use of aerial photographs is in topographic mapping and orthophotographs. Other
applications include

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 design, location construction and maintenance of modern highways at all phases; e.g.
earthwork quantities are calculated from photogrammetric models, pavement condition and
possible erosion of embankment can be interpreted from aerial photographs.
 dam settlement, wave action structural deformation and channel sedimentation can be
analyzed from photographic products.
 in hydrology, analysis of slopes, ground coverage, watershed areas and snow depth can be
determined from photographs - these are all important in run off estimation.
 in agriculture, crop inventory and crop diseases analyses are performed by using aerial
photographs. Colored prints are prepared to distinguish among diseases.
 in land surveying, photographs are used for identification and location of boundary lines and
corners, and determination of soil and vegetal cover.

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