How To Do Panoramic Photography

Panoramic photography is both admired and avoided. It’s funny, I know that many people don’t try it thinking that it is very difficult and… nothing could be further from the truth!

Today I’m going to show you. There are different ways to pan and achieve amazing results. Some of them so easy that you would not believe it. The level of difficulty only depends on how much you want to complicate yourself.

In today’s guide, I will show you the different possibilities when it comes to getting panoramic photos, the necessary equipment, how to do them step by step, some tricks to achieve the best panoramas, and the necessary programs to join all the photos. You can not lose this!

WHAT IS PANORAMIC PHOTOGRAPHY?

Panoramic photos are, as the name implies, photos that allow you to appreciate a larger portion of a scene than a normal photo.

The secret of this type of photos is the proportion of their framing, since it allows the observer to be transmitted the sensation of immensity, in a very efficient way and almost impossible to achieve using other frames.

Achieving this type of photography is relatively simple, although like any technique, it has its secrets. Next, I will name some of them and how you can get the most out of them.

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WHY TAKE A PANORAMIC PHOTO?

Of course, in photography everyone can do what they want, it would be missing more. Even so, I am going to give you some reasons to encourage you to make panoramas:

• You can get it with any camera. You do not need any special equipment, you will check it throughout this article.
• Allows different aspect ratios. It is an open format. While the 16:9 aspect ratio is the most popular, you can also use other aspect ratios like 21:9, and 12:5. The most common or popular are 2:1, 3:1, 4:1 and 5:1. The most characteristic thing is that its longest edge is twice that of the shortest edge.
• Tribute to cinema and its 16:9 ratio. The square format so fashionable by IG has its one and immerses us in nostalgia, but… what about the nostalgia of cinema?
• It is ideal to decorate your house. Surely some corner of your house is waiting for a photograph of you and… what better than a spectacular panoramic view? A headboard, a corridor, the wall behind a sofa, the back of a desk… are perfect places for the panoramic format. Here are some ideas for printing your photos.

WAYS TO GET A PANORAMIC PHOTO

Panoramic photography is not a new type of photography but, as you will discover in the article dedicated to framing in photographs, it is just one of the many formats that you have available when making your compositions and to which the cinema and the screens teach us. they are used to.

Thanks to their “elongated” proportions, that is, the width of the photographs is much greater than their height, panoramas are very pleasing to the human eye and allow a much larger scene to be shown than other types of format. But how to achieve such proportions?

You can achieve this type of framing using two totally different techniques.

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PANORAMIC PHOTOS FROM A SINGLE SHOT

This type of panorama is achieved by cropping a photograph of “normal” proportions so that the width is much greater than the height (or the other way around if it is a vertical panorama).

You can use any program to crop the photo. You will find the Crop tool even in the simplest editing programs.

To obtain the best results, it is essential that you are very clear about the result you want to achieve in the final photograph.

Why? Because reframing a photo of normal proportions to transform it into a panorama will require you to compose the photo in a different way. That is, you must leave enough space to be able to make the cut later.

Let’s see an example of how to do cropping or reframing in Befunkywhich is a free online program.

1. Select the Crop tool (see right icon).
2. Determines free proportion (or panoramic if any).
3. Set where you want to cut and save or download.

PANORAMIC PHOTOGRAPHY FROM DIFFERENT CAPTURES

This technique or method is called stitching . It consists of taking a sequence of images and, once they are made, joining them using a program (or a function within your camera if it allows it) to achieve a great panoramic photograph.

The main difference between these two methods is the final quality. Although both achieve the same sense of space and spaciousness, the panorama that results from stitching multiple images together will have much higher resolution and quality than one that simply cropped.

Another difference is that sometimes a simple crop does not allow you to cover the entire scene you want, either because you cannot get far enough away or because you do not have a wide angle lens that allows it. In that case the only solution is the method of joining several photographs.

In short, depending on what you want your photography for and what you expect from it, you will have to decide which method is more worthwhile.

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NECESSARY EQUIPMENT TO TAKE PANORAMIC PHOTOS

Next I will tell you about the equipment necessary to make a panorama, although this will depend on the result you want to obtain, of course.

• The camera: to take this type of photography it is not necessary that you have the most advanced camera on the market, far from it. With almost any camera, be it reflex, EVIL or compact, you will be able to make excellent panoramas. Even with the camera of your mobile phone, as you will see later, you will be able to obtain excellent results. Of course, the better the equipment, the better the final quality of the photograph. This is not to say that quality is everything. It is not always necessary so much level of demand. Everything will depend on the final destination, the size at which you are going to print it, and how far you want to go.
• The Goal: Avoid distorting goals. A wide-angle produces optical distortions (almost similar to those of a fisheye) that will make it difficult for you to line up the shots with each other. On the other hand, you also don’t want to use a telephoto lens because you will get extremely small frames.
• The ideal, therefore, would be to shoot with a standard focal length, between 35 and 50mm. Have you lost between angles and focal lengths? In the following article, we will tell you everything about the focal length of your lens and how it affects your photographs.
• Tripod: stability at the time of taking the different shots is important, so having a good tripod will be very helpful, although it is not essential. In addition, using a tripod will allow you to correct one of the worst enemies of panoramic photography, which is nothing less than “the parallax error”. Don’t you know him yet? Don’t worry, I’ll tell you about it later and I’ll tell you what to do to avoid it. If possible, use a tripod with a ruler or nodal point similar to this one a ball head. On the one hand, you will have stability and you will avoid blurry or moving photos.
• On the other hand, a ball-and-socket tripod will allow you to calmly and smoothly rotate the camera in the desired direction. Now, to make pro-level panoramas, that is, with professional results, the ideal is a panoramic head. By the way, if you are thinking of buying a tripod, do not miss this guide with tips and recommendations to find the best tripod for you.

IDEAL SITUATIONS FOR PANORAMAS

Of course, you can take a panoramic photo almost anywhere, but beware, not all places are ideal to obtain a good result. If you browse a bit on the Internet, you will see that the vast majority of panoramas are landscape photographs (natural or urban).

And it is that taking panoramic photographs in situations where there are a large number of subjects or objects moving in front of the lens will not only make the task difficult, but the results will be quite imperfect. Below I show you an example of a disaster that can come out.

Also keep in mind that the panoramic format is already the protagonist in itself, but once you master the technique you will be able to break the rules and revolutionize your panoramic photographs.

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THE PARALLAX ERROR, THE MOST COMMON IN PANORAMAS

As we have said, taking a panoramic photograph can be easy, but it has its tricks that you should know. It is not enough that you take several shots with your camera and then join them on the computer.

If you do it this way, you will be inviting to the party one of the worst enemies of panoramic photography: “the parallax error”.

And what is the parallax error? Pay attention to the following pictures:

In the image above you will notice that as the different pictures are taken, if you do not keep the optical center of your camera fixed, significant distortions can occur that affect the continuity and therefore the final attractiveness of your panoramic picture.

The camera varies its position with respect to each shot, changing the perspective and generating distortions that you can easily fix using a tripod (or some little trick that I’ll tell you about shortly).

As you can see in this second image, by rotating the image around its optical center, you not only respect the perspective but also guarantee the continuity of the shot throughout its entire path.

The optical center of your lens , also known as the nodal point , must remain as fixed as possible and for this you can resort to:

• Tripod with panoramic head or with a ruler (which you can do at home).
• Use the tricks that I leave you almost at the end of the article to shoot without a tripod.

THE 3 KEYS TO EXCELLENT PANORAMIC PHOTOGRAPHY

There are three key aspects when making a panorama:

• Sharpness: As in landscape photography, one of the main factors when taking a panoramic photograph is its sharpness. To do this, it is advisable to use hyperfocal or small or very closed diaphragm openings (f/8, f/16, etc.) in order to ensure that the entire photograph is perfectly focused.
• Stability: when working with very closed diaphragm openings, it is likely that, if you do not have enough light, you should decrease the exposure speed.
• Lowering the shutter speed will increase the risk that your photos will be blurred, something that you cannot afford in photography in general, and even less in panoramas, since they require several photos to be stitched together and if one is blurred, the series will be unusable. In addition to this, in order for you to capture the entire scene, the sequence of photos must be as continuous and aligned as possible. If you don’t have a tripod… don’t worry! With a little imagination and DIY photography you can make your own.
• Continuity: once you have achieved very sharp and stabilized photographs, all you have to do is join them in the appropriate program (I will leave you a list soon). It is essential that you take as many photos as possible in order to ensure the continuity of the resulting panorama. In the advice section, we will talk about the parameters and some other points that you must take into account to guarantee this continuity.

The sharpness, stability and continuity of each of the photos with respect to the following in the series that will form the final photograph will maximize your opportunities when it comes to obtaining a luxurious panorama.

Missing? That the scene you have chosen to photograph and the way you compose the image transmit the message you want to communicate.

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HOW TO MAKE A PANORAMA STEP BY STEP?

We have already seen how to get a panorama using the easy method from a single photograph. Now it’s time to see the other method, the stitching technique. It is somewhat more complex, but not complicated at all. And less as I am going to explain it to you below, step by step.

1. Determine what will be the first and last photo in your panorama. This will mark the framing and composition, you better leave a little more space on each side in case you have to cut it later, don’t rush.
2. Put the camera on the tripod if you are going to use one.
3. Adjust the parameters on the camera. Below I leave you some advice on the settings, but it is essential that you do not shoot in automatic.
4. Start with the first shot and gently pan the camera to the next shot, leaving a 20% overlap (we’ll talk about this in the tips section as well). Go capturing the entire scene shot by shot, being careful not to move the tripod, until you reach the last one.
5. Check that the shots have the correct exposure and that you have captured the entire scene in parts. You are still in time to repeat the operation. At home, it will be too late 😉 .
6. Download the photos to your computer (tablet…) and join them (I’ll tell you how in the next section).

HOW TO JOIN THE PHOTOGRAPHS FOR A PANORAMA?

Once you have your series of photos downloaded to your device with the right program, you are just a few steps away from obtaining your long-awaited panoramic photo. It only remains to open the images in the chosen program and the magic will be done.

The following images will help you understand how these programs work in general:

Once all the photographs have been taken and loaded into the program, it will align them (hence the importance of their continuity) and then cut them to the most appropriate place. A couple of more clicks and the final photograph will be ready.

PROGRAMS FOR MOUNTING PANORAMAS

Don’t you know any program that makes panoramas? Here I leave you a small list with the best (and simplest) programs to join all the photographs:

• Canon Photostich Utilities
• Landscape Maker
• PTGui
• Adobe Photoshop (Photomerge)
• lightroom
• Joining the photos in these programs is really easy. Just download any of them (especially Ptgui) and it will do it for you. All you have to do is put the finishing touches on your panoramic photos.

And if you have Lightroom or Photoshop, you’re in luck because I’m going to leave you the process step by step in the following sections.

HOW TO MAKE A PANORAMA IN LIGHTROOM STEP BY STEP

To assemble a panorama in Lightroom, import the files into the catalog and follow these steps:

1. Select the captures with which you are going to assemble your final image.
2. Follow the path Photo > Photo Combination > Panorama
3. Expect. The following dialog will open, it may take more or less depending on how many captures or if they are JPEG or RAW.
4. Select settings. Once the panorama is loaded, the different options to be marked are activated, which will depend on the result you want to obtain and the characteristics of the image. For example, with Boundary Warp you warp the image to fill in edges, you can try moving the cursor to the right. With Fill Edges , these are filled automatically from the information around them (check carefully that here Lightroom often makes mistakes with certain elements). With Automatic settings, the program establishes some settings that you can later modify to your liking, in case you don’t want to start from scratch. With Auto Crop, the cut is made in the appropriate areas. If you want the images to be stacked in the catalog once the panorama is created, check the Create stack option. You also have three combination options:

• Spherical – Aligns and transforms images as if they were inside a sphere. This is the recommended mode for wide or multi-row panoramas.
• Perspective: Constructs the panorama as if it were on a flat surface. It is recommended for architectural photography. Not suitable for multi-row panoramas.
• Cylindrical: Recommended for wide panoramas, it also keeps vertical lines straight.

1. Combine. With the settings to your liking, you just have to click on Combine and you will have your panorama assembled. Be patient, the process takes a while.
2. Edit. All that remains is to go to the Reveal module and edit to your liking (there are no valid or invalid recipes here) and when you have it, export it.

HOW TO PAN IN PHOTOSHOP STEP BY STEP

Let’s now see step by step how to create a panorama in Photoshop. The first thing is to open the photos in Photoshop, you can export them directly from Lightroom or start at step 1.

• Follow the path File > Automate > Photomerge
• Browse photos. The following window will open. You can browse in the file or select “Open Files” if, like me, you’ve previously opened the photos from Lightroom, for example. Among the different options you have the possibility of correcting geometric distortion or filling empty areas automatically. You can also remove vignettes, that is, add exposure to darkened edges. Once you have the Source files and the options that interest you clicked, press OK, top right. Until you have the files, the “OK” option will not be activated.
• Validate (or not). The program creates an image with multiple layers, adding layer masks as needed to create an optimal blend. You can edit layer masks or add adjustment layers to fine-tune different areas of the panorama. In short, the assembled panorama will appear, but in layers. By selecting the fill option, the program has filled everything outside the dashed line that I point to with arrows. If you see something weird in this step, you can always go back and do it without the fill option. If it convinces you… you would already have it!
• Adjust panning. As I was saying, for a much more precise result you can check by layers. Clicking on the eye of each layer allows you to see where the seam is and check if everything is ok or there is something you need to correct.

This last part of the process is a bit more entertaining, but in the following video, it is explained step by step in great detail.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR STUNNING PANORAMIC PHOTOGRAPHY

We are seeing that taking a panoramic photo is not that difficult, however, there are some tips and tricks that will help you achieve impressive results. Here are my tips and tricks for amazing panoramic photos.

MIDDLE OPENING

If you are photographing a landscape, your thing would be to use the hyperfocal or use a medium aperture, about f/8-f/11 to get the different planes in focus. Attention: Due to these very small apertures (f/8) you will most likely get dark photos. Try to get around this by shooting at relatively slow shutter speeds, slightly raising the ISO value, and using a tripod

1. MANUAL FOCUS

So that the camera does not go crazy looking for a focus point and so that all your photos are uniform in focus, focus in manual mode, or focus in automatic mode, switch to manual and leave it there locked. This ensures a uniform focus throughout the panorama.

2. MANUAL MODE

In order for all the shots to be similar and also to achieve continuity in lighting, you will have to photograph in manual mode with the same exposure, that is, the same aperture and the same shutter speed for all the shots. ( If you are still afraid of manual mode, with this guide you will lose it in no time ).

3. WHITE BALANCE

This is one of the few occasions when you should adjust the White Balance of your camera. If you don’t you may get each shot with a different color. You can use the «Custom» White Balance mode that allows you to shoot a white sheet of paper, indicating to your camera the neutral color tone to use in all the photos so that they are homogeneous. If you photograph in RAW you can skip this step and correct it in the edition to your liking. As you prefer.

4. VERTICAL SHOTS

Shooting with the camera vertical, even if you want a horizontal panorama, you get two things:

Improve the quality of the final photograph. At the edges of the frame, the cameras tend to lose quality. By using a vertical frame, you will reduce this lack of sharpness to the maximum because you use a greater portion of the center of the shots.

You will be able to increase the portion of the scene. You’ll capture more of the frame in each shot, giving you more freedom when it comes to splicing photos and joining them together.
Increase the resolution. This comes in handy if you plan to make large extensions.

It is true that in this way you will have to take more shots, but the final result is worth it 😉 . In case you don’t believe me, we better see it with an example. So you can check it. I leave you both the series of captures and the result.

You can also pan in multiple rows. If the scene to be captured is larger or if you need higher resolution, for example, for a huge mural, it is a good solution.

6. ACTIVATE THE HELP GRID

To keep all the shots correctly aligned you can activate the camera grid. This offers you visual help on the screen so you don’t lose the line of your frames.

7. FLAP 20%

Shooting is only part of the job. The other part, just as important, is to place these next to each other in a photo editing program, as we have seen above. And as I said before, in order to ensure the success of this process, it is advisable to overlap the shots by at least 20%. Why? Normally when you take the photos to the computer you notice small imperfections, errors, damaged areas, etc. Overlapping photos by at least 20% gives you freedom and peace of mind, knowing that if a corner goes wrong you can replace it with the next photo.

With the programs from before it was at least 30%, now you can even get good results with 10%, but to be sure, it is always better to go too far than to fall short, especially during learning, as there is nothing worse than reaching home and take the disappointment when there is no solution.

8. AVOID MOVING OBJECTS

Being several overlapping shots, a very frequent mistake that I told you about above is to capture moving objects, of which only a part appears. For example, if while taking a panoramic photo there is a taxi crossing the frame in one of the shots, in the final result you will see only half of the taxi or a ghost of it. Be careful with these errors because it is difficult to eliminate them later (or you cannot). Here’s an example, and no, it’s not a ghost car 😜.

9. MAKE A GOOD COMPOSITION

The charm of a panoramic photograph is not simply that it is a panorama. Yes, that helps, but the composition is what will make it a good photographic work. Never neglect this aspect. Everything you photograph, whatever the technique, do it with composition in mind.

In panoramic photography, if you can apply, for example, the rules of thirds and the horizon, use them. You will get an impressive panoramic photo. Cloudy skies are also a winning bet, compared to the sad and boring clear skies. The fact of creating depth including different planes is another success. For more tips on how to shoot stunning scenery, check out Mario’s mega guide.

10. RAW PHOTOGRAPHY

No matter how much the images weigh more, if you want your landscape to really look the way you want and not the way the camera wants it to; if you intend to arouse emotions; play with colors, with textures; print your own style, etc.: RAW photography. This way you can edit the image and get the most out of it.

I give you three examples, one unedited, just as it came out mounting the original photos, another with basic development in Lightroom, and a third with a filter-style edition. Of course, the edition is to the taste of each one, but that is the beauty of RAW, that it allows you to do what you want.

TRICKS TO MAKE PANORAMAS WITHOUT A TRIPOD

One does not always have a tripod, so I leave you these tricks to achieve better results without this accessory.

• Rotate your entire body on the heel of the opposite foot. In the absence of a tripod you will have to take the photos turning on your own body and trying to keep the camera at the same level. To turn, use the heel of your foot opposite to the point from which you started shooting and turn your whole body little by little. For example: if you start shooting from left to right, you will have to support your body on the heel of your right foot, turning your body as you shoot, while moving your left foot around to maintain balance.
• Support the camera on the palm of your hand and use your wrist as a kneecap.
• Place your finger under the lens, in the area closest to the camera, and rotate on the axis of the finger instead of on your body. As in the drawing on the right. The truth is that it seems easier to keep the horizon straight.

The question is to try and find the formula that gives you the best results. I give you as an example the comparison of the same panorama made in both ways:

As always, imagination is the limit.

PANORAMAS AND CREATIVITY

We have talked about the technique, tricks, and composition tips to improve panoramas, but we have another important point beyond these aspects: creativity. And that’s what I’m going to talk to you about now, leaving you with some ideas to get more creative panoramas and, above all, stimulate your imagination.

We have already mentioned that vertical panoramas can be done, but do you want to know a little more? In this article, we tell you when and why to make vertical panoramas with fascinating examples.

Sharp landscapes are a sure thing, but did you know you can pan with stunning bokeh? It is achieved through a technique called the Brenizer Effect, in this article, we explain it step by step and in a very simple way so that you can get the most creative panoramas.

And what about using the panoramic mode of your mobile to clone a person. Do you believe it? Click on the link to know-how, you will see how easy and fun it is!

To finish, I leave you with another fantastic idea, this is a pro-level, as it immerses itself in night photography, which in itself has its own difficulties (nothing insurmountable with this mega guide of tricks and tips for photographing at night ). However, once you get the hang of this panorama thing, I recommend you give it a try because it’s definitely worth it. I’m talking about panning the Milky Way. Tempting, right?

Well, these are just some examples of creative panorama, it is up to you to extend the limits far beyond this photographic technique and other effects that you have seen out there. Experiment and have fun, that’s what it’s all about.

HOW TO MAKE PANORAMIC PHOTOGRAPHY “EASY”?

If all this stitching method is too complex or slow for you, or editing programs are not your thing, in addition to the cut that we have seen at the beginning, there are other very simple ways to get a panorama. Methods that are just as effective at first sight and much easier, which hardly require any effort:

DIGITAL CAMERAS WITH THE “PANORAMA” FUNCTION INCLUDED

Many cameras offer the panoramic photo function in a simplified and almost automatic way. You simply activate the function in question, press the shutter, and you turn the camera in the desired direction. After a few seconds, the camera will finish recording the shots and will automatically process them to generate, in a matter of 1 or 2 seconds, a beautiful panoramic photo.

LOMOGRAPHIC SPINNER 360° CAMERA FOR PANORAMIC PHOTOGRAPHY

It is an analog camera, reel, or film, which allows you to take fun 360º panoramic photos just by pulling a rope. You don’t need to worry about anything other than capturing a good composition.

The good thing is that you can even take panoramic photos of moving objects and subjects. The camera captures the panoramic photo so quickly that everything freezes. One last.

On the right, I share some examples of the results you can get ( See price on Amazon).

PANORAMIC PHOTOS WITH THE MOBILE

All smartphones today have this function, it is very easy to do, and the panoramas are quite successful, especially if you follow these tips to make better panoramas with your mobile.

Here are some examples of what you can achieve with your smartphone easily and quickly.

Yes, vertically you can also with the mobile. The distortions are obvious but you can show the size of a wonderful waterfall or the height of huge redwoods like these.

And if you want to upload a panorama to Instagram and you don’t know how in the link, we will tell you to step by step.

As you can see, there are different ways to take panoramic photography, from the slowest and most professional to the fastest and easiest. The truth is that, whatever method you use, fun and creativity are guaranteed 😉

I hope that this guide today has been useful to you, in that case, do not hesitate to share it on your favorite social network. Thank you and happy panoramic photography.