Creating Panoramas by William Randall

This is an outline created by William Randall for distribution:

What is Panoramic Photography? It is sometimes referred to as wide-angle photography. It is a technique that captures a wider perspective than a normal view of the scene. We usually think of a landscape vista, but it would not have to be. A panoramic photo can be done with a wide angle lens then cropped as a panoramic image or by stitching together several photos.
Considerations for creating panoramic photographs.
I. Selecting a topic or area for a panoramic image.
II. Camera settings.
III. Taking individual images to be combine or “stitched.”
IV. Evaluating and processing the individual images before stitching.
V. Stitching the frames together.
VI. Saving and editing the panoramic image.
VII. Printing.
Exploring the seven considerations
I. Selecting a topic or area for a panoramic image.
A. Not all scenes are equally adaptable for a panorama.
1. City scenes require considerable planning, care, and more post processing for a panoramic because of the movement of cars and people. (
2. Moving objects: birds, planes, vehicles, or people may appear in multiple images and will probably require considerable editing before stitching.
B. How many shots is it going to take to capture the desired image?
1. Set the limits of the selected panorama view
2. Shoot lots of images and overlap
a. Masters recommends 20 to 30 percent overlap. (6.)
b. Cary says, “I use 30% or more each time, but some people say 15% is fine.” (2.)
c. Mentally select the start and finish of a panoramic scene before starting to shoot. It may mean making more than one to capture what you want.
3. Landscape verses Portrait view for individual images in the set.
a. Landscape orientation covers the selected area quicker, but may introduce distortion.
b. Portrait view, requires more images, but according to Mansurov, they “capture more of the sky and ground and yield higher resolution panoramas.” (5.)
1. Pros and cons of different focal length lenses.
a. Wide angle lens (18-35mm non-fisheye on a full frame camera,10-20mm on a camera with an APS-C [Advanced Photo System Classic ] sensor).
1) Pro — fewer shots to cover the selected area.
2) Con – true wide angle has more barrel distortion on edges making it more difficult for the stitching software to match images.
a) Lightroom 4 and 5 can adjust for distortion and aberration of many specific lenses.
b) Other software relies on manual manipulation and your individual judgment to correct distortion.
3) Mixed — a wide angle lens exaggerates differences, size and thus distance, between foreground and background objects.
b. Telephoto lens (110 plus on full frame sensor [70mm on an APS-C sensor]).
1) Pro – According to Hook, “there is very little distortion due to focal length” using a telephoto lens (3.)
2) Con – requires many more shots than a wide angle or normal lens to cover the desired view.
3) Mixed — visually minimizes the distance between foreground and background objects which may or may not be desirable. This is called compression.
c. Normal to portrait lens (50-80mm on a full frame camera [30-50mm on an APS-C sensor]).
1) Pro – many people prefer a normal lens or a portrait lens because there is minimal compression or distortion.
2) Con – requires more shots than a wide angle to cover desired view.
d. If using a zoom, set the focal length to mid-range. Distortion and vignette effects often occur at the extreme ends of a zoom lens.
II. Camera settings.
A. Two different schools of thought on in-camera “panoramic” mode.
1. Cary is positive. (3.)
a. “If your camera has a panoramic mode, use it.”
b. Most panoramic modes, “adjusts the camera to NOT change exposure settings between shots.”
2. Rouco is negative. (7.)
a. “We warn against using the ‘panoramic’ setting on your camera.”
b. “This auto setting doesn’t lock the exposure and white balance which causes uneven images and therefore seams” in the final panorama.
B. Setting ISO, aperture (f-stop), and shutter speed (based on a consensus of references).
1. Use the lowest ISO possible (100 or 200 depending on your camera, and the available light).
2. A mid range aperture (f8 to f16) for depth of field.
3. A sufficient shutter speed to eliminate blur (remember use 1/[35mm focal length] for sharp images).
4. Both Masters (6.) and Rouco (7.) indicate that we should meter in aperture priority mode pointing the camera at the dominant, well lit object, make note of the f-stop and shutter speed, then switch to manual mode and enter the setting to lock them.
C. White balance.
1. Most of the authors cited here say, manually set white balance, as well as the exposure.
2. Turn off auto white balance and choose either daylight or cloudy depending on the light.
3. Leaving the white balance in auto often results in such bad changes in expose that image should not be printed.
4. One of the Motels where we stayed in NH had @ 15’ x 6’ panorama above the front desk that was badly striped, and they probably paid a fortune for it.
D. Do not use a polarizer, the angle of light changes as you rotate the camera, changing.
III. Taking individual images to be combine or “stitched.”
A. Use a steady base and keep the camera as level as possible.
1. Most of the cited authors indicate that a well leveled tripod is preferred.
2. I used a monopod in the Colorado shots, which made rotating easy, but not keeping the camera level caused problems.
3. Some people also take hand held images, which requires very good technique, especially keeping the camera level while rotating.
B. Start on the left and keep going to the right until you reach the predetermined limit.
1. Elements 9-12 aligns and merges the selected images based on their content.
a. Left to right order speeds the process, but right to left usually does not cause a problem.
b. I did have a merge failure when there were a large number of images for it to compare.
2. PhotoStitch requires the images in left to right order.
IV. Evaluate and process the individual images for possible corrections before merging.
A. LightRoom allows corrections in one image to be synced in the rest in the set.
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V. Stitching the frames together.
Several companies offer software for combining images into panoramas. We will look at Photoshop Elements and Canon PhotoStich.
A. Steps in Photoshop Elements.
1. Open Editor.
2. Open a set of images.
3. Creating a Panorama in Photoshop Elements.
a. In Elements 9 or 10, select File>New>Photomerge Panorama
b. In Elements 11 or 12, select Enhance>Photomerge> Photomerge Panorama
4. Photomerge dialog box
a. The Default is “Auto”
b. Click “Add open files.”
c. Check “Blend Image Together.”
d. You can check “Vignette Removal” and “Geometric Distortion Correction.” if you haven’t corrected for them and think either might be a problem, but they slow processing.
e. Click “OK” and Photoshop Elements evaluates, aligns and blends the images.
5. Clean edges dialog box
a. “Would you like to automatically fill in the edges of your panorama?”
1) Yes—I usually run out of workspace.
2) No.
a) Select the Rectangular Marque Tool and draw a rectangle for the image.
b) Select Image>Crop.
b. Save the image using an easily recognizable name.
B. Steps in Canon PhotoStich 3.1.
1. Click the PhotoStich Merge Images button.
2. Click the Open button.
3. In the Open Dialog box,
a. Make sure the Selection and Arrangement tab is the active dialog.
b. Open the desired folder and select all the images you want in one panorama.
c. If you have several images this may take a minute or so.
4. Click tab number 2, Merge.
a. Click the Merge Settings button.
1) Select Panning (scenery, etc) radio button.
2) Set the focal length (the lens cropping factor, as opposed to the magnification) in the 35mm equivalent.
a) For full frame cameras the nominal focal length is the 35mm equivalent.
b) For Canon APS-C (Advanced Photo System type C) sensors multiply the nominal focal length by 1.6.
c) For images taken with other APS-C sensor cameras multiply by 1.5.
d) For images taken with other size sensors check your manual, your camera store, or the internet.
b. The Add button allows you to identify a focal length and lens maker.
c. Click OK.
d. Click the Start button.
5. It builds the image by selecting the images in order and “stitching” them together.
C. Save the image using an easily recognizable name.
VI. Correcting panoramic image
A. There may be artifacts like wavy lines or other indicators of not so seamless stitching that need correction.
B. Open the saved panorama and use tools like the Spot Healing Brush tool, the Clone Stamp, or the Detail Smart Brush for final corrections.
VII. Printing if justified.
A. Decide on the size to print – always a special size.
B. Decide on the print media– matte or gloss paper, metal, or canvas.
C. Tom Rabideau, Shawnee Dreams, can help evaluate the image for size and material.
References:
1. Asch, David, How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 11, Focal Press, New York and London, 2013.
2. Cary, Peter West, “8 Guidelines to Taking Panoramic Photographs with Any Camera,” Digital Photography School. †
3. Hook, Elliot, “Tips for shooting landscapes with a telephoto lens,” Digital Photography School. †
4. Kelby, Scott, and Kloskowski, Matt, The Photoshop Elements 9 Book for Digital Photographers, New Riders, Kelby Media Group, 2011.
5. Mansurov, Nasim, “Panoramic Photography Tutorial,” Photography Life. †
6. Masters, Russell, “Getting Started in Panoramic Photography,” Digital Photography School. †
7. Oachs, Steven, “Gigapixel,” Outdoor Photographer, Nov. 2013, pp 58-62, 112.
8. Rockwell, Ken, “Canon PhotoStitch Software,” Panoramic Stitching Software. †
9. Rouco, Debra, “5 tips for Panoramic Photography,” How Stuff Works. †
† On the internet, look for underlined item first then “quoted” topic.
Some Panorama Stitching Software:
Arcsoft Panorama Maker 6.6 (by Nikon for mac or windows $79.99 [$67.99]); FirmTools Panorama Composer v.3.1 (Shareware for windows ($29.95), http://www.winsite.com/nikon/ nikon+panorama+maker/; Photoshop Elements 12 ($99.99, full version; $79.99, upgrade) http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-elements.html; Canon PhotoStitch Software (free CD with camera).

Full Frame Equivalent Multiple for Several Cameras
1.7× — Sigma DP1, Sigma DP2, Sigma SD15, Sigma SD14, Sigma SD10, Sigma SD9
1.62× — Canon EOS 7D, 50D, 60D, 70D, 650D (T4i/X6i), Canon EOS 600D (T3i), 700D (T5i/X7i), 1100D; Canon EOS M
1.57x — Nikon D3100, Nikon D3200
1.54× — Pentax K-5 II, Pentax K-5, Pentax K-30, Pentax K-01, Samsung NX
1.53× — Pentax K-3, Pentax K10D†, Pentax K200D†
1.52× — All Nikon DX format DSLR cameras except Nikon D3100, Nikon D3200, all Fuji, Sony (except for the full-frame α 850, α 900, α 99), Sigma SD1, Sigma SD1 Merrill, Sigma DP1 Merrill, Sigma DP2 Merrill
1.3× — Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 1D Mark III, 1D Mark II (and Mark II N), EOS-1D, Kodak DCS 460, DCS 560, DCS 660, DCS 760, Leica M8, M8.28