DIGITAL DARKROOM
TAKE A WIDER VIEW
If in-camera panorama functions don’t quite cut it for you, how about creating your own? Our digital image editing guru, Jon Adams, explains the procedure, taking you through it step-by-step using Photoshop CC.
As a photographer, you’ve no doubt been struck by the enormity of a broad vista, only to feel frustrated that you can’t capture the drama of the whole scene with your lens. If you’re carrying an ultrawide optic, fitting it will help you squeeze in more detail, but there will always be times when its angle of view simply isn’t wide enough. There’s no reason to be disheartened when faced with this situation though, because with a little knowledge of Photoshop’s capabilities, you can make any lens as wide as you like, and capture the scene using a sequence of multiple shots.
To ensure you get a good result, a disciplined approach is needed at the capture stage. But the camera setup is by no means difficult, and a little practice will yield excellent results after just a few attempts. Over the page, we’ve
outlined in detail all the steps you need to take with your camera and Photoshop CC to shoot and stitch fantastic panoramas. While panorama-stitching has been available for some time within Photoshop, a relatively recent addition now makes it possible to produce panoramas as RAW files. This gives a brand new set of advantages for photographers, as you can use all the features and functions within Adobe Camera Raw to produce the best looking image.
The curious thing is, this powerful option is accessed from a menu that’s almost hidden within the Adobe Camera Raw interface, but by following our step-by-step technique, you’ll find out where it is and how to use it to unleash the power of a multi-shot panorama.
It’s a brilliant technique to add to your imaging repertoire, and once you’ve got it cracked, you’ll always have a wider lens to call on, no matter what optic you have fitted.