HOW TO Stitch multiple shots and repair uneven edges
1 Prepare your shots
To make sure our panorama would be framed by the cave’s edge, we panned the camera in portrait orientation and snapped six shots, making sure that the edge details in the consecutive photos overlapped.
2 Open source files
Put these photos in a folder and open Affinity Photo. Choose File > New Panorama. In the window that opens, click Add. Select the first photo, Shift– click the last one to select the rest, click Open, then click Stitch Panorama.
3 Tweak images
A preview of the stitched image will appear in the Panoramas panel. You can fine–tune it by unchecking the source images. Click Stitch Panorama again to see another version. Select the best version, then click OK.
4 Render panorama
Affinity Photo will analyze the shots, align them in a larger canvas, and blend the edges to create a wider panoramic image. Because it has to transform the shots to blend, you’ll see uneven transparent edges. Click Apply.
5 Straighten horizon
To fix the tilted horizon, use the Crop tool icon. Move the pointer outside of the crop area to summon the rotate tool. Drag to rotate the shot so that its horizon aligns with the Crop tool’s horizontal grid, then click Apply.
6 Hide jagged areas
Zoom in to examine the image. Some stitched edge details may appear jagged due to moving objects. Grab the Clone brush; Opt–click to sample an area, reposition the brush, and spray the sampled pixels where needed.
7 Remove artifacts
Here, we have sensor spots in the sky. The Clone brush may leave a trace when you transplant sky from one area to another, so switch to the Healing brush and Opt–click to sample clear sky, spraying it over the artifacts.
8 Repair edges
Our panorama still has uneven edges. To remove risk of losing detail, we’ll extend existing rock and sky pixels into the gaps. Switch to the Flood Select tool and uncheck Contiguous as an option in the context toolbar.
9 Select and extend
Click in a clear area. Because we unchecked Contiguous, all transparent pixels will be selected. Choose Edit > Fill. In the Fill window, checkmark Inpainting, then click Apply to fill the selection with rock and sky pixels.