Succeed in panoramic photography

Panoramic images can have unrivalled impact. We explain how to create them with ease

1 LEVEL THE TRIPOD

A tripod is needed for precise camera movement, but make sure the legs are perfectly level. this will ensure that when the setup is pivoted around the central column, the sensor and lens track the horizon, creating aligned segments.

2 SHOOT IN PORTRAIT

While shooting in landscape format will cover the scene in fewer images, portrait orientation will produce less distortion around the areas where each segment joins to the next, making the stitching stage easier.

3 LOCK YOUR EXPOSURE Set an aperture of f8-16 and take an exposure reading, metering from the highlights to prevent clipping. once you have found the correct shutter speed, switch to manual mode and enter the measured settings.

4 LOCK FOCUS Pre-focus your lens, using depth-of-field preview or a test shot to check background sharpness. turn off autofocus to prevent the lens re-focusing each time the shutter button is pressed, preventing any stitching problems.

5 SHOOT YOUR SERIES Take your first shot, pivot the camera and shoot the second, overlapping the segments by around 2030%. Add a marker, such as a finger, to a shot before and after your series to mark the start and end, for archiving reference.

6 STITCH PANORAMA Process the Raw files using synchronised settings and go to file>Automate>Photomerge in Photoshop. select files, choose Auto Layout and click Ok to begin stitching. crop out peripheral white space or use content Aware fill.